Former Wyoming head coach Chad Lavin made a lot of Cowgirls’ hoops dreams come true

There wasn’t a lot to cheer about as the Cowgirls compiled a 23-60 (.277) record over the three previous seasons and there weren’t any girls participating in UW basketball camps during the summer.

Athletics director Gary Cunningham, the longtime John Wooden assistant who posted a 50-8 record and won two Pac-10 championships while briefly leading the UCLA men’s program before getting into administration, hired Lavin away from South Dakota to infuse some life into the dormant program.

“They were really bad. I can’t put it any other way,” Lavin said of the state of UW women’s basketball when he began the rebuild. “I’m not really sure why. When I took over there were some good kids there. They had no basketball camps to speak of, so we kind of started from scratch on the basketball camps. But if you’re going to take over a program, that’s probably the kind of program you want to take over.”

Lavin – who put his stamp on the program by leading the Cowgirls to their only regular-season conference championship and whose summer camps had an immeasurable impact on girls basketball in the region – will be inducted into the UW Intercollegiate Athletics Hall of Fame on Sept. 1.

“It will be pretty emotional,” Lavin said. “We will be very honored. We just really enjoy seeing our old friends back there and in the state of Wyoming.”

Lavin, who is already in the South Dakota athletics hall of fame, was thriving at his alma mater when Cunningham called. His mother, Joy, had graduated from Shoshoni High in 1952 and his father, Dal, served on the Army Air Force Base in Casper before the couple moved to Clear Lake, South Dakota.

“They loved Wyoming and always talked about Wyoming,” Lavin said of his parents. “When Wyoming offered me the job, my parents pushed pretty hard. They thought it would be a great move for my wife and I, and it was. We had a wonderful 12 years. Not only in Laramie, but at the university and in the state, there are a lot of unbelievable people. We have a lot of great friends in the state.”

In Lavin’s first season, the 1986-87 campaign, the Cowgirls finished 15-12. Christine Fairless (1985-89) is still UW’s all-time leading scorer, Michele Hoppes (1984-87) is still UW’s all-time leading rebounder and Lisa Daniels (1985-88) is still UW’s all-time leader in assists.

Lavin also would coach future UW hall of famers Amy Burnett (1992-95), Courtney Stapp Pool (1995-98) and Jesseca Cross (1993-98) while compiling a 175-162 record over his 12 seasons in Laramie.

The Cowgirls won six of their final eight games during Lavin’s third season to set up a magical run in 1989-90 when UW posted a 24-8 overall record and won the High Country Athletic Conference championship.

“It was a special year,” Lavin said. “We had great kids.”

The Cowgirls started 11-1, including a win over Colorado, and cruised through the HCAC with eight consecutive wins to finish the regular season 24-4.

After losing to Utah in the championship game of the conference tournament, UW participated in the National Women’s Invitational Tournament in Amarillo, Texas, which was the predecessor to the WNIT.

One of Lavin’s young assistants was Joe Legerski, who would eventually marry all-conference player Jamie Beadles.

Legerski eventually returned to lead UW to a WNIT championship and the program’s first NCAA Tournament appearance during his time as head coach from 2003-2019.

The Cowgirls won a Mountain West Tournament championship under Gerald Mattinson in 2021 and just won 23 games during Heather Ezell’s first season.

“It has been phenomenal. Joe took it to another level,” Lavin said of the growth of the program. “When he came, I think they were struggling a little bit. I didn’t follow it that close.”

Lavin left UW following the 1997-98 season with athletics director Lee Moon determined to make his own hires throughout the department. Head football coach Joe Tiller had left for Purdue following an appearance in the 1996 WAC championship game and several other prominent coaches departed in short order.

“I think he wanted to get new people in every spot,” Lavin said. “Lee got rid of everybody.”

Lavin said Moon also wanted to take over his basketball camps, which had grown to 2,000 girls and 120 teams participating, which sped up the divorce.

Future Cowgirls like Rebecca Tomlin and Jennifer DeVore were discovered at the camps and future WNBA star Becky Hammon was among the great players to showcase their skills as kids in Laramie.

“Those camps were a great tool for the university,” Lavin said.

Moon hired Cindy Fisher to replace Lavin. The Cheyenne native went 59-81 in five seasons before Legerski began his run 20 years ago.

Lavin, who is still second behind Legerski on UW’s coaching wins list, returned to South Dakota to coach another 10 years. He finished with a 273-141 record leading the Coyotes from 1982-86 and from 1998-2008.

Colorado State head coach Ryun Williams was able to lure Lavin out of retirement as a Rams assistant from 2012-14 before he transitioned to a role as the program’s director of administration.

When Lavin returned to Laramie on the other side of the Border War, the silent state of the UW program he inherited had been replaced by the roar of big crowds during the Legerski era.

The fans inside the Arena-Auditorium even embraced the familiar face wearing green.

“I remember getting tears in my eyes,” Lavin said of the first time he faced the Cowgirls at CSU. “I got a standing ovation and I remember tearing up. Wyoming means a lot to my wife and me. A lot.”

Chad and Cindy Lavin will be back in Laramie to be celebrated with the 2023 class that also includes Dabby Dawson (football, 1988-89), Larry Nance Jr. (men’s basketball, 2012-15), Aubrey Vandiver (women’s basketball, 2007-11), the 1968-69 WAC champion men’s basketball team and the 1984-86 two-time WAC championship wrestling teams.