For Maryland's Brenda Frese, 25 years and 25 changes
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Brenda Frese is about to coach her 25th season with the Maryland women's basketball team. Photo: G Fiume/Getty Images
Brenda Frese is entering her 25th season coaching Maryland women's basketball — but first, she'll enter the school's Athletics Hall of Fame on Friday.
Why it matters: Frese runs one of the area's most consistent programs, reaching three Final Fours and winning a national title in 2006.
- Her tenure also offers a measuring stick for how much women's basketball has changed.
So, 25 years, 25 changes:
Maryland
1. The Terps were rebuilding. Maryland reached just two NCAA tournaments in the nine years before Frese arrived.
2. Now, winning is expected. The Terps have missed just two tournaments under Frese.
3. Maryland switched conferences, leaving the ACC for the Big Ten in 2014.
4. Road trips got longer. Conference play now stretches to the West Coast.
5. Athletic directors came and went. Frese has worked under four.
The players
6. Players get paid. NIL arrived in 2021, followed by revenue sharing.
7. And eat better. Frese remembers when athletes didn't get unlimited meals.
8. Recruiting changed. Now coaches must court high schoolers, pursue transfers and convince their own players to stay.
9. The talent search went global. Her first roster stretched from Maryland to Ohio. Today's includes players from England, Belarus and Slovenia.
10. Transfers became routine. Frese was once "distraught" when a player left. Now she expects it annually.
The job
11. Coaches became general managers. Frese now oversees what amounts to a salary cap.
12. And fundraisers. She considers that perhaps her biggest new responsibility.
13. Long-term planning got harder. Rosters can change dramatically every offseason.
14. Old ideals were challenged. Frese remembers when playing for the name on the front of your jersey mattered most. She says some of that "purity" has been lost.
The game
15. Analytics exploded. But Frese still favors the trusty old assist-to-turnover ratio.
16. The game opened up, with more versatile players operating in pro-like systems.
17. The talent pool deepened. Elite players are spread among more programs.
18. But greatness is timeless. Frese says her 2006 championship team, with five eventual WNBA players, could still compete today.
The sport
19. Caitlin Clark changed crowds. Frese watched the former Iowa star transform Big Ten games into sellouts.
20. March Madness grew. The field will expand to 76 this season.
21. The WNBA got bigger, helping elevate the college game.
22. TV exposure exploded. Maryland games now appear across major networks and streaming services.
Frese
23. She got older. Hired at 31, she recently told this reporter — who covered her 20 years ago for his student newspaper — "We're not young anymore."
24. And mellowed. She says experience has made her wiser, less emotional and perhaps less tough on players.
25. College Park became home. Frese raised her twins here, and one is now committed to compete in track and field at UMD.
The bottom line: Through all that change, Frese has remained a Terp for a quarter-century.
- "That's been the most rewarding piece," she said. "Just the chance to be able to create a home and a life here at Maryland."