Adele Cecilia "Ceal" Barry (born April 1, 1955) is an American retired

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

player and coach. She was head women's basketball coach at the

University of Cincinnati The University of Cincinnati (UC or Cincinnati) is a public research university in Cincinnati, Ohio. Founded in 1819 as Cincinnati College, it is the oldest institution of higher education in Cincinnati and has an annual enrollment of over 44,0 ...

from 1979 to 1983 and

University of Colorado Boulder The University of Colorado Boulder (CU Boulder, CU, or Colorado) is a public research university in Boulder, Colorado. Founded in 1876, five months before Colorado became a state, it is the flagship university of the University of Colorado sy ...

from 1983 to 2005. Barry was also a longtime college athletics administrator, having been associate athletic director and senior woman administrator at Colorado from 2005 to 2020 and interim

athletic director An athletic director (commonly "athletics director" or "AD") is an administrator at many American clubs or institutions, such as colleges and universities, as well as in larger high schools and middle schools, who oversees the work of coaches and ...

at Colorado in 2013. She was inducted into the

Colorado Women's Hall of Fame The Colorado Women's Hall of Fame is a non-profit, volunteer organization that recognizes women who have contributed to the history of the U.S. state of Colorado. As of 2020, 170 women have been inducted. History There was a short-lived recogniti ...

in 1997 and into the

Women's Basketball Hall of Fame The Women's Basketball Hall of Fame honors those who have contributed to the sport of women's basketball. The Hall of Fame opened in 1999 in Knoxville, Tennessee, USA. It is the only facility of its kind dedicated to all levels of women's ba ...

in 2018.

Early life and education

Born and raised in

Louisville, Kentucky Louisville ( , , ) is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the 28th most-populous city in the United States. Louisville is the historical seat and, since 2003, the nominal seat of Jefferson County, on the Indiana border ...

, Barry graduated from Assumption High School in Louisville in 1973. Barry then enrolled at the

University of Kentucky The University of Kentucky (UK, UKY, or U of K) is a public land-grant research university in Lexington, Kentucky. Founded in 1865 by John Bryan Bowman as the Agricultural and Mechanical College of Kentucky, the university is one of the state ...

and played at

guard Guard or guards may refer to: Professional occupations * Bodyguard, who protects an individual from personal assault * Crossing guard, who stops traffic so pedestrians can cross the street * Lifeguard, who rescues people from drowning * Prison gu ...

for four seasons on the

Kentucky Wildcats women's basketball The Kentucky Wildcats women's basketball team represents the University of Kentucky in the Southeastern Conference. The Wildcats have four Elite Eight appearances and seventeen appearances in the NCAA Division I women's basketball tournament. T ...

team, and she graduated in 1977 with a bachelor's degree in accounting.

Coaching career

From 1977 to 1979, Barry was a graduate assistant at the

. After she completed her

M.Ed. The Master of Education (MEd or M.Ed. or Ed.M.; Latin ''Magister Educationis'' or ''Educationis Magister'') is a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. This degree in education often includes the following majors: curriculum a ...

in 1979, Barry was promoted to head coach, where she would remain for four seasons and left with an 83–42 cumulative record. On April 12, 1983, the

hired Barry as head coach for

Colorado Buffaloes women's basketball The Colorado Buffaloes women's basketball team represents the University of Colorado Boulder and competes in the Pac-12 Conference of NCAA Division I. Conferences Colorado currently plays in the Pac-12 Conference. Prior to the 2011/12 season, th ...

, replacing

Sox Walseth Russell "Sox" Walseth (April 6, 1926 – January 28, 2004) was an American college basketball coach, best known for his tenures as both the men's and women's head coach at the University of Colorado Boulder. Walseth was born in Aberdeen, South Da ...

. In 22 seasons, Barry had a 427–242 cumulative record, as well as four

Big Eight Conference The Big Eight Conference was a National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA)-affiliated Division I-A college athletic association that sponsored football. It was formed in January 1907 as the Missouri Valley Intercollegiate Athletic Associati ...

"Coach of the Year" honors (1989, 1993–95) and the Carol Eckman Award in 1995. The 1988–89 team went 14–0 in Big Eight play, the first team in conference history to go undefeated in conference play. In 2002, she became the first woman to be a head coach for 20 years at Colorado. Barry returned to coaching in the

2011 Pan American Games The 2011 Pan American Games, officially the XVI Pan American Games, was an international multi-sport event that was held from October 14–30, 2011, in Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico. Some events were held in the nearby cities of Ciudad Guzmán, ...

as head coach of the US women's basketball team, who finished in seventh place.

Administrative career

On April 1, 2005, nearly a month after ending her coaching career, Barry became associate athletic director for student services and senior woman's administrator at Colorado. She then served as interim athletic director for nearly two months effective June 3, 2013, prior to Rick George entering the position long term. In 2014, Barry changed to senior associate athletic director for internal relations while continuing her role as senior woman's administrator. On July 1, 2020, Barry retired from Colorado and concluded a 43-year career in college athletics as a coach and administrator.

Awards and honors

Barry was inducted into the

in 1997 and into the

in 2018.

Head coaching record

Sources:

standings derived from deriving member schools' records from th
NCAA Career Statistics
database for the respective seasons.

References

External links

Colorado profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Barry, Ceal 1955 births Living people American women's basketball coaches Basketball coaches from Kentucky Basketball players from Louisville, Kentucky Cincinnati Bearcats women's basketball coaches Colorado Buffaloes athletic directors Colorado Buffaloes women's basketball coaches Forwards (basketball) Kentucky Wildcats women's basketball players Sportspeople from Louisville, Kentucky