Patty Patton Shearer, who has led Fort Lewis College to 58 wins over the past three seasons, will become the sixth head women's basketball coach in University of Nebraska at Omaha history. Patton Shearer replaces Lisa Carlsen, who resigned in February after four seasons.
The appointment is subject to approval by the University of Nebraska Board of Regents.
"Patty has proven that she can successfully compete at the NCAA Division II level," UNO Athletic Director Bob Danenhauer said. "Her success in transforming Fort Lewis College into a division champion in such a short period of time is very impressive."
A news confernce introducing Patton Shearer as the new head coach will be held on Monday at 10 a.m. at Lee & Helene Sapp Fieldhouse on the UNO campus.
Patton Shearer was named the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference's coach of the year in guiding Fort Lewis to a 23-8 record and the league's West Division title the past season, her fourth as the head coach at the school. The 37-year-old Tucscon, Ariz., native is a 1990 graduate of Rocky Mountain College. She also earned a master's degree from the University of Arizona in 1992.
Patton Shearer compiled a five-year 122-32 record as the head girls' basketball coach at Catalina Foothills (Ariz.) High School while winning two conference titles, three regional tournament championships and the 1997 Arizona 4A state championship.
She took over a Fort Lewis College program in 2000 that had recorded just one winning season in the previous 11 years and was 3-23 in 1999-2000. After a 2-24 2000-01 season, Shearer led the Skyhawks to a 17-8 record, finsished second in her division and was named the RMAC coach of the year. Her 2002-03 team went 18-9 and this year Fort Lewis set a school record with 23 wins and lost in the first round of the NCAA II regional tournament to No. 6 ranked North Dakota, 53-51. She was 60-49 at Fort Lewis.
Patton Shearer graduated from Rocky Mountain College in Billings, Mont., in 1990 with a bachelor's degree in anthropology/sociology. She played one year of basketball for the Bears, earning All-Frontier Conference honors as a guard, after playing two seasons at Northern Arizona University. She earned a master's degree in higher education with a concentration in administration from the University of Arizona in 1992.
Patton Shearer graduated from Marana (Ariz.) High School in 1985, where she was a stand-out in basketball and track & field. While at Marana, she earned Converse Athletic/Academic All-America and BCI All-America honors. She was also the captain of the All-State team.
Patton Shearer's father, Norm Patton, was one of the most successful high school and junior college coaches in the state of Arizona as men's basketball coach at Marana High School, Pima College and Central Arizona College and is in the Southern Arizona Sports Hall of Fame. Norm and Patty are also the only father/daughter combination to win state championships as high school coaches in Arizona.
Her husband, Gavin, a teacher at Mesa View middle school in Farmington, N.M., has been an assistant high school football coach for more than nine years. Patty and Gavin have one daughter, Baylie, who will be 3 in July.
The Mavericks were 5-22 last season and finished last in the North Central Conference with an 0-14 record.