Paula Jean Buscher (born April 4, 1963) is an American

college basketball In United States colleges, top-tier basketball is governed by collegiate athletic bodies including National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), the United States Collegiate Athleti ...

coach, previously the women's head coach at

Southern Illinois University Edwardsville Southern Illinois University Edwardsville (SIUE) is a public university in Edwardsville, Illinois. SIUE was established in 1957 as an extension of Southern Illinois University Carbondale.Butler 1976, p. 18 It is the younger of the two major ins ...

Edwardsville, Illinois Edwardsville is a city in and the county seat of Madison County, Illinois, and is a suburb of St. Louis. As of the 2020 census, the population was 26,808. The city was named in honor of Ninian Edwards, then Governor of the Illinois Territory. ...

. The

SIU Edwardsville Cougars The SIU Edwardsville Cougars are the intercollegiate athletic teams of Southern Illinois University Edwardsville (SIUE), located in Edwardsville, Illinois, United States. The Cougars' athletic program is a member of the Ohio Valley Conference ...

are members of the

Ohio Valley Conference The Ohio Valley Conference (OVC) is a collegiate athletic conference which operates in the Midwestern and Southeastern United States. It participates in Division I of the NCAA; the conference's football programs compete in the Football Cha ...

(OVC) and compete in the

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges and ...

's Division I.

Biography

A native of

Peoria, Illinois Peoria ( ) is the county seat of Peoria County, Illinois, United States, and the largest city on the Illinois River. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 113,150. It is the principal city of the Peoria Metropolitan Area in Centr ...

, Buscher played

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...

and

softball Softball is a game similar to baseball played with a larger ball on a smaller field. Softball is played competitively at club levels, the college level, and the professional level. The game was first created in 1887 in Chicago by George Hanc ...

at Peoria's Richwoods High School, with her basketball team finishing second at the 1981 IHSA Class AA state Tournament. She then played both sports at

Illinois Central College Illinois Central College (ICC) is a public community college with its main campus in East Peoria, Illinois. It is part of the Illinois Community College System and its district, Illinois Community College District 514, is a area covering most o ...

(ICC) under the legendary coach

Lorene Ramsey Lorene Ramsey, a pioneer in women's sports, is one of the most successful college coaches of all time. In 1968, Ramsey joined the staff of Illinois Central College, a community college in East Peoria, Illinois. There, before the passing of Titl ...

, a member of both the

National Softball Hall of Fame National Softball Hall of Fame and Museum is a softball museum located in Oklahoma City's Adventure District. It includes the Don E. Porter Hall of Fame Stadium, home to the World Cup of Softball and the annual Women's College World Series. Am ...

and 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 ...

. At ICC, Buscher's teams finished fifth and third in the

NJCAA The National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA), founded in 1938, is the governing association of community college, state college and junior college athletics throughout the United States. Currently the NJCAA holds 24 separate regions ...

national tournament, and won the 1982 NJCAA softball national championship. She was inducted into the Greater Peoria Sports Hall of Fame in 1987 as a member of that championship softball team; she was additionally inducted as an individual in 2015. Buscher then attended

Missouri State University Missouri State University (MSU or MO State), formerly Southwest Missouri State University, is a public university in Springfield, Missouri. Founded in 1905 as the Fourth District Normal School, it is the state's second largest university by enr ...

, once more playing both basketball and softball for the

Missouri State Bears The Missouri State Bears and Lady Bears are the athletic teams representing Missouri State University (formerly Southwest Missouri State University). Missouri State's athletics programs date back to 1908. Missouri State competes in the NCAA Divi ...

. She earned her bachelor's degree from Missouri State in 1986. She then moved on to

Illinois State University Illinois State University (ISU) is a public university in Normal, Illinois. Founded in 1857 as Illinois State Normal University, it is the oldest public university in Illinois. The university emphasizes teaching and is recognized as one of th ...

, spending two seasons as graduate assistant coach of the

Illinois State Redbirds The Illinois State Redbirds are the athletic teams that represent Illinois State University in Normal, Illinois. Teams play at the NCAA Division I level ( FCS in football). The football team competes in the Missouri Valley Football Conference w ...

women's basketball team and earning her Master's degree in athletic administration in 1988.

Coaching career

After earning her Master's degree, Buscher served as women's basketball assistant coach at the

NCAA Division II NCAA Division II (D-II) is an intermediate-level division of competition in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). It offers an alternative to both the larger and better-funded Division I and to the scholarship-free environmen ...

University of Nebraska at Omaha The University of Nebraska Omaha (Omaha or UNO) is a public research university in Omaha, Nebraska. Founded in 1908 by faculty from the Omaha Presbyterian Theological Seminary as a private non-sectarian college, the university was originally kn ...

(Omaha) from 1988 to 1997. After leaving Omaha, Buscher took her first job as head coach at

Mankato State Minnesota State University, Mankato (MNSU, MSU, or Minnesota State) is a public university in Mankato, Minnesota, United States. It is Minnesota's second-largest university and has over 123,000 living alumni worldwide. Founded in 1868, it is t ...

. Following the previous season's 7-29 record, Mankato State under Buscher improved to 17-10, remaining one of the greatest turnarounds in NCAA Division II history. After only one season at Mankato State, Buscher returned to Omaha in 1998 as the schools women's basketball head coach. Following a successful second season at Omaha, she was hired as women's basketball head coach at Division I

Bradley University Bradley University is a private university in Peoria, Illinois. Founded in 1897, Bradley University enrolls 5,400 students who are pursuing degrees in more than 100 undergraduate programs and more than 30 graduate programs in five colleges. The ...

in her hometown of Peoria. In twelve seasons at Bradley, Buscher raised the Braves women's program from their previous status as perennial doormats in the

Missouri Valley Conference The Missouri Valley Conference (also called MVC or simply "The Valley") is the third-oldest collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference in the United States. The conference's members are primarily located in the Midwestern United ...

(MVC) into a contender in the MVC. Her 2006-10 squad got the program's first win in the MVC tournament. The 2008-09 team set the school women's record for most wins with 21. The 2009-10 received the program's first bid to a post-season tournament and won the first post-season victory in the

Women's Basketball Invitational The Women's Basketball Invitational (WBI) is a women's college basketball tournament created in 2009 by Sport Tours. The inaugural tournament occurred at the conclusion of the 2009–10 NCAA Division I women's basketball season. Selections for th ...

(MBI). The 2011-12 team also advanced to the second round of the MBI. Her 167 wins is the most for any Bradley women's coach. In June 2012, Buscher was named the fifth head coach of the SIU Edwardsville Cougars women's basketball team.

Head coaching record

References

External links

SIUE bio

Bradley bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Buscher, Paula 1963 births Living people American women's basketball coaches Basketball coaches from Illinois Basketball players from Illinois Bradley Braves women's basketball coaches Illinois Central Cougars women's basketball players Illinois Central Cougars softball players Illinois State University alumni Missouri State Lady Bears basketball players Missouri State Lady Bears softball players Omaha Mavericks women's basketball coaches SIU Edwardsville Cougars women's basketball coaches Sportspeople from Peoria, Illinois Point guards