There are caterers this calendar year who won't attend as many banquets as AU head women's basketball coach Sue Ramsey.
On Thursday (May 24), Ramsey received one of the most prestigious awards a coach in the Midwest can receive. The Ashland head coach is among five coaches who will be inducted into Miami University's (Ohio) Cradle of Coaches Association. Ramsey will be inducted on Saturday, Sept. 22.
Joining Ramsey in the 2012 induction class are Randy Ayers, Thad Matta, Joe Novak and Sandy Pearson. Here are some of the coaches who have been inducted previously – Weeb Ewbank, Paul Brown, Paul Dietzel, Walter Alston, Earl Blaik, Woody Hayes, Ara Parseghian and Bo Schembechler.
The Cradle of Coaches Association was established in 1971 to acknowledge the role Miamians have played in establishing Miami University as the Cradle of Coaches. All the coaches who are in the Cradle of Coaches are Miami alumni. Ramsey is a 1978 graduate and she also coached at Miami (1983-84). Ramsey played one year of basketball at Miami. She transferred there from Indiana where she was the first woman to receive a basketball scholarship.
Earlier this year, Ramsey was named the GLIAC Coach of the Year and the WBCA NCAA Division II Coach of the Year. She also received the WBCA's prestigious Carol Eckman Award. In 2011, Ramsey received the FCA's Kay Yow Heart of a Champion Award.
In 2011-12 Ramsey guided the Eagles to a 33-2 record and a spot in the NCAA Division II national championship game. AU had a 33-game winning streak, the longest in the nation for any Division II team, men or women. The Eagles ended the season ranked second in the nation. That's the highest national ranking in the program's history. This year's GLIAC title is the first by an AU basketball team.
Ramsey has a career record of 382-326 and at Ashland she is 287-195 in 17 seasons. She is AU's career leader in victories and she has led the Eagles to four, 20-win seasons. Under Ramsey, AU has gone to the NCAA Division II playoffs three times.
Prior to coaching at Ashland, Ramsey spent eight seasons as the head coach at Dayton. Ramsey is currently on the board of directors for the WBCA and is serving as the Division II legislative chair. She is also AU's Senior Women's Administrator and is an assistant athletic director.