Head Coach Tricia Cullop
Entering her 15th season at the helm of the Toledo women’s basketball program in 2022-23, head coach Tricia Cullop has rebuilt a Mid-American Conference powerhouse.
Toledo has hung nine postseason banners in Cullop’s time patrolling the sidelines, including a 2011 Postseason WNIT championship, one MAC Championship, three MAC regular-season and four MAC West Division banners from the rafters of Savage Arena. Considering the Rockets experienced five-consecutive losing campaigns prior to Cullop’s arrival, Toledo’s turnaround has truly been a testament to her coaching ability.
Under Cullop’s guidance, the Midnight Blue & Gold has amassed an impressive 296-158 overall record and a 161-85 conference mark. Her 296 wins are the most in program history. UT is also averaging a MAC-best 20.5 wins over the last 13 seasons. Individually, 16 Rockets have earned All-MAC honors on 34 occasions.
Cullop, who has a 419-268 record in her 22-year coaching career, was named the Toledo head coach on April 18, 2008, becoming the ninth coach in the program’s history.
A four-time MAC Coach of the Year (2008-09, 2010-11, 2012-13, 2021-22), Cullop earned the 2022 WBCA Carol Eckman Integrity in Coaching Award, presented annually to an active member coach who exemplifies Eckman's spirit, integrity and character through sportsmanship, commitment to the student-athlete, honesty, ethical behavior, courage and dedication to purpose.
A 1993 graduate of Purdue University, Cullop received a bachelor’s degree in communications. As a four-year letterwinner with the Boilermakers, she was part of three-straight NCAA Tournament teams (1989-90, 1990-91, 1991-92) and was a part of Purdue’s first-ever Big Ten championship team in 1991. Cullop was a team captain in 1992-93 and a three-time academic All-Big Ten selection under head coach Lin Dunn. A 2018 Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame honoree, she was named the Purdue Mortar Board Female Student-Athlete of the Year in 1993.
A native of Bicknell, Ind., Cullop was a 1989 High School All-American at North Knox High School. She was also a member of the North Squad in the 1991 U.S. Sports Festival.
Cullop, who served as President of the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) during the 2019-20 and 2020-21 membership years, is the daughter of the late Theodore and Jannette Cullop, and has two sisters, Tammy and Tracy.
Mid-American Conference Brilliance
During Cullop’s tenure, the Rockets have been a force in the Mid-American Conference. The winningest coach in school history, Cullop has led Toledo to one MAC Championship (2017), three MAC regular-season titles (2010-11, 2012-13, and 2021-22), four MAC West Division crowns (2009-10, 2010-11, 2011-12, 2012-13) and two championship game appearances (2010, 2017).
In eight of her 14 years at Toledo, Cullop has advanced the Rockets to at least the MAC Tournament Semifinals.
Toledo’s conference record over the last 14 seasons under Cullop is 161-85 (.654).
The Rockets saw unprecedented success in MAC play in 2021-22, setting a league record for most conference wins in a season with 19.
Home Court Dominance
Cullop and the Rockets have been nearly unbeatable in Savage Arena over the last 14 seasons, compiling a stout 166-55 (.751) ledger. Toledo has been even more dominant against MAC opponents on its home court, winning 95 of 128 contests (.742). Aiding Toledo’s stellar mark at home under Cullop was a 22-game winning streak over the course of the 2010-11 and 2011-12 seasons, the second-longest home unbeaten stretch in school history.
Toledo has won at least 11 home contests in 10 of the 14 seasons under Cullop, including a school-record 19 victories during the 2010-11 campaign.
With the Rockets’ experiencing great success at home under Cullop, attendance numbers have skyrocketed. Toledo has led the MAC in attendance each years and seen its average figures increase significantly, ranking in the Top 30 nationally in nine of the last 10 seasons, not including the 2020-21 season during which fans were not allowed in Savage Arena, per COVID-19 protocols.
In 2021-22, Toledo remarkably led the MAC in attendance for the 31st straight season and ranked No. 28 in the NCAA, averaging a league-best 3,351 fans per home game. The Rockets cracked the 4,000 benchmark in attendance five times last season, including a season-high 5,029 against arch-rival Bowling Green on Feb. 12.
The Midnight Blue & Gold also finished No. 28 (3,748) in 2011-12, No. 25 (4,012) in 2012-13, No. 24 (3,932) in 2013-14, No. 28 in 2014-15 (3,636), No. 24 (4,050) in 2015-16, No. 27 (3,744) in 2016-17, No. 31 (3,420) in 2017-18 and No. 30 (3,728) in 2018-19.
During its historic run through the 2011 Postseason WNIT, Toledo posted a school-record and MAC-best 7,301 fans vs. USC in the Championship Game.
Academic Excellence
The Rockets have been successful in the classroom as well as on the court under Cullop. In her tenure, 30 Toledo players have been selected Academic All-MAC on 48 occasions and a total of 45 players have made the University’s Dean’s List (3.5 GPA or higher) on 153 occasions. The 2021-22 squad placed a school-record eight student-athletes on the Academic All-MAC team.
Spearheading the academic surge was 2017-18 first-team Academic All-America Jay-Ann Bravo-Harriott, who became only the fourth player in school history to earn this prestigious honor and first since Kim Knuth during the 1998-99 campaign. In addition, Bravo-Harriott was a school-record three-time Academic All-District honoree.
Under Cullop’s tutelage, Toledo has posted a team grade-point average above 3.2 in 18 of 28 semesters.
Most recently, the Rockets posted an impressive Academic Progress Rate (APR) score of 996 for the four-year period from 2015-16 and 2018-19. Toledo, which tallied a perfect score of 1,000 during the 2018-19 season, ranked tied for fourth in the MAC for the four-year period, finishing only four points behind the frontrunners.
The Midnight Blue & Gold has now ranked in the top four of the MAC in each of the last five years, highlighted by a flawless four-year mark in 2013-14, 2014-15, 2015-16 and 2016-17. The Rockets have posted a 995 APR in each of the past five, four-year periods.
Toledo’s success in the classroom has also been recognized by the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) for having a Top 25 team GPA in the nation. The Rockets posted a 3.443 overall GPA during the 2014-15 academic year to rank No. 18 among Division I programs.
The Rockets received the award for a first time under Coach Cullop and fifth time in program history. Toledo also finished fifth nationally in 1996-97 (3.39 GPA), tied for eighth in 1998-99 (3.34), third in 1999-2000 (3.41) and second in 2001-02 (3.47).
Athletic Accolades
Under Cullop’s tutelage, several of her student-athletes have earned recognition for their outstanding play on the court. Sixteen of her student-athletes have been named All-MAC on 34 occasions, including first-team honorees Naama Shafir (2010-11; 2012-13), Andola Dortch (2012-13), Brenae Harris (2015-16), Tanika Mays (2009-10), Inma Zanoguera (2014-15), and Quinesha Lockett (2021-22).
Four players have earned five yearly MAC awards during Cullop’s time at Toledo. Andola Dortch won back-to-back MAC Defensive Player of the Year awards in 2011-12 and 2012-13; Jay-Ann Bravo-Harriott was named MAC Freshman of the Year in 2014-15; Kaayla McIntyre earned MAC Sixth Player of the Year honors in 2015-16; and Hannah Noveroske was named MAC Sixth Player of the Year in 2021-22.
Two of Cullop’s former players have been inducted into the Varsity T Hall of Fame: Naama Shafir was inducted in 2018 and Inma Zanoguera was a part of the Class of 2020.
Cullop’s Teams Excel in March
Cullop has posted a stellar 34-19 (.642) win-loss record in postseason play (16-11 in MAC Tournament, 18-7 in the Postseason WNIT and 0-1 in NCAA Championships) while patrolling the Toledo sidelines.
Four years ago, the 12th-year head coach led the Rockets to their first MAC Championship since 2001 and an appearance in the 2017 NCAA Championships.
Cullop has also guided Toledo to the Postseason WNIT on eight occasions, including a spot in the ‘Sweet 16’ four times. In addition, the Rockets have also won at least one game in the Postseason WNIT in each of their eight appearances.
In 2010-11, Toledo became the first MAC basketball program to capture a national postseason tournament. Toledo’s historic Postseason WNIT run was capped off by a 76-68 triumph over USC in the championship game before a school and conference women’s basketball record 7,301 fans.
Strong Community Involvement
Off the court, the Rockets have been very active in the Toledo community during Cullop’s time at Toledo, helping with projects such as Connecting Kids to Meals, Habitat for Humanity, Ovarian Cancer Walk, the Susan G. Komen for the Cure and Sponsor a Family for Christmas.
In 2019-20, Toledo made yet another special contribution to the Susan G. Komen® Northwest Ohio and Eleanor N. Dana Cancer Center at its 14th-annual “Rockets for the Cure” game. The Rockets raised $15,972 for cancer research, marking the eighth time they collected at least $12,000. Toledo has now raised over $157,000 for cancer research since 2010.
The pink Nike jerseys that Toledo wore were made specially for Saturday's contest. Seven of the uniforms that were auctioned off after the game went for at least $700, including a high of $1,000 for the jerseys of senior Mariella Santucci and junior Nakiah Black.