Over 550 career victories, seven conference titles, six league tournament titles, three Kodak All-Americans, four total All-Americans, 11 NCAA tournaments, two Sweet 16 finishes, three conference Coach of the Year awards, a mentor for seven WNBA players, the first African-American to coach a US national team against international competition, a coach of a gold-medal winning US Olympic Team — the list of accomplishments for University of Kansas women's basketball coach Marian E. Washington seems endless. With qualities such as hard work, determination and compassion, Washington has paved the way for young women across the nation.

Entering her 31st season at the helm of the Jayhawks, Washington brings a wealth of success, experience and tradition paralleled by few. Not only is Washington the dean of the Big 12 coaches, but the West Chester, Pa., native ranks sixth on the NCAA Active Coaching Longevity list after coaching 30 seasons and a combined 898 games. Washington has guided KU onto the NCAA Top 25 of Women's Division I Basketball All-Time Victory list after compiling a 551-347 overall record and a 178-130 record in conference action.

Her life and career are so impressive that her latest honor comes as no surprise. At the 2003 Black Coaches Association convention, Washington was honored with the BCA Lifetime Achievement Award.

Over the last 17 years, Washington has led the Jayhawks into the postseason 12 times, including 11 NCAA Tournament appearances and a WNIT berth. The 'Hawks, who have gone to the Big Dance nine times — including two Sweet 16 finishes — in the last 12 seasons, have recorded 20-plus win seasons in 11 of the last 14 years. In fact, Washington-led teams have recorded 20-plus win seasons 17 times overall, including a 30-win season in 1978-79.

Before NCAA play, Washington guided three teams through extensive AIAW postseason play. Under Washington, KU advanced to the AIAW Sectionals in 1979, 1980 and 1981. In 1978, the Jayhawks competed in the WNIT.

In her 30 years as head women's basketball coach at KU, Washington has amassed numerous honors and is highly respected and recognized for her efforts in the field. Washington has established KU as one of the most successful programs in women's basketball history, all while capturing seven league titles and six conference tournament championships. Teams under Washington's guidance have experienced 20 winning seasons in the last 30 years and she has been instrumental in building the KU women's basketball program as well as women's athletics across the nation.

In 2002-03, Washington reached two significant career milestones. The first came in the form of longevity — it was her 30th season as a head coach, all at Kansas. The second was a product of success, as she won her 550th career game.

The 1999-2000 season marked nine straight NCAA tournament appearances and the 11th consecutive year the Crimson and Blue reached 20 or more wins. Kansas ended the 1990s as the 21st-winningest program in the nation.

During the 1998-99 season, the Jayhawks defeated Oklahoma, 58-54 on Feb. 20, making Washington just the fifth active coach to win 500 games at one school. Washington guided her Jayhawks to a 23-10 record while they earned their eighth consecutive berth into the NCAA tournament.

In the 1997-98 campaign, Washington's youth-laden Jayhawks advanced to the Sweet 16 of the NCAA tournament and to the championship game of the Big 12 Tournament. The campaign also marked the ninth straight year that Washington and her team had recorded 20-plus wins in a season.

In 1997, Washington was awarded the Big 12 Coach of the Year honor after guiding her Jayhawks to the first Big 12 title with a 14-2 league record. In 1996, Washington's successful coaching efforts earned her a spot on the Olympic coaching staff as an assistant coach. Together with the Women's Dream Team, Washington and the highly talented group of women representing the United States won the gold medal in Atlanta. Following her stint with the Olympic team, Washington was named as the recipient of the William I. Koch Outstanding Woman of the Year award, which recognizes a Kansas woman who achieves local or national success.

Washington was named the 1996 Big Eight Coach of the Year and the Black Coaches Association Coach of the Year after leading the Jayhawks to the Big Eight title and a trip to the NCAA Tournament. After defeating Middle Tennessee State and Texas, respectively, in the first and second rounds of the 1996 NCAA Tournament, Washington and the Jayhawks advanced to the Sweet 16 for the first time in the program's history.

Following the 1994-95 season, Washington was presented with the Giant Steps Award, given by the Center for the Study of Sport in Society at Northeastern University and the National Consortium for Academics and Sports, for her contributions to women's athletics and the sport of women's basketball. Giant Steps awards are given in conjunction with National Student-Athlete Day to individuals and organizations who have given their utmost to provide the support necessary for young people to fully realize their academic and athletic potential.

Washington served two years as president of the Black Coaches Association (1993-94). She was the first female to serve in that position and the first individual to serve consecutive terms as BCA president. The organization is comprised of 3,000 members, of which 98 percent are male. She also has served on the Women's Basketball Coaches Association Board of Directors.

Washington became the fourth coach in Kansas women's basketball history in 1973. Under her direction, the Jayhawks have seen scholarships grow from zero to 15. Increased recruiting and travel budgets have allowed KU to compete for the top talent in the nation.

The dean of Big 12 coaches, Washington has a 30-year record of 551-347 for a winning percentage of .614. Her win total ranks among the top 30 in victories for an active Division I intercollegiate coach. In conference play, Washington has posted a 178-130 career record, a winning percentage of .578. Kansas is 49-37 in postseason play under Washington. She has guided the Jayhawks to 11 NCAA tournaments, two WNIT appearances and the AIAW Central Sectional Tournament four times. Her Kansas teams won six Big Eight postseason tournament titles, the most of any conference school.

Washington was named the 1992 BCA Women's Coach of the Year, Big Eight Conference Coach of the Year and the Kansas Basketball Coaches Association Women's Coach of the Year.

Washington coached the school's three Kodak All-Americans — four-time selection Lynette Woodard, the Jayhawks' all-time leading scorer and rebounder (1977-81), Angela Aycock, a 1995 Kodak All-American selection and Tamecka Dixon, a 1997 Kodak honoree. With Woodard and NWIT All-American Adrian Mitchell, Washington's 1978-79 squad posted a 30-8 record. Her 1979-80 team followed that campaign with a 29-8 season. In addition to the Kodak award, Aycock received All-America honors from the USBWA and was a second-team Associated Press choice in 1995. She was the 1994 Big Eight Conference Co-Player of the Year, the 1994-95 Co-Big Eight Preseason Player of the Year and was a three-time first-team all-league selection. Dixon followed in Aycock's footsteps, and was named the conference player of the year in two consecutive seasons &emdash; 1996 and 1997 &emdash; and was selected to the Associated Press second team during her senior campaign.

In addition to her duties as head coach, Washington also served as KU's first and only women's athletics director from 1974 to 1979. During her stint in that position, Washington helped the women's sports programs grow from infancy to new heights. The university now offers 11 varsity sports for women including volleyball, softball, swimming, tennis, indoor and outdoor track, cross country, rowing, soccer and golf. Washington resigned her post as athletics director in 1979 to concentrate on her basketball coaching duties.

One of the most acknowledged coaches in the country, Washington has served on the selection committee for the 1984 and 1988 Olympic women's teams. The 1984 squad, captained by former Kansas standout Lynette Woodard, won the gold medal. Washington has also served four years on the National Officiating Committee.

Washington was also the first black woman to coach a United States team in international competition. In 1983, her U.S. Select Team compiled a 7-1 record in Taiwan, losing to Canada in the tournament finals.

Washington earned a bachelor's degree in physical education and health from West Chester State in 1970. In the fall of 1972, she came to KU as a graduate assistant in the health, physical education and recreation department. She taught several classes and earned her master's degree in biodynamics and administration in 1975.

In 1974, after her first year as women's head basketball coach, Washington founded the women's track and field program. She served as that program's head coach for one year. Before coming to Kansas, Washington taught physical education at Martin Luther King Junior High School in Kansas City, Mo.

As a player, Washington was a member of the first women's national championship team when her West Chester State squad finished unbeaten and won the National Women's Invitational Tournament in 1969, defeating Western Carolina for the title. That same year, she was one of the first two black women to ever make a United States national team.

Washington's coach, Carol Eckman, organized the tournament and coached several NCAA Division I coaches during her tenure at West Chester State. Washington was presented with the Carol Eckman Award at the 1991 Women's Final Four. The Carol Eckman Award was first presented in 1986, the year she died of cancer. The award is given to an outstanding coach who demonstrates the values and character of Carol Eckman which include: sportsmanship, honesty, courage, ethical behavior, dedication to purpose and commitment to the student-athlete.

Washington has been a member of the Kodak All-American selection committee, a regional chairman for the Wade Trophy and commissioner of the Kansas AIAW. Ebony magazine named Washington one of its outstanding black women in sports. In 1988, she was one of 10 athletes inducted into the West Chester State Women's Athletic Hall of Fame and in 2000 became a member of the West Chester State Athletic Hall of Fame when the school's various Hall of Fames became consolidated.

Washington was raised in West Chester, Pa. A very competitive athlete, she excelled in seven sports in high school. She participated in AAU basketball and competed internationally in the Soviet Union in basketball and Canada in team handball.

Washington has a daughter, Josie, who is a 1984 graduate of Kansas. Josie and her husband, Ricky McQuay, reside in Pennsylvania with their children, Lauren Nicole and Ricardo Marian.

Courtesty of KUathletics.com