FCA to honor Christian coaching principles at Women’s Final Four

There is plenty of anticipation for the Final Four this weekend, particularly with Cinderella story Butler going for a national championship in its hometown of Indianapolis. The weekend will also include tribute by Christian athletic organizations to coaches who have used biblical principles to help guide their teams.

At the Women’s Final Four in San Antonio, the on-the-court focus is on Connecticut. The Huskies won their record 76th consecutive game Tuesday to advance to a Final Four field which includes Baylor, Oklahoma and Stanford.

Off the court, the Fellowship of Christian Athletes will be honoring College of Charleston head coach Nancy Wilson with the Kay Yow Heart of a Coach Award. Yow was the long-time North Carolina State head coach who died last year of breast cancer who was credited with using faith-based principled to guide her coaching style.

“Coach Yow was able to demonstrate her faith in Christ by the way she loved others and in particular, her student-athletes,” FCA Vice President of Coaches Ministry Donna Noonan said.  “Like Kay, Nancy is one of those rare coaches who is able to effectively use her platform as a coach to impact her players and other coaches for Christ.  I think one of her players put it best when she said ‘people can see and experience Jesus in our coach.’  We are thrilled to be able to honor Coach Wilson with this award.”

Wilson resumed her role as head coach of the College of Charleston (S.C.) in 2003, after starting her career with the Cougars in 1976, and is now in her 15th season with the program. She surpassed the 500-win plateau this past season and became the 24th active Division I coach to reach the 500-win milestone. She also coached at the University of South Carolina for 13 seasons, compiling a 231-149 record. Overall, Wilson has a 431-235 record in 22 years on the bench.

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