Christianne Geiger Gobrecht (born February 9, 1955) is an American basketball coach who was most recently the head coach of the United States Air Force Academy women's basketball team.[1] A coach since 1977, she has been a head coach at the high school, junior college, and NCAA levels, and is known for only hiring female assistant coaches in order to protect opportunities for women.[2]

Chris Gobrecht
Gobrecht in 2023
Biographical details
Born (1955-02-09) February 9, 1955 (age 69)
Toledo, Ohio
Playing career
1973–1976USC
Coaching career (HC unless noted)
1977–1978Santa Fe Springs HS
1978–1979Pasadena CC
1979–1985Cal State Fullerton
1985–1996Washington
1996–1997Florida State
1997–2004USC
2005–2015Yale
2015–2024Air Force
Head coaching record
Overall
  • 20–4 (.833) (high school)
  • 25–5 (.833) (junior college)
  • 626–662 (.486) (college)
Tournaments
Accomplishments and honors
Championships
Awards
  • 2× Pac-10 Coach of the Year (1987, 1988)
  • MW Coach of the Year (2022)

Coaching career

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Gobrecht began her coaching career at Santa Fe Springs High School for one season before named the head coach at Pasadena City College, where she won a conference championship in her lone season there. She was also the head coach at Cal State Fullerton for six seasons prior to accepting the head coaching position at Washington, where she won two Pac-10 Conference titles and was named Pac-10 coach of the year twice. She was also the head coach at Florida State for one season prior to joining her alma mater USC in 1997. She led the Trojans to two WNIT appearances before she was fired at the end of the 2003–04 season.[3] Gobrecht took the 2004–05 season off to spend time with family, accepting the head coaching position at Yale in 2005.[4]

Gobrecht was named the head coach at Air Force on April 14, 2015.[5] She signed a contract extension after the 2017–18 season that extended her contract through the 2022–23 season.[6]

In 2022, the Mountain West Conference named Gobrecht the Coach of the Year in women's basketball after Air Force finished the regular season 17–12 (11–7 MW), the program's first winning season since it moved from Division II to Division I in 1996.[7] After advancing to the second round of the 2022 Women's National Invitation Tournament, Air Force finished the 2021–22 season 19–12 overall.[8]

On April 1, 2024, Gobrecht announced her retirement from coaching after a 44-year college basketball career.[9]

Head coaching record

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Statistics overview
Season Team Overall Conference Standing Postseason
Cal State Fullerton Titans (Pacific Coast Athletic Association) (1979–1985)
1979–80 Cal State Fullerton 7–23 2–10
1980–81 Cal State Fullerton 10–20 2–10 6th
1981–82 Cal State Fullerton 18–12 3–9 6th
1982–83 Cal State Fullerton 13–15 3–11 6th
1983–84 Cal State Fullerton 17–11 7–7 4th
1984–85 Cal State Fullerton 19–11 8–6 5th NWIT Fifth Place
Cal State Fullerton: 84–92 (.477) 25–53 (.321)
Washington Huskies (Northern Pacific Conference) (1985–1986)
1985–86 Washington 24–6 11–2 1st NCAA Division I Second Round
Washington Huskies (Pac-10 Conference) (1986–1996)
1986–87 Washington 23–7 14–4 2nd NCAA Division I Second Round
1987–88 Washington 25–5 16–2 1st NCAA Division I Sweet Sixteen
1988–89 Washington 23–10 15–3 2nd NCAA Division I Second Round
1989–90 Washington 28–3 17–1 1st NCAA Division I Elite Eight
1990–91 Washington 24–5 15–3 2nd NCAA Division I Sweet Sixteen
1991–92 Washington 17–11 9–9 6th
1992–93 Washington 17–12 11–7 3rd NCAA Division I Second Round
1993–94 Washington 21–8 12–6 4th NCAA Division I Second Round
1994–95 Washington 25–9 13–5 2nd NCAA Division I Sweet Sixteen
1995–96 Washington 16–13 10–8 T–3rd
Washington: 243–89 (.732) 143–50 (.741)
Florida State Seminoles (Atlantic Coast Conference) (1996–1997)
1996–97 Florida State 5–22 0–16 9th
Florida State: 5–22 (.185) 0–16 (.000)
USC Trojans (Pac-10 Conference) (1997–2004)
1997–98 USC 12–15 7–11 6th
1998–99 USC 7–20 3–15 T–9th
1999–2000 USC 16–14 10–8 T–6th WNIT Second Round
2000–01 USC 13–15 8–10 T–6th
2001–02 USC 16–14 11–7 T–4th WNIT Second Round
2002–03 USC 14–17 8–10 T–5th
2003–04 USC 15–13 11–7 T–3rd
USC: 93–108 (.463) 58–68 (.460)
Yale Bulldogs (Ivy League) (2005–2015)
2005–06 Yale 3–24 2–12 8th
2006–07 Yale 12–16 5–9 6th
2007–08 Yale 9–18 7–7 T–4th
2008–09 Yale 11–17 4–10 7th
2009–10 Yale 13–15 8–6 4th
2010–11 Yale 14–15 10–4 T–2nd WNIT First Round
2011–12 Yale 16–12 8–6 3rd
2012–13 Yale 13–15 8–6 4th
2013–14 Yale 13–15 7–7 4th
2014–15 Yale 13–15 7–7 4th
Yale: 117–162 (.419) 66–74 (.471)
Air Force Falcons (Mountain West Conference) (2015–2024)
2015–16 Air Force 1–29 1–17 11th
2016–17 Air Force 4–25 2–16 11th
2017–18 Air Force 6–25 5–13 10th
2018–19 Air Force 8–22 4–14 10th
2019–20 Air Force 10–21 7–11 T–6th
2020–21 Air Force 8–18 4–14 9th
2021–22 Air Force 19–14 11–7 5th WNIT Second Round
2022–23 Air Force 13–18 8–10 7th
2023–24 Air Force 15–17 8–10 8th
Air Force: 84–189 (.308) 50–112 (.309)
Total: 626–662 (.486)

      National champion         Postseason invitational champion  
      Conference regular season champion         Conference regular season and conference tournament champion
      Division regular season champion       Division regular season and conference tournament champion
      Conference tournament champion

Personal life

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Gobrecht was married to Bob Gobrecht, who died in 2018 from an undisclosed illness.[10] The couple had two children; Eric and Mady. Eric attended the Air Force Academy and is a Major stationed at Beale Air Force Base in California, while Mady played for her mother at Yale and is currently a nurse in Colorado Springs.[11]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Women's Basketball Head Coach Chris Gobrecht announces retirement". Air Force Academy Athletics. Retrieved April 1, 2024.
  2. ^ "Air Force women's basketball coach Chris Gobrecht explains female-only hiring philosophy for assistants". Colorado Springs Gazette. Retrieved July 28, 2021.
  3. ^ "Women's Basketball Coach Chris Gobrecht Relieved Of Duties". USC Athletics. Retrieved July 28, 2021.
  4. ^ "Gobrecht uses family time to reflect, rejuvenate". Seattle Times. Retrieved July 28, 2021.
  5. ^ "Air Force hires Chris Gobrecht as women's basketball coach". USA Today. Retrieved July 28, 2021.
  6. ^ "Chris Gobrecht Receives Contract Extension". Air Force Academy Athletics. Retrieved July 28, 2021.
  7. ^ "Mountain West Announces 2021-22 Women's Basketball All-Conference Team and Individual Awards". Mountain West Conference. March 6, 2022. Retrieved March 21, 2022.
  8. ^ "2021-22 Women's Basketball Schedule". U.S. Air Force Academy. Retrieved March 21, 2022.
  9. ^ Briggeman, Brent (April 1, 2024). "Air Force's Chris Gobrecht announces retirement after 44 years of coaching in women's college basketball". Colorado Springs Gazette. Retrieved September 8, 2024.
  10. ^ "Career path, life experiences crafted Chris Gobrecht into coach to finally succeed with Air Force women's basketball". Colorado Springs Gazette. Retrieved July 28, 2021.
  11. ^ "Yale's Gobrechts share special bond". Fox Sports. Retrieved July 28, 2021.
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