Josiah Newport
Triangle Reporter
The University of Illinois (Champaigne Ill.) women’s basketball program is tired of missing out on the big dance every March. The Illini want wins, but they need someone to guarantee those.
Meet Matt Bollant, former head women’s basketball coach at Bryan College (Dayton, Tenn.) and the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay. Bollant was introduced to the media on March 28 as the new head women’s basketball coach for the Fighting Illini.
Bollant brings a winning attitude and an excellent record to Illinois. At Bryan College, Bollant went 134-38 over five years. He lead the Lady Lions to the national tournament in his last four years there, making the Sweet 16 in 2006.
Bollant took the job at Wisconsin-Green Bay in 2007 and led the Phoenix to a 148-19 overall record. In their division, the Horizon League, the Phoenix notched an 85-5 record in five years. The Phoenix have been dancing the past four years, making the Second Round twice and the Sweet 16 once. The Phoenix finished tenth in the AP Top 25 this season.
I sat down with Bollant and asked him a few questions about his new coaching position:
Q: How did your coaching at Bryan College prepare you for your new position at Illinois University?
A: As the head coach of a small school basketball team you learn to do everything because you have to do everything. I had a part-time assistant so most everything fell to me–scouting, game prep, practice. And everything had to be done on a small budget too. In this way I feel like I am most prepared for this new job. But basketball is basketball, that never changes no matter where you are.
Q: What are your expectations for this coming season for Illinois?
A: Hard to know right now since we just got here. But this team is very athletic, very talented and if they buy into our system we are going to have a good first year.
Q: Going off of that, will we see your team in the postseason, in March, as we have in the past at Green Bay?
A: Yes, absolutely. I wouldn’t have taken this job if I didn’t think so. As long as we can get our players to be hungry and to work hard, as well as recruit the top players, we are going to have success in the postseason.
Q: How do you see your team matching up against the Big Ten powerhouses like Penn State and Ohio State?
A: We are not there yet, but we can get there. If we can get our players to play hard we can definitely reach that level. We beat those teams when we were at Green Bay, so we can definitely do it here at Illinois.
Q: The Midwest is a player pool for women’s basketball, how do you plan on bringing that talent to Illinois?
A: Right, you have to be really good at recruiting within five to six hours. We have already established relationships from when we were at Green Bay and we hope to build on those and go after the top kids.
Q: Okay, and last question, what do you have to offer that other coaches do not?
A: I think what I have to offer is the fact that I am a Christian. Because every morning I wake up, get on my knees, and pray for God’s wisdom and I pray for my players. People notice the difference and they want to get to know you because of that. When Christ lives in you, you have an effect on people.
Bollant is the brother of Peter Bollant, Bryan College Golf Coach, and the uncle of Bryan students, junior Ariel, senior Jordanna, and freshman Gabe Bollant.