UT announces new women’s golf coach

June 14, 2018 | Athletics, News
By Steve Easton



Jenny Coluccio has been named the women’s golf coach at The University of Toledo, UT Vice President and Athletic Director Mike O’Brien announced Thursday.

She is the third head coach in program history. Coluccio comes to Toledo after serving as an assistant coach for the University of Illinois women’s golf program for the last five years.

“We are excited to have Jenny as the new leader of our women’s golf program,” O’Brien said. “Her passion for golf and her ability to teach the game as well as recruit will be extremely beneficial to our student-athletes. She has experienced tremendous success as a head coach and assistant coach at the collegiate level. We look forward to watching the impact she makes on our program.”

During her five years with the Fighting Illini, Coluccio helped the program register their fifth and sixth NCAA Regional appearances in program history and collect All-Big Ten accolades on eight occasions. During her tenure, the Illini vaulted nearly 100 spots in the Golfstat’s national rankings — No. 122 in 2013 to No. 23 at the conclusion of the 2018 campaign. In addition, the women’s golf program currently holds the athletic department’s high grade-point average.

“I would like to thank Mike O’Brien and The University of Toledo for this tremendous opportunity,” Coluccio said. “I am honored and grateful to become part of the Rockets’ family and lead the women’s golf program. I am impressed and motivated by the support from the administration, staff and community for the program. With the strong foundation that is present here, the potential is limitless. I’m looking forward to building on the success the team has experienced in recent years, and I’m very excited to see how far we can go.”

Coluccio also wanted to express her gratitude for the support she has received during her time in Champaign, as well as throughout her entire coaching career.

“I cannot thank [Illinois Women’s Golf Coach] Renee Slone and the University of Illinois enough for allowing me to be a part of their lives and success over the past five years,” Coluccio said. “I also want to say thank you to my family, friends, mentors and peers who have all continued to challenge me to improve every step of the way.”

This past season, Illinois registered its best regional finish ever, with four golfers earning All-Big Ten honors and setting 13 school records. The Fighting Illini narrowly missed making a trip to the NCAA Championships, finishing one spot away from qualifying with a seventh-place standing at the NCAA Madison Regional. Illinois also tied for second place at the Big Ten Championships, its best showing since 1976, and set a team scoring average for the third year in a row with a mark of 289.6 (over six strokes better than the previous best).

Prior to arriving in Champaign, Coluccio spent three seasons as the head men’s and women’s golf coach at NCAA Division II University of Sioux Falls. Coluccio led the USF men’s golf team to a third-place finish at the 2013 Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference Championship, while the women placed fourth. Sophomore Tavia Rutherford became the first Cougar golfer to compete in the NCAA Central Region Tournament since USF reached NCAA Division II status.

In 2011, Coluccio guided her men’s and women’s teams to second- and third-place finishes, respectively, in the Great Plains Athletic Conference. In the same year, she produced six All-GPAC selections (four men, two women) while her teams set impressive grade-point averages in the classroom (3.2 for the men, 3.5 for the women).

Before becoming head coach at USF, Coluccio served two seasons as a graduate assistant for Dakota Wesleyan University in Mitchell, S.D., working with both men’s and women’s teams. The Tigers claimed men and women’s GPAC regular-season championships and advanced to the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics Championships for the first time ever during her stint.

A native of Springfield, Mo., Coluccio earned a bachelor’s degree in sports management from Drury (Mo.) University in 2007 and a master’s degree in educational administration and policy from Dakota Wesleyan in 2010. She was a three-time All-Great Lakes Valley Conference golfer for the Panthers, while also collecting 12 top-15 tournament finishes. She has competed in several tournaments throughout her playing career, including the Women’s Western Amateur, Women’s Trans National Amateur, College Players Tour, Futures Tour Qualifying School and LPGA Qualifying School.

Coluccio and her husband, Brett, have two sons, Braden, 3, and Walker, who was born in November 2017.

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