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Date: August 30, 2005
Contact: Bill Sodoma

 

Gear McBride named Colby women's basketball coach

WATERVILLE, Maine - Lori Gear McBride, who helped win a national championship at the University of North Carolina in 1994, has been named head women's basketball coach at Colby College.

Gear McBride was named Tuesday as the ninth women's basketball coach in Colby's history since the program began in 1968. She replaces Patricia O'Brien, who left after 10 years at Colby for the head coach position at MIT.

"The opportunity to coach at Colby is an extraordinary one and I can't wait to get settled in and started," said Gear McBride, who starts at Colby on September 1. "I have lofty goals for this program and truly believe that Colby can become one of the country's top programs. The academic reputation, the facilities and the competitiveness of the conference are the main things that attracted me to Colby."

Gear McBride is a collegiate head coach for the first time, but she has plenty of experience as an assistant coach at the Division I level. She spent five years as an assistant coach at Seton Hall University (1998-2003), including two years as assistant head coach. Gear McBride also was an assistant at University of North Carolina-Charlotte during the 2003-04 season.

"I'm confident the women's basketball program is in good hands with Lori as head coach," Colby Athletics Director Marcella Zalot said. "Her coaching and playing career in college basketball, her recruiting contacts and her knowledge of our (NESCAC) conference is impressive and I'm confident that under her leadership our program will go to the next level."

Gear McBride returned to New Jersey last year after the season at UNC-Charlotte to take the basketball head coaching position at Scotch Plains-Fanwood High School. She led the team to a 24-5 record, a berth in the state playoffs and the Union County championship. Three of her players will continue their careers at the Division I level this season.

Gear McBride, who was born in Montreal and grew up in Lennoxville, Quebec, has a master's degree in corporate and public communications from Seton Hall. She earned a bachelor's degree in education from North Carolina.

Gear McBride was one of two first-year students --- Olympic gold medallist Marion Jones was the other to play for the Tar Heels' 1994 national championship team. UNC won the title when Charlotte Smith, who currently plays in the WNBA for the Washington Mystics, hit a 3-point shot at the buzzer to beat Louisiana Tech.

Gear McBride played on three Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) championship teams in her four years and was a co-captain during her junior and senior seasons and played for the Canadian National Team in 1995 at the World University Games. Gear McBride, who was on the ACC Athletic Honor Roll all four years at North Carolina, played professional basketball in Portugal in 1997. Her husband, Pat, is a 1997 graduate of Colby and was a two-time captain of the Mules' baseball program.

"Having won a national championship as a player, I know the role success can play in making someone's collegiate experience memorable," Gear McBride said. "My goal is to make sure every player who wears a Colby women's basketball uniform enjoys a high level of success."

This season, Colby returns four of five starters from a year ago and most of the team's returning players are juniors and sophomores.

Gear McBride's first game with Colby is the season opener against Newbury College on November 18 at 6 p.m. in the Colby Tip-Off Tournament.