Head Coach Claudette Charney

           The longest-tenured and winningest coach in GLIAC women's basketball history hit a new peak in her career in 2008-09.

          Claudette Charney just completed her seventh season as head coach of the Chargers, and capped the school's best-ever season with a GLIAC Tournament championship. While the title was the second for Hillsdale, it was the first for Charney, who has left a legacy of excellence and success throughought her 20-plus years of coaching in the conference.

         Charney began her career in basketball as a player at Saginaw Valley State University, as well as Grand Valley State University.  Charney’s legacy as a player still holds true today; she remains on Grand Valley’s top ten lists in both scoring and rebounding.  During her colligate career, Charney was named a GTE CoSIDA Academic All-American in 1980, and was also inducted into GVSU’s Athletic Hall of Fame in 1990.  She was team captain and MVP at both SVSU and GVSU during her career which spanned from 1976-1980.  In addition to this, Charney is one of only two female college basketball players in the state of Michigan to score 2,000 points in a career.  In the years following her time as a player, Charney has continued to build a resume that has spanned more than twenty years of coaching women’s basketball in the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference.

            During her coaching history, Charney has had the opportunity to coach several All-American players, and has continually led her teams to coveted levels of sustained success.  Charney began her coaching career at Muskegon Community College where she won 45 games in three seasons.  Following her time at Muskegon, Charney moved to Alma College for a year where she compiled an impressive 18-6 record while finishing third in the NCAA Division III Regional Tournament. 

            Charney moved from Alma College to join the Division II ranks at Saginaw Valley State where she rang up an impressive 196 victories in ten seasons.  She is currently SVSU’s all-time winningest coach.  During her time at Saginaw, Charney’s teams continually made it to the NAIA National Tournament, finishing fifth in 1987.  This was followed up by a trip to the NCAA Division II Sweet 16 during the 1993-1994 season.  Following her time at Saginaw, Charney shifted over to Grand Valley for seven seasons, leading the Lakers to a banner year in 1997-1998 where the team achieved a record of 23-5.  Charney had an immediate impact upon taking over at Hillsdale College in 2003, leading the Chargers to a 23-6 record and a GLIAC South Division title as well as a berth in the NCAA Division II Tournament. 

            In 2007-08, Charney guided the Chargers to their third appearance in the NCAA Tournament, and a GLIAC South Division championship, compiling a 15-2 GLIAC record and an overall mark of 23-5.
           Coach Charney's 452 career wins rank her among the top 12 most successful Division II women's basketball coaches in the nation. Over the past two years, Charney has led the Chargers to their three best records in program history, including 27-4 in 2008-09. Along the way, she coached Katie Cezat to back-to-back GLIAC PLayer of the Year awards, and her teams have always been well-represented on All-Conference and All-Region teams.
           Charney has compiled an impressive resume over her career, a career highlighted by five NCAA tournament appearances.  In addition to leading Grand Valley to the GLIAC North Division title in 1998, Charney was named the GLIAC Coach of the Year in 1987 and 1998.  During the 2006-07 season, Charney reached the 400 Win Club while leading the Chargers to a 19-9 record and a trip to the GLIAC Conference Championship game.  In addition to coaching, she is pursuing a Master’s of Science Degree in Administration with a concentration in Leadership from Central Michigan University.  Charney and her husband, optometrist Dr. Mark Kosciuszko reside in Hillsdale. 

Assistant Coach Tim Wells