Berenato brings new hope to Pitt

Three months ago, Agnus Berenato was enjoying the aftermath of Georgia Tech’s most… Three months ago, Agnus Berenato was enjoying the aftermath of Georgia Tech’s most successful women’s basketball season in her 15-year tenure as the school’s head coach.

In 2002-2003, the Yellow Jackets upset rival Georgia, won 20 games and advanced to their first NCAA Women’s Tournament under Berenato. The future looked even brighter for Berenato and the Yellow Jackets, because they lost only one player to graduation and boasted a nationally ranked recruiting class.

Three months ago, Berenato’s two sons were facing major academic transitions. Her oldest son, Andy, was preparing to graduate from high school and attend Tech in the fall, and her youngest son, Joey, was making the move from eighth grade to high school.

Three months ago, words like “Primanti’s,” “Cathedral of Learning” and “Petersen Events Center” were unknown to Berenato. She had never been to Pittsburgh, and, in her own words, “didn’t even know that Pittsburgh was on water.”

So what caused Berenato to leave her home of 15 years and become the new head coach of women’s basketball at Pitt?

“The big thing was timing,” Berenato said. “When Pitt first called me, to be honest, I had no interest in moving; I was a lifer at Georgia Tech. But they called several times, and finally I spoke to them”I think it was just the overwhelming sense that they wanted somebody to come up here that would really care about the program, care about the athletic department and care about the community,” she said. The administration was so committed to women’s basketball, and I am so excited and so thankful to Chancellor [Mark] Nordenberg and [senior associate athletic director] Carol Sprague for having the courage to hire me.”

Although Berenato was a tough sell, there were several other factors that brought her to Pitt.

Berenato has family ties to the area: She is a native of Gloucester City, N.J., a Philadelphia suburb. Her daughter, Theresa, attends Loyola University in Baltimore, and with her two sons changing schools anyway, she didn’t have to worry about the academic and social effects of relocating.

“I would have never left Tech unless it was a comparable conference, and obviously the Big East is a great conference,” Berenato said. “I also needed a comparable city. I’m a city girl – Pittsburgh and Atlanta.”

Growing up, Berenato was one of 10 siblings. She says that the values she learned as a member of a large, caring family helped shape not only who she is as a coach, but also as a human being.

“I think family has made me who I am,” Berenato said. “Coaching is simply what I do. My values and my beliefs are who I am. God and family come first in my life, and my career is second. When you are raised with 10 kids, you learn that no one is more important than anyone else.”

Berenato attended Mount St. Mary’s College in Emmitsburg, Md., where she was a three-year starter on the basketball team. Shortly after graduating in 1980, she took the head-coaching job at Rider University in Trenton, N.J. In her first season at Rider, Berenato led the Broncos to a 26-7 record, the best in school history. After compiling a 60-55 record in four seasons at Rider, Berenato left the school in 1985 to care for her ailing mother.

Berenato returned to coaching in 1986 as an assistant for Georgia Tech. For two years, she was in charge of recruiting and frontcourt coaching for the Yellow Jackets, under her sister, Theresa McGlade.

In 1988, Berenato became Tech’s head basketball coach, and in 15 seasons, she became the school’s all-time winningest coach, amassing a 223-209 record. Berenato led the Yellow Jackets to the 1992 National Women’s Invitational Tournament Championship and has taken Tech to the postseason each of the last four years.

The two-time Georgia Women’s NCAA Division I Coach of the Year is famous for her top-notch recruiting classes, and she says that Pitt’s fertile recruiting base was another factor in her move. She plans to recruit both locally and internationally.

“Academically, we have a multitude of majors,” Berenato said. “Pittsburgh has an international airport, and our academics are known internationally. And we have, without a doubt, the finest playing facility in the nation. These are all great recruiting selling points.”

But the task of turning the Pitt women’s basketball program around won’t be easy for Berenato. The Panthers finished 4-12 in Big East play last season and Pitt lost four impact seniors in guards Laine Selwyn and Brooke Stewart and forwards Dallas Williams and Mandy Wittenmyer.

“I can tell you we have 30 points and 11 rebounds coming back from last year’s team,” Berenato said. “The graduating class walked out with 40 points and 22 rebounds.”

“I haven’t really seen the underclassmen play, I’ll be honest with you, because even if we put in a videotape, they’re not on it. They didn’t play last season. But I really like them as people, and I know that the student-athletes at the University of Pittsburgh will be committed to getting a good academic degree and performing at a high level.”

Berenato’s enthusiasm for turning the program around extends to her work off the court. She believes that community outreach is as important of a part of building a program as winning, and she admits that raising attendance will be crucial to Pitt women’s basketball’s overall success.

” I’m not coming in here with rose-colored glasses, thinking we’re going to upset everybody right away,” Berenato said. “I’m very realistic; however, we are already starting to win, because we’re winning within the community.”

“I really believe that this will be the best kept secret in Pittsburgh, and that, in the future, we will get people in the stands because we will motivate and we will be exciting.”