The Love of Coaching Pushes Mittie to Milestone Win
Nov 08, 2022 | Women's Basketball, Sports Extra
By: D. Scott Fritchen
Sitting in the postgame interview room in a black shirt, ninth-year Kansas State women's basketball head coach Jeff Mittie basked in a shining accomplishment following a season-opening 83-43 win over Central Arkansas at Bramlage Coliseum.
Mittie earned his 600th victory in a career spanning 31 years.
"Honestly, when I first got into coaching, I wanted to win every game," Mittie said. "I kind of couldn't figure out when it would be OK to lose. You're in it long enough that you lose some and you win some, but I do take pride in the fact that during my career my assistant coaches, the players we've recruited, have all rallied to have good seasons and play in the postseason."
Mittie, who has earned five Conference Coach of the Year awards and has captured nine league title in four different conferences, was presented with a ceremonious basketball at midcourt surrounded by his players following the win on Monday.
He becomes just the 16th active coach in NCAA Division I to reach 600 victories.
"Six-hundred?" he said. "I think as you are in the profession longer you probably learn to appreciate it a little bit more. I've really enjoyed my time here at K-State. I've really enjoyed the fanbase here."
Mittie is 600-345 overall, including 146-110 at K-State, where he has taken the Wildcats to four NCAA Tournaments. Last season, K-State finished 20-13 overall and 9-9 in the Big 12 Conference while playing one of the most difficult schedules in school history and facing a school-record 11 AP Top 15 opponents.
Recording a winning season in 28 of 30 seasons as a head coach, Mittie has guided his teams to 17 20-win seasons and 21 postseason appearances.
Mittie capped the 2018-19 season by becoming just the second head coach in school history to start a tenure with five straight postseason appearances. Mittie earned his 100th victory at K-State on March 9, 2019 and is just the fourth K-State head coach to reach 100 victories in Manhattan.
K-State's 23 victories in 2016-17 marked its most wins in a season since 2007-08. He reached his 500th victory on December 4, 2016. During his first season in 2014-15, Mittie led K-State to a 19-14 record and a Postseason WNIT appearance. The eight-win improvement from the previous season marked the third-highest improvement from one season to the next in school history. His 10-1 start at K-State matched the best start ever by a K-State head coach.
Prior to his arrival at K-State in 2013-14, Mittie compiled a 303-175 record in 15 seasons at TCU while exceeding the win total the program accomplished in the first 22 seasons of existence. He reached his 300th victory at TCU on February 19, 2014.
He also went 75-42 during four seasons at Arkansas State and 76-17 during three seasons at Missouri Western. His teams at Missouri Western went 16-11, 29-3 and 31-3.
For his efforts, Mittie earned 2010 Mountain West Coach of the Year, 2002 Conference USA Coach of the Year, 2001 WAC Coach of the Year, and 1994 and 1995 MIAA Coach of the Year.
"I just love coaching," Mittie said. "I don't think the 18- to 22-year-olds have changed that much. I hear coaches talk about this generation has changed. I think the world has changed in some areas, but they haven't changed. They want to have fun in college and get a degree and have fun playing basketball and compete. None of those things have really changed.
"Coaching them has changed because a lot of things in their world are different than when I started coaching. I enjoy being around this age group. My wife and I — she has 600 wins, too — we've enjoyed every bit of being on college campuses our entire career and we've loved every bit of it."
Sitting in the postgame interview room in a black shirt, ninth-year Kansas State women's basketball head coach Jeff Mittie basked in a shining accomplishment following a season-opening 83-43 win over Central Arkansas at Bramlage Coliseum.
Mittie earned his 600th victory in a career spanning 31 years.
"Honestly, when I first got into coaching, I wanted to win every game," Mittie said. "I kind of couldn't figure out when it would be OK to lose. You're in it long enough that you lose some and you win some, but I do take pride in the fact that during my career my assistant coaches, the players we've recruited, have all rallied to have good seasons and play in the postseason."
Mittie, who has earned five Conference Coach of the Year awards and has captured nine league title in four different conferences, was presented with a ceremonious basketball at midcourt surrounded by his players following the win on Monday.
He becomes just the 16th active coach in NCAA Division I to reach 600 victories.
"Six-hundred?" he said. "I think as you are in the profession longer you probably learn to appreciate it a little bit more. I've really enjoyed my time here at K-State. I've really enjoyed the fanbase here."
Mittie is 600-345 overall, including 146-110 at K-State, where he has taken the Wildcats to four NCAA Tournaments. Last season, K-State finished 20-13 overall and 9-9 in the Big 12 Conference while playing one of the most difficult schedules in school history and facing a school-record 11 AP Top 15 opponents.
Recording a winning season in 28 of 30 seasons as a head coach, Mittie has guided his teams to 17 20-win seasons and 21 postseason appearances.
Mittie capped the 2018-19 season by becoming just the second head coach in school history to start a tenure with five straight postseason appearances. Mittie earned his 100th victory at K-State on March 9, 2019 and is just the fourth K-State head coach to reach 100 victories in Manhattan.
K-State's 23 victories in 2016-17 marked its most wins in a season since 2007-08. He reached his 500th victory on December 4, 2016. During his first season in 2014-15, Mittie led K-State to a 19-14 record and a Postseason WNIT appearance. The eight-win improvement from the previous season marked the third-highest improvement from one season to the next in school history. His 10-1 start at K-State matched the best start ever by a K-State head coach.
Prior to his arrival at K-State in 2013-14, Mittie compiled a 303-175 record in 15 seasons at TCU while exceeding the win total the program accomplished in the first 22 seasons of existence. He reached his 300th victory at TCU on February 19, 2014.
He also went 75-42 during four seasons at Arkansas State and 76-17 during three seasons at Missouri Western. His teams at Missouri Western went 16-11, 29-3 and 31-3.
For his efforts, Mittie earned 2010 Mountain West Coach of the Year, 2002 Conference USA Coach of the Year, 2001 WAC Coach of the Year, and 1994 and 1995 MIAA Coach of the Year.
"I just love coaching," Mittie said. "I don't think the 18- to 22-year-olds have changed that much. I hear coaches talk about this generation has changed. I think the world has changed in some areas, but they haven't changed. They want to have fun in college and get a degree and have fun playing basketball and compete. None of those things have really changed.
"Coaching them has changed because a lot of things in their world are different than when I started coaching. I enjoy being around this age group. My wife and I — she has 600 wins, too — we've enjoyed every bit of being on college campuses our entire career and we've loved every bit of it."
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