Submitted photo / Youngstown State University Former YSU women’s coach Ed DiGregorio, who died Sunday at 93, was instrumental for the program’s success.

The Youngstown State University women’s basketball program notched 11 wins before Ed DiGregorio took over the program in the 1983-84 season.

DiGregorio, who died Sunday at age 93, started to see growth of his program. The game-changer player came in Dorothy (Bowers) Collins, who was named Ohio Valley Conference Player of the Year after the 1987-88 season.

Shannon Beach won the Mid-Continent Conference top player award in the 1997-98 season when the Penguins went a school-record 28-3 and advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament after beating Memphis.

Brianne Kenneally followed the next two seasons with the Mid-Con’s top honors, leading YSU to its third and final NCAA Tournament appearance in the 1999-2000 season — the cap of five straight 20-win campaigns.

DiGregorio amassed a 319-241 record through the 2002-03 season.

YSU Director of Athletic Ron Strollo said DiGregorio had a unique way of finding overachieving players, which thrived with the Penguins.

The former YSU coach developed a program the Youngstown community has supported until this day, even through the down times of the 2000s.

The program revived with a handful of WNIT appearances with coaches Bob Boldon and John Barnes this past decade.

DiGregorio’s name is on the Penguins’ postseason MVP Award, which current YSU junior Chelsea Olson, a first-team Horizon League player, received this season.

“He created our brand,” Strollo said. “When you go across the state and across the country and you talk women’s basketball at Youngstown State, we have a great brand.

“Even though those years when we struggled, we still had coaches and student-athletes interested in our program because we had a great brand. It was a brand he created.”

It was that 28-3 season that defined this women’s basketball program.

YSU Assistant Director of Athletic Communications Jamie Hall was the women’s basketball sports information director from 1997-98 season until DiGregorio retired in 2003.

The Penguins lost to Bowling Green to start the season before heading out to Las Vegas for a tournament against Xavier and host UNLV. YSU won the tournament. It was part of the Penguins 16-game winning streak.

DiGregorio had a way with words that got across his points. It was relevant in this situation with a senior-laden team in the 97-98 season

“He said, ‘Jamie, do you know what the best thing is about a freshman?'” Hall said. “I said, ‘No, coach.’ He said, ‘They become sophomores. The best thing about a sophomore is they become juniors. The best thing about a junior is they become seniors and they finally learn how to play the game of basketball.’

“I think he was trying to show there was a growth to playing the game. As good as you as a freshmen, you’re going to get better with experience. I think that’s what his point was. When you get to your senior year, that’s when you really get it. I think if you at that 97-98 team with all those seniors and they’re going 28-3 and went to the second round of the NCAA Tournament, he was right.”

YSU Assistant Athletic Director Robb Schmidt was a television broadcaster at WKBN/WYFX for 15 years before coming to the Youngstown campus. He covered the YSU Tournament run at Memphis.

Schmidt said with DiGregorio what you saw is what you got from the former Penguins coach.

“He was straightforward,” Schmidt said. “A lot of guys will come in with an ulterior motive, whether they are a promoter, recruiter. Ed was straightforward.

“He would tell you if they were playing well. If they weren’t playing well, he’d tell you. That was the refreshing thing about Coach D, he was honest and straightforward with you, but genuine as the day is long.”