DENTON, Texas - The University of North Texas has named Mike Petersen as its seventh women's basketball coach, President V. Lane Rawlins and Director of Athletics Rick Villarreal announced today. Petersen has been the head coach at Wake Forest since 2004 and is the school's all-time winningest coach. He is a coaching veteran with over 30 years of experience, including three seasons as the head coach at TCU.
Petersen guided Wake Forest to unprecedented heights in leading the Demon Deacons to the Postseason in three of the past four seasons and winning 72 games, which is the best stretch in Wake Forest women's basketball history.
The Demon Deacons won 20 games this past season, which is the second most wins in school history and only the second 20-win season in school history. Wake Forest advanced to the second round of the WNIT for only the second time in school history. The 20-wins at Wake Forest this season are the most since the 1987-88 season.
The Demon Deacons won back-to-back games in the ACC Tournament for the first time in school history and advanced in the ACC Tournament for the fourth straight season, marking the first time Wake Forest has advanced in the Postseason tournament four straight years.
Petersen took over a Wake Forest program in 2004 that had gone through 12 straight losing seasons, but he took them to a winning record, the WNIT, and its first Postseason appearance since 1988 in just one season. The Demon Deacons won two games in the WNIT that season, advancing to the third round of the tournament, which remains the best run in school history.
In 2008-09, he led the Demon Deacons to a 19-12 record, which at the time was the second most wins in school history, surpassed this season, and another appearance in the WNIT. That year, the Demon Deacons set the school record with 12 straight wins to begin the year at 12-0. Wake Forest also entered the top 25 rankings for the first time since 1987-88.
In 2007-08, the Demon Deacons finished 12-2 in non-conference play, the team's best non-conference record since 1987. He is the only coach in Wake Forest history to make multiple post-season appearances with four. A head coaching veteran, Petersen recorded his 300th career coaching win on December 7, 2011. Peterson has the most coaching wins in Wake Forest history with 125. Individually, Peterson has brought out the best in players at Wake Forest.
In 2009, Alex Tchangoue and Corinne Groves wrapped up stellar four-year careers at Wake Forest. Both earned places in the 600 rebound club and 1,000 point club in Demon Deacon record book.
Tchangoue was voted to the ACC Honorable Mention team. In 2005-06, Cotelia Bond-Young earned third team All-ACC honors after leading the conference in 3-pointers and finished as the Demon Deacons fifth all-time leading scorer and the program's all-time leader in 3-pointers made.
He has also been a head coach at Gonzaga (1985-89), New Mexico State (1992-96), and TCU (1996-99). Petersen also spent five seasons with the Minnesota men's basketball team (1999-2004), serving as associate head coach for four seasons.
Petersen was involved in every aspect of the Minnesota program, but primarily with individual player development, scheduling, offensive play-calling, opponent scouting and game-planning. He directed an offense that led the Big Ten in scoring and field goal percentage in 2001-02 and was second in scoring offense in 2002-03. Petersen also worked extensively with future NBA lottery pick Joel Przybilla -- who improved his scoring from 6.5 ppg as a freshman to 17.2 ppg as a sophomore.
While at TCU, Petersen guided the Frogs to their first winning season since 1982 in 1998-99, after inheriting a program that had gone just 3-52 in the two seasons prior to his arrival.
Prior to taking over at TCU, Petersen was the women's head coach at New Mexico State University from 1992-96. In his four seasons with the Aggies, Petersen recorded three consecutive 20-win seasons and compiled an 81-38 (.681) overall record and a 53-19 (.736) record in Big West Conference games.
Petersen, who led the Aggies to their first-ever Big West Conference title in 1995, was responsible for the development of 1995-96 All-American and WNBA player, Anita Maxwell. Not only did he sign a top 25 recruiting class, but Petersen also helped the Aggies lead the Big West Conference in attendance all four years.
Petersen spent three years as an assistant coach with the men's program at the University of Oregon prior to his stint at New Mexico State. While with the Ducks, Petersen coached former Minnesota Timberwolves' guard Terrell Brandon, which made him the first college basketball coach to have coached both an NBA player and WNBA player.
Petersen began his head coaching career in 1985 when he accepted the head women's coaching position at Gonzaga University. During his first season, Petersen led the Zags to a 21-10 record and missed the NAIA National Tournament by a game.
After an 11-16 record in their transition year into NCAA Division I, Gonzaga captured the West Coast Conference title in its inaugural season and only their second year at the Division I level. He won 65 games in four seasons at Gonzaga.
Before moving into the coaching ranks, Petersen enjoyed a stellar college playing career. He began at the College of the Redwoods in Eureka, Calif. After two seasons, he transferred to Northwest Christian College, an NAIA school in Eugene, Ore.
In his junior year, Petersen helped the Crusaders to a 22-7 record and the Pacific Northwest Collegiate Conference title. His senior year, he blossomed and was named to the Little All-America team. He finished his career among the top 10 all-time leading scorers in school history in just two full seasons.
Petersen stayed on as an assistant men's coach at Northwest Christian while he completed his undergraduate work in Biblical studies in 1983. After more than two and a half years with the NCC program, Petersen left for Oregon in the middle of the 1983 season to become an assistant coach for the women's team. During his season and a half, the Ducks won the NorPac title and earned an NCAA tournament berth in 1984.
In September 2007, Petersen was one of the three inductees to the Northwest Christian College inaugural Athletics Hall of Fame.
Mike Petersen File
Age:53
Birthday: April 18, 1958
Hometown: Eureka, California
College: College of the Redwoods, Northwest Christian College
Wife: Patty
Children: Riley and Jake
Petersen's Career Coaching Record
GONZAGA
1985-86 21-10
1986-87 11-16
1987-88 18-9
1988-89 15-13
NEW MEXICO STATE
1992-93 17-11
1993-94 24-8*
1994-95 20-9
1995-96 20-10
TCU
1996-97 13-14
1997-98 13-15
1998-99 16-12
WAKE FOREST
2004-05 17-15 *
2005-06 12-16
2006-07 9-20
2007-08 15-15
2008-09 19-12*
2009-10 18-14
2010-11 15-17
2011-12 20-14*
Total: 313-250
*- WNIT
Along with notching TCU's first-ever winning season, Petersen led the Horned Frogs to their first-ever conference tournament victory. In his first full season with TCU, he landed a recruiting class ranked in the top 25 by the Blue Star Report.
