FORT MYERS, Fla. – In anticipation of the 2014-15 season, FGCU women's basketball coach Karl Smesko has announced the promotion of Chelsea Dermyer to Associate Head Coach. Dermyer accepted the position in the offseason and will once again aid Smesko in leading squad this year.
2014-15 marks Dermyer's 10th season with the Green and Blue. After a three-season tenure as a player, the team's top assistant will be on the sidelines for her seventh season this year.
"I am very grateful for the opportunity to help extend the successes of the program," said Dermyer. "It has been a great learning experience to work for one of the best coaches in the business. I am looking forward to seeing what we can accomplish in the future."
Dermyer joined the Eagles as a player in 2005 after a successful junior college career. In the 2006-07 season, she started 24 games and averaged 5.4 points per game before producing a break-out year as a senior. During the 2007-08 season, Dermyer started 31 games with an average 35.7 minutes per game as the team's floor general. She averaged 11.1 points and 4.9 assists to lead the team to a record of 22-9 with first first NCAA Division I WNIT appearance. As a second-team All-Atlantic Sun pick in 2008, Dermyer led the conference in assists and assist-to-turnover ratio and ranked sixth nationally with her 2.44 assist-to-turnover ratio. She led the team 23 times in assists and finished her career ranked first overall in school history with an average of 4.7.
"Chelsea has been such a valuable member of our program for nearly a decade," noted Smesko. "I count on her a great deal every day. She is an exceptional coach and we have been fortunate to have her in the program."
Following graduation, Dermyer joined Smesko's staff for the 2008-09 season. With the former point guard on the sidelines, the Eagles have won 160 games with a 104-10 Atlantic Sun record and five Atlantic Sun Regular Season Championships. The team holds a win percentage of .825 and has made two NCAA Tournament appearances in three years of eligibility.
A native of Fort Collins, Col., Dermyer graduated from Poudre High School. She received both her bachelor's degree in finance in 2007 and earned her master's degree in business administration from Florida Gulf Coast University in 2010.
The 2014-15 campaign will get underway Friday, Nov. 14 when the Eagles welcome George Washington University to Alico Arena for a 7 p.m. matchup. The team will face a litany of strong competition this season as three of the team's challengers appeared in the 2014 NCAA Tournament, while seven others competed in the WNIT. In addition to the postseason experience, eight teams finished last year ranked among the top-100 in the NCAA RPI. This year's slate includes 29 games with 15 nonconference matchups, 14 Atlantic Sun Conference games and 13 games played at Alico Arena. The team will open Atlantic Sun Conference play on Saturday, Jan. 10 with a home tilt against Stetson in a repeat of the 2014 Atlantic Sun Conference Championship final.
Fans can purchase tickets online at FGCUAthletics.com, over the phone at 239-590-7145 or in person at the Alico Arena Box Office.
Group sales for women's basketball games are available for parties of 20 or more at a discounted rate. Beginning this season, groups will receive the opportunity for to upgrade their package to include chairback seats, a PA announcement and a special FGCU group T-Shirt at a cost of $10.
For up-to-the minute information on the FGCU women's basketball team, stay tuned to FGCUAthletics.com and follow the official Twitter of FGCU women's basketball at @FGCU_WBB.
Head coach Karl Smesko earned his fourth-consecutive Atlantic Sun Coach of the Year award after a successful 2013-14 campaign. Under his direction, the team completed the season with a record of 26-8, including a 17-1 mark in conference action and won the program's 300th win in January. Smesko guided the Eagles to their fourth-consecutive regular season championship and went undefeated in the A-Sun Conference tournament to win their second Tournament Championship in three seasons. The 2013-14 season marked the 10th-consecutive season in which a Smesko coached team won at least 20 games. He has recorded 314 wins at FGCU with 117 Atlantic Sun victories. The five-time Atlantic Sun Coach of the Year ranks among an elite list of just four active Division I coaches with a career win percentage of .800 or higher. Smesko joins Connecticut's Geno Auriemma, Baylor's Kim Mulkey and Stanford's Tara VanDerveer in the esteemed group.
