Deb Patterson

Who is Deb Patterson?

Deb Patterson is the current head women's basketball coach at Kansas State. She is the all-time winningest coach in school history. On December 20, 2008 she won her 250th career game.

A native of Rockford, Ill., Patterson graduated from Rockford West High School then attended Rockford College, where she was a member of the Rockford College Hall of Fame after playing field hockey from 1975-79. Although she never played basketball in college, she later went on to coach basketball.

In the 2005 season, she led the Wildcats to a WNIT championship win. Their 24-10 team marked the fifth consecutive 20 win season under coach Patterson. The 2004 team went 24-8 including 12-4 in the conference, and finished 16th in the nation, by the AP poll. Over the last five years her teams have gone 70-10 on their home court, despite off-court turmoil involving the emotional abuse of many players and assistant coaches as reported by the Kansas City Star in October 2008.

In 2008, Patterson led the Wildcats to a Big 12 Conference Regular season championship, after finishing in last place in 2007. Her worst to first accomplishment earned her the Big 12 coach of the year award. The Wildcats went on to lose their first game in the 2008 Big 12 Women's Basketball Tournament against Iowa State, 66-65 in Overtime.