Bio

	Phil Stern
	Position: Head Coach, Third Season Alma Mater: Concordia, 1994

Over the past eight years, head women's basketball coach Phil Stern has seen the growing pains of revitalizing struggling programs, while at the same token he has reaped the benefits and carrying a team to the top of their respective conferences.  With the Retrievers heading into their second year in the Mid-Major America East Conference and Stern entering his third year at the helm of the Retrievers, Stern will once again be facing the obstacles he has overcome before as he continues to set the foundation on sending the Retrievers' Women's Basketball program to the top ranks of their conference.

In Stern's first year with the Retrievers he took a heavily senior dominated black and gold squad, which failed to make the eight-team Northeast Conference tourney the previous season, and led them to the first ever conference championship title game.  Stern's squad, which took some time to learn his system of play but finished 11-7 over their final 18 games during the 2002-03 campaign, ended the year ranked as one of the top defensive and ball handling teams in the country.  The Retrievers in the NCAA final statistics ranked third in turnovers per game (12.1) compared to 48th in 2001-02 and ranked 10th overall in scoring defense (55.2 ppg allowed) as opposed to 32nd in 2001-02. 

Already proven to show his ability to skyrocket a struggling program, Stern's second season showed the growing pains of having a program revert to a young squad as the Retrievers lost all five starters from his inaugural season, including two 1,000-point scorers and the school's all-time assists leader.  In addition, UMBC made a switch to the America East Conference, jumping 10 spots in the conference RPI rankings. 

Despite finishing 4-24 on the year in 2003-04, Stern planted the seeds for the growth of the program into the new league as his incoming freshman class averaged a third of the Retrievers' total scoring and was led on the boards by a rookie.  Stern's squad finished the year ranking second in the nation in fouls per game at 13.3 and 21st in three-point field goals made per game at 6.9.  UMBC also set school records for single-game highest field goal percentage (67.4), most three-point field goals in a game (14) and highest three-point percentage in a game (63.6). 

Stern, while not accustomed to many sub .500 season (three in his eight year career), has proven in the past to respond well to a struggling season.  In his previous position as the head coach USC Aiken (1998-2002), Stern began his initial year with a 5-22 record but by his third year he developed the Lady Pacers into a 22-7 squad and the Peach Belt Conference North Division Champs. 

The following season (2001-02) Stern's team successfully defended their Peach Belt Conference North Division Title while winning the Peach Belt Conference Regular Season title and earning an NCAA Division II Tournament appearance.  Over his final two years at USC Aiken Stern went a combined 59-25.  He earned WBCA District III Coach of the Year (2001-02), two Peach Belt Conference Coach of the Year accolades (1999-00, 2001-02) and was named Women's Division II Bulletin Coach of the Month in Dec. 1999.

It was also at USC Aiken where Stern really started to run the Princeton Style offense, a style of play he has mastered and that only a handful of programs attempt to run.  The style of play, predicated on backdoor cuts and tempo control, has been effective in frustrating opponents, as evidence of his success.  To run the system of play, Stern needs to find the right personnel and targets players who are students of the game, meaning they are able to read the defense, make precise passes and shoot and handle the ball at any position on the court.   

Stern's collegiate head coaching career began at Dowling College (Oakdale, N.Y.) where he was the architect of the revival of the women's basketball program that produced 22 wins in the previous three years before his arrival.  Stern led the Lady Lions to a 16-12 record and the school's first winning season in his first year (1996-97) and followed that up with another winning season the next year (1997-98). 

Stern began his coach career at Holy Child High School (Westbury, N.Y.) where he compiled a 52-13 mark with three conference titles and three state tournament bids in his three seasons at the helm.  Following his tenure at Holy Child High School Stern went to the college ranks at Dowling College. 

Maybe even more impressive than his success coaching is his team's abilities in the classroom.  Over the past two year's during Stern's tenure, the Retriever women's basketball team has been one of the athletic department leaders in the classroom.  Both of Stern's teams the past two years have held an overall grade point average (GPA) above 3.0.  Stern's current squad holds an overall GPA above 3.0 with five athletes earning an above 3.0 in the 2003 Spring semester, including one of the athletic department's 23 4.0-students.   

The academic success of Stern's programs stems from before UMBC as his USC Aiken team excelled in the classroom as well, ranking 14th with a 3.429 grade point average in the Women's Basketball Coaches Association Academic Top-25 for Division II during the 2000-01 season.  In addition, the Lady Pacers were the only team in the South Atlantic Region ranked in the Academic Top-25.

Stern is a native of Oceanside, N.Y., and graduated from Concordia College in 1994 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Business Education.  Stern resides in Baltimore, Md.

Phil's File

Personal
Birthdate: August 4, 1968
Hometown: Oceanside, N.Y.
High School: Oceanside
College: Concordia College (N.Y.), ‘94

Accolades
2002-03: Northeast Conference Championship Runners-up
2001-02: WBCA District III Coach of the Year
2001-02: Peach Belt Conference Coach of the Year
2001-02: NCAA Division II Tournament Participant
2001-02: Regular Season Peach Belt Conference Champions
2001-02: Peach Belt Conference North Division Title
2000-01: Peach Belt Conference North Division Title
1999-00: Peach Belt Conference Coach of the Year
Dec. 1999: Women’s Division II Bulletin Coach of the Month

Coaching Career

UMBC
2003-04:                            4-24 (.143)
2002-03:                          14-16 (.467)
Total:                              18-40 (.310)

USC Aiken
2001-02:                           22-6 (.785)
 Peach Belt Regular Season Conference Champions
 Peach Belt Conference North Division Champions
2000-01:                           22-7 (.759)
 Peach Belt Conference North Division Champions
1999-00:                           15-12 (.556)
1998-99:                             5-22 (.185)
Total:                                64-47 (.577)

Dowling College
1997-98:                             14-13 (.519)
1996-97:                             16-12 (.571)
Total:                                  30-25 (.545)

Career
Career Total:                       112-112 (.500)