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You can go home again.
Since returning to his alma mater for the 1987-88 season, head coach Mark French has built UC Santa Barbara women's basketball into one of the premier programs on the West Coast and in the nation. For French's Gauchos, playing deep into March is not an aspiration, it's an expectation.
In 1990-91, French guided UCSB to its first winning record as an NCAA Division I program. The next year, Santa Barbara won its first Big West Conference Championship and advanced to the NCAA Tournament for the first time. Fast-forward more than a decade, and the Gauchos are a fixture on the national scene, winning 11 of the last 12 Big West regular season titles. UCSB made nine straight trips to the Big Dance from 1996-97 through 2004-05, tasting victory in NCAA Tournament play six times during French's tenure. He also guided the 2004 squad to the program's first-ever Sweet 16 appearance.
French made his way back to Santa Barbara in 1987 after a pair of four-year head coaching stints at Idaho State and the University of the Pacific. He started his career at Pacific in 1979 and moved to Idaho State in 1983. Having just completed his 20th season as head coach of the Gauchos, French owns a mark of 415-192 (.684) while at UCSB. He is the Dean of Big West Coaches and has nine more years of experience in the league than any of his current counterparts. He also has the most league victories (249) and the longest tenure (20 seasons) of any coach in conference history. In French's 28 seasons as a head coach, he boasts a overall record of 513-306 (.626).
Prior to his takeover of the women's hoops program, the Gauchos had experienced only three winning seasons in their 14-year history. In 1990-91, French led UCSB to its first winning season as a Division I program at 17-12. The following year, he guided the Gauchos to a then-school-best 27 wins, winning the Big West title for the first time and advancing to the second round of the NCAA Tournament. UCSB again experienced March Madness in 1992-93 and reached the tourney's round of 32.
If the first half of the 1990's was considered the Gauchos' rise to the top, the second half - continuing into the new millennium - has been sheer domination. Since the 1995-96 season, UCSB has won at least 16 games each year and compiled a Big West record of 168-18 (.903), making 12 straight postseason appearances from 1996 to 2007. In 1997-98, the Gauchos finished 27-6 and upset national power Vanderbilt in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament in Champaign, Ill. Santa Barbara then took its play to the next level in 1999-2000, finishing with a No. 9 national ranking and school-best 30-4 record, including a perfect 15-0 mark in Big West Conference play.
After knocking at the door of the Sweet 16 in both 2002 and 2003, UCSB reached that elusive goal in 2004, narrowly losing to eventual national champion Connecticut in the East Regional Semifinals after pulling off two thrilling upsets as a No. 11 seed. In 11 trips to the NCAA Tournament, French has guided his Gauchos past the first round six times, including three of the past five Big Dance appearances.
Individually, French garnered the highest accolades of his 24-year career in 2002-03, earning WBCA Region 8 Coach of the Year acclaim, as well as his seventh Big West Coach of the Year award, a league record. In addition, he was one of 16 finalists for the Naismith National Coach of the Year award.
Earlier in his career, French led the perennially sub-.500 Pacific Tigers to three winning seasons and steered Idaho State to their first ever victories over rivals Idaho and Weber State.
He reached two major coaching milestones last season, winning his 400th victory at UCSB with a 78-67 Santa Barbara win over Pepperdine December 18 and then notched his 500th career victory overall when the Gauchos defeated Long Beach State January 4.
These accomplishments attest to French's coaching abilities, but not as much as the success his players have experienced after they've hung up their uniforms.
With all of the on-court achievements French has enjoyed, his off-the-court history has been just as successful. Three of his players have been NCAA Woman of the Year Award candidates, including Christa Gannon, who was one of 10 national finalists for the honor in 1994. Gannon went on to graduate from Stanford Law School and is now practicing in the Bay Area. Former Gaucho guard Cori Close is currently the associate head coach at Florida State after spending nine seasons on French's staff, while 2000 alum Stephanie Shadwell spent two years as an assistant coach at Cal State Fullerton. French has also seen more than 27 players recognized as Big West scholar-athletes, three of whom earned Verizon Academic All-District acclaim. An outstanding 95% of student-athletes playing under French during his 25-year career have graduated. This, along with his on-court prosperity, is what makes Mark French a truly successful coach.
French was a student-athlete in the early 1970's at UCSB. A two-sport letterwinner, he played two seasons for the Gaucho basketball team and spent four as a pitcher on the baseball team. French graduated in 1973 with a degree in political science.
For the past nine years, French has resided in Santa Barbara with his significant other, Paula Rudolph. The couple's family includes five children from previous marriages - Adam, Matthew, Nolan, Sara, and Tracy.
