Wisconsin names first women’s ice hockey coach

Julie Sasner (formerly Andeberhan), the head women’s ice hockey coach at Cornell University, was today (July 9) named the first varsity women’s ice hockey coach at the University of Wisconsin according to UW Associate Athletic Director Mike Moss. Sasner, 32, will receive a three-year contract with a base salary of $65,000. She will begin her duties on August 1. Women’s ice hockey is Wisconsin’s 12th and newest women’s sport scheduled to begin competition in 1999-2000.

Sasner has been active in both the playing and coaching ranks of USA Hockey and recently completed her fifth season at Cornell. Her tenure includes a 15-8-3 record last year, and a 16-7-2 record and the Ivy League title in 1996. She was named the 1995 Coach of the Year by the American Women’s Hockey Coaches Association. In her five years behind the bench of the Big Red, she posted a 26- 22-2 Ivy League record, 40-39-6 Eastern College Athletic Conference mark, and has a 53-60-6 career record. She led her 1995-96 team to its first Ivy League title since 1990 with an 8-1-1 mark. Along with the Ivy League title, the skaters also qualified for the ECAC tournament for the first time in Cornell history before losing in the first round.

Moss, who chaired the search committee, says Sasner is a good fit for Wisconsin. “Julie is an excellent person to build our women’s hockey program and add to the strong tradition of Badger Hockey. She is a proven coach with an excellent reputation in the hockey community. We look forward to working with her and continuing to work with Coach Sauer in building a solid and exciting UW hockey program.”

A member of the first U.S. Women’s National Team in 1990 that won the silver medal at the World Championships, Sasner is very familiar with USA Hockey. Besides a player, she was the coach of the USA Hockey Junior National Developmental Camp sin 1995, served as an assistant coach for the 1995 U.S. National Junior Team and the 1995 U.S. Women’s Select Team that competed in Finland. In 1996, she earned her first U.S. head coaching position, leading the U.S. Women’s National Team to a silver medal at the Pacific Women’s Hockey Championship in Vancouver, British Columbia. Most recently, Sasner was named the head coach of the 1998 Women’s 17 and 18 National Camp at Lake Placid, NY, and the coached the “red” team in the 1997 U.S. Women’s National Festival at Lake Placid.

Sasner got her start in coaching as the women’s soccer coach at the California State University-Hayward from 1991-92 prior to accepting her position at Cornell. While at Hayward, Sasner was named the NCAA Division II West Region and Northern California Athletic Conference Coach of the Year in 1991. She posted an 11-26-1 record in her two seasons at Hayward and was a member of the NCAA West Region Ranking Committee and the NCAA Soccer Rules Committee.

The Durham, New Hampshire native played ice hockey and soccer four years at Harvard University graduating in 1988 with a degree in social anthropology. She earned her master’s degree in counseling from San Francisco State University in 1992. A four-time all-Ivy League hockey selection for the Crimson, Sasner was named the 1988 Ivy League Player of the Year and was the Ivy League Rookie of the Year in 1985. Her team won the Ivy ice hockey title in 1988. In her four years at Harvard, she scored 51 career points in Ivy League games with 32 goals and 19 assists. She also earned Ivy all-league honors in soccer two years, and is a 1984 graduate of Oyster River High School where she played basketball, field hockey, soccer, tennis and track. Sasner stayed at Harvard following her graduation and served as an assistant coach in ice hockey, soccer and softball from 1988-90.

Active in the American Hockey Coaches Association, Sasner is the only woman on the Board of Governors and completes her two-year term as president of the American Women’s Hockey Coaches Association in 1998. She is on the national championship selection committee for the American Women’s College Hockey Alliance, and serves on the USA Hockey Girls/Women Section Committee.

Quoting Coach Julie Sasner on starting a new program: “I am excited about beginning the new hockey program at the University of Wisconsin. There is a strong tradition of hockey in Madison and I am looking forward to adding to it through working with the women’s program.”

Quoting Coach Julie Sasner on why she came to Wisconsin: “The combination of academic and athletic excellence at Wisconsin was the key factor in making my decision to accept this position. I am excited about the location as well. Madison seems like a great place to be.”

Quoting Coach Julie Sasner on her expectations: “The upcoming year will be critical in setting the foundation for a successful program. We will work hard to get a staff in place and begin the process of recruiting a team as soon as possible.”

Initial planning calls for the women’s ice hockey team to play up to a 34- game schedule in its the first year, including up to 16 home games. Scholarships will be phased in incrementally up to the full NCAA complement (18). The head coach and assistant coach will be hired in 1998-99 for the development stage, with full funding and competition beginning in 1999-2000.

Editor’s Note: Julie Sasner will start her coaching career at Wisconsin using her maiden name of Sasner.

She will be introduced in a news conference in Madison, Tuesday, July 14 at 11 a.m. at a location To Be Announced.