When the Illinois State athletics department began its search for the program's fourth head women's basketball coach in 2003, officials had to look no further than current Redbird mentor Robin Pingeton. ISU was coming off six consecutive losing campaigns, and with Pingeton arriving from a highly winning pedigree at Iowa State, she was just the remedy.

In her first four seasons, Pingeton has elevated the Redbird program to new levels. Illinois State has made two postseason appearances, won its first Missouri Valley Conference Tournament title and has had numerous student-athletes receive athletic and academic honors.

Last season was one of the best in the program's history and was a sign of how the Pingeton era has been about improvement and changing the culture of Redbird basketball. The Redbirds won 22 games, the fifth-best mark in school history and the most since the 1989-90 season, and qualified for the WNIT for the first time in 11 years. The Redbirds rode a 9-0 start in conference play to a 13-5 league record, their best since 1996-97, and a second place finish in the regular season. Their RPI was the best in the Valley and even cracked the top-50 at one point. Such outstanding play put the `Birds on the national map, as they garnered votes in the Associated Press and WBCA/USA Today polls. The support of the Bloomington-Normal community was extremely beneficial, as the fans came out in droves to support the Redbirds. The Redbird Arena crowd twice swelled to more than 4,000, including a school-record crowd of 4,190 that was on hand to witness the first of three Illinois State victories over rival Bradley.

A Solid Start at Illinois State

When she accepted the job of returning the tradition-rich Redbird program to its previous position of respect, the former associate head coach at Iowa State committed to high standards of excellence. She attracted quality assistant coaches, motivated student-athletes to achieve at higher levels and gained the trust of a campus and community with high expectations. As their first three recruiting classes have shown, Pingeton's staff values quality above all, but looks first at the talent-rich state of Illinois.

As the cornerstone of Pingeton's leadership style, she began by setting high standards for the program and committing her own time and energy to supporting the efforts of everyone involved in Redbird basketball.

She continued by hiring a coaching staff with knowledge, dedication and skills. Most importantly, though, she chose people who shared her belief in Illinois State's basketball potential and her commitment to excellence.

Confidence Builds A Turnaround

When she arrived at Illinois State, Pingeton placed her unbridled faith in a group of players who had never won more than eight games in a season at Illinois State. She and her staff convinced those players that they were better than their records showed, and those players bought in quickly enough that the 2003-04 Redbirds won more games by January 4 than the team had the previous season.

Pingeton's first team set a school record with 13 three-point field goals in its first game- a rout of Air Force in Redbird Arena. By the season's end, more than 100 changes to the Redbird record book would be required.

In fiction, that Air Force win would have been a springboard to greater results. In fact, the `Birds lost their next three games by a combined 89 points.

But then the Redbirds went on a roll, piling up seven-straight victories for an 8-3 record in early January. That seven-game winning streak led to a 16-13 mark, ISU's first winning record since 1996-97. The team's success led to an individual accolade for Pingeton, as she was named the Rawlings Missouri Valley Conference Coach of the Year, becoming just the second coach to win the award in her first season in the conference.

Pingeton and her staff established a style that featured high standards and strong work ethic built on family-like relationships, strong communication and mutual respect. And 14 players who had never won more than eight games as Redbirds formed a winning team. Pingeton, who has a 257-134 in 12 years as a head coach and a 63-58 at Illinois State, started to feel the success she had experienced in each of her first eight seasons as a head coach at St. Ambrose.

The commitment to restore a program built on the 1970s and 1980s successes of United States Olympians Charlotte Lewis and Cathy Boswell playing for pioneering coach Jill Hutchison got off to a strong start.

A Faith That Never Wavers

Despite soaring expectations, the 2004-05 regular season didn't go as well as anticipated, but Redbird players and coaches never dodged responsibility or looked for excuses. Some observers felt the team needed time for six new players to get comfortable in the rotation; others looked at a tougher non-conference schedule, early-season injuries and a number of close losses, including three in overtime.

Pingeton, her staff and her players looked at themselves and their record ... and used that to create a March to remember.

Her top coaching quality is leadership; not just the drive to lead and succeed, but the character to encourage and to serve those around her. It served Pingeton, her staff and her players well in turning a disappointing 2004-05 regular season into one of the most memorable seasons in Redbird history.

Pingeton and her staff worked tirelessly to build fan, business and corporate support for the program--work that helped the Redbirds later win the bid to host the 2005 State Farm-Missouri Valley Conference Women's Basketball Tournament at Redbird Arena. Pingeton also established a responsive, respectful relationship with media from around the Midwest and the Missouri Valley Conference.

March Madness, Exemplified

The Redbirds' State Farm Missouri Valley Conference Championship in 2005 was a shock, but not really a surprise.

The Redbirds arose from a 10-17 record to beat three 20-win teams in 45 hours to capture the 2005 State Farm Missouri Valley Conference tournament title and advance to the NCAA Tournament for the first time in 16 years.

Pingeton's eternal optimism, ceaseless dedication and bold leadership turned what could have been disappointment into euphoria ... cutting down the nets at the State Farm Missouri Valley Conference Tournament after a stunning example of March Madness that left Fox Sports Net commentators shrieking, ESPN SportsCenter anchors smiling, Redbird radio network announcers downright `historical' and print journalists angling for the right adjectives.

Jaci McCormack hit arguably the biggest shot in Redbird women's basketball history, a turnaround 15-footer with less than one second left in the title game to beat Indiana State 72-70- the same Indiana State team that held the Redbirds to its lowest point total in two years in a 68-48 thumping two weeks earlier.

But it was Pingeton's faith that set the tone when she told a press conference the week before the tournament: "In spite of all our team has been through, I think we might be the best 10-16 team in the nation ... and everyone on our team believes we will win the Valley Tournament."

Basketball Success

Pingeton's basketball life has featured consistent success. Before coming to Illinois State, she served on Bill Fennelly's Iowa State staff as the Cyclones won a Big 12 Championship, advanced to the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament and went 63-31 during Pingeton's three seasons in Ames.

At St. Ambrose, Pingeton led her alma mater to a 194-76 record in eight seasons, including five trips to the NAIA National Tournament. She was conference coach of the year three times and Kodak District Coach of the Year in 2000.

A 1990 graduate of St. Ambrose, she is the school's all-time scoring leader with 2,502 points, and was an all-American in both basketball and softball. She also played three seasons of professional basketball in the Women's Basketball Association.

Before becoming head coach at St. Ambrose in 1992, the former Robin Becker served on the Drake staff of current Iowa head coach Lisa Bluder.

The former two-time Iowa all-state prep player has been married since 2000 to Rich Pingeton, a public relations specialist for State Farm Insurance Companies in Bloomington. The couple gave birth to their first child, Blake, on June 9, 2006.