Julie Goodenough enters her 14th year leading the Abilene Christian women’s basketball program in 2025-26 and is the longest-tenured coach on the Wildcats’ athletic staff. The Big Country native has ushered ACU into its Division I era with a 250-143 record since being named the sixth head coach of the Wildcats on March 27, 2012. Goodenough immediately transformed a program hindered by consecutive losing campaigns into conference champions, tallying six 20-win seasons, three regular season conference titles and one conference tournament championship at ACU. Goodenough has steered the Wildcats to five postseason tournaments, including a 2019 trip to the NCAA Tournament in just the program’s sixth Division I season. With the second-most wins in program history, trailing Burl McCoy’s 299, ACU has experienced a winning season in all but one year under her leadership.

A veteran head coach with over 30 years of experience and more than 500 wins to her name, Goodenough’s players have earned plenty of hardware through all-conference recognition. Across three leagues, she has coached 25 all-conference Wildcats alongside two Southland Conference Players of the Year. Alexis Mason received the honor in 2016 before Breanna Wright took home the accolade in 2020. Six players have earned all-defensive team accolades while three were named to the WAC All-Newcomer Team. Goodenough coached Jamie Bonnarens to WAC Newcomer of the Year distinction in 2022 before Payton Hull collected WAC Freshman of the Year honors in 2024. Student-athlete success under Goodenough has continued off the court, as a collective 50 ACU women’s basketball student-athletes have garnered academic all-conference awards since 2013. The 2023-24 Wildcats earned the No. 11 spot on the WBCA Academic Honor Roll with a team grade point average of 3.715.

A New Era

Goodenough guided ACU to its deepest postseason run in the program’s 12-year Division I history in 2024-25. The Wildcats reached the Super 16 round of the Women’s National Invitation Tournament for the first time ever, building a 22-13 record with a 9-7 mark in Western Athletic Conference play. ACU accrued its most victories, highest overall winning percentage and highest conference winning percentage since 2020. Four-year veteran Bella Earle led the charge on the All-WAC First Team and WAC All-Defensive Team, while sophomore Meredith Mayes was an All-WAC Second Team selection. The Wildcats made a living on the defensive side of the ball, forcing the 14th-most turnovers in the nation at 21.5 per game and ranked 30th with 10.5 steals.

Hull burst onto the college basketball scene in 2023-24 as the WAC Freshman of the Year to headline the 14-16 season. She was named to the All-WAC Second Team alongside Earle after leading the league with 79 three-pointers and a 35.3% clip from long range. The Peaster, Texas product’s 57 three-point makes in conference play were tied for the second-most in WAC history.

ACU’s 2022-23 campaign featured a 15-15 record with a 9-9 mark in WAC action. Goodenough reached a career milestone during the regular season, picking up her 500th win on Feb. 16, 2023 against Tarleton State. Two Wildcats received All-Conference awards, as Ouachita Baptist transfer Aspen Thornton and Northeastern State transfer Maleeah Langstaff each earned a spot on the All-WAC Newcomer Team, while Langstaff was also named to the All-WAC First Team.

Goodenough and ACU launched a successful debut in the WAC in 2021-22 as they played their games in the Teague Special Events Center for the second season in a row. The Wildcats launched a 17-13 campaign that saw them go 9-9 against conference opponents. They won the Oral Roberts Thanksgiving Tournament as Colorado State transfer Bonnarens became ACU’s first-ever All-WAC honoree on the First Team. She was named the WAC Newcomer of the Year after averaging 15.1 points and 5.0 rebounds per game.

Southland Success

The 2020-21 campaign featured game cancellations, COVID-19 testing and a once-in-a-generation snowstorm in the Wildcats’ final season in the Southland Conference. ACU still finished over .500 at 14-13 and qualified for the postseason, earning a trip to the Women's Basketball Invitational in Frankfort, Ky. as Alyssa Adams and Anna McLeod each garnered All-Southland Second Team honors. For the second season in a row, the Wildcats boasted the league’s highest free throw percentage at 75.8%.

In 2019-20, Goodenough followed 2019’s NCAA Tournament campaign with her fifth 20-win season at ACU and fourth at the Division I level. The Wildcats went 24-5 in the regular season with a 16-4 mark in Southland play before the season was shut down before the conference tournament due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Nonetheless, Wright produced one of the most highly-decorated campaigns in program history, earning Southland Player of the Year and Student-Athlete of the Year honors. The Jarrell, Texas native succeeded on and off the court, with berths on the All-Southland First Team and All-Southland Academic First Team. Wright led the Southland in scoring with 18.1 points and 5.1 assists per game while knocking down 85.9% of her free throws. Her teammate, Lexie Ducat, touted the best field goal percentage in the league at 58.6%. Wright was joined on the First Team by Dominique Golightly, as ACU’s two leading scorers powered the league’s top scoring offense at 80.0 points per game. The Wildcats also paced the conference in field goal percentage at 48.7% with a 74.7% free throw clip.

Under Goodenough, ACU’s 2018-19 campaign was one of the most successful in program history, culminating in the school's first-ever Southland Conference Tournament title and a berth in the NCAA Tournament in just its sixth season at the Division I level. The Wildcats won each of their three games in the conference tournament, capping it with a thrilling one-point victory over Texas A&M-Corpus Christi to punch their ticket to the Big Dance. Wright was named the tournament MVP. ACU fell to Baylor in the opening round in the Bears’ first step to a national title. Wright and Golightly represented the Wildcats on the All-Southland Second Team, while Sara Williamson was a Third Team selection. ACU led the league in field goal percentage at 45.8% and rebound margin at +5.9 as Williamson topped the conference with a 61.7% field goal rate. In May 2019, Goodenough was inducted into the Big Country Hall of Fame in recognition of her accomplishments at ACU and Hardin-Simmons.

The 2017-18 season saw the Wildcats officially become postseason eligible with the conclusion of ACU’s four-year Division I transition period. After winning their first six Southland games, they went 9-9 through the conference slate on their way to their first Southland Tournament, beating New Orleans in the opening round. At the 16-14 season’s end, Wright earned her first career All-Conference accolade on the All-Southland Third Team.

Goodenough and the Wildcats put themselves on the map in the Southland with an incredible two-year run that featured back-to-back regular season conference championships in the 2015-16 and 2016-17 campaigns. The Wildcats produced a 23-9 record in 2016-17 while winning 16 of 18 Southland matchups en route to their second consecutive WNIT berth. There, ACU picked up its first postseason victory in Division I history by taking down Oklahoma State, 66-56, in Goodenough’s old Stillwater, Okla. stomping grounds. Three Wildcats earned All-Southland accolades, as Suzzy Dimba made the First Team and the All-Defensive Team for the fourth season in a row. Mason was named to the Second Team and Lizzy Dimba received Third Team recognition. ACU boasted the conference’s best rebound margin at +8.3 as Suzzy Dimba led the league with 47 blocks and Mason was third in the country with 3.4 three-pointers per game. Following the season, Goodenough earned the Fellowship of Christian Athletes’ Kay Yow “Heart of a Coach” Award. The honor, named after the late North Carolina State women’s basketball coach Kay Yow, is presented annually to honor a basketball coach that has exemplified biblical principles over the course of their career. Through their Division I transition period, the Wildcats went 84-37 (.694) with 50 wins against conference foes.

The 2015-16 campaign will be remembered as one of the most successful in team history and proved ACU was ahead of schedule in just its third season at the Division I level. The Wildcats tore through the Southland Conference with a 17-1 mark to capture their first Division I regular season title en route to a 26-4 record. Goodenough was named the Southland Coach of the Year, while Mason received Player of the Year honors from the league, becoming the first Wildcat to do so since 2001. Goodenough later received Chuck Moser Coach of the Year honors from the Rotary Club of Abilene and the Texas Association of Basketball Coaches. ACU made its first Division I postseason tournament appearance and met 26-4 UTEP in the WNIT. 

Mason was joined on the All-Conference squad by Suzzy Dimba on the Second Team, while Sydney Shelstead made the Third Team for the second year in a row. Dimba made her third appearance on the All-Defensive Team after collecting 2.5 steals, 1.9 blocks and 7.7 rebounds per game. The Wildcats were charged by the Southland’s top offense at 75.1 points per game as each starter averaged 10 points or more. Mason tallied 17.5 points at 42.8% with a 35.7% mark from three-point range. Along the way, the Wildcats built their longest Division I win streak at 14 games and entered the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association poll for the first time ever, reaching No. 23.

In its first two seasons in the Division I ranks, Goodenough and ACU built a 35-24 record with a 17-15 mark against Southland Conference opponents. The Wildcats went 17-12 in the 2014-15 campaign and, after dropping five of their first six conference games, rattled off nine wins in their final 13 matchups of the season to finish at .500 in Southland play. Suzzy Dimba and Shelstead garnered All-Southland Third Team honors, with Suzzy Dimba also earning a spot on the All-Defensive Team with a league-high 2.6 steals per game. Each ACU starter averaged 10 points or more per game.

The Wildcats began their Division I maiden voyage with the 2013-14 campaign and finished seventh in the 14-team Southland Conference with an 8-6 record. ACU’s 18-12 record tied for the league’s third-best winning percentage at .600 as it beat UT Arlington, 79-72, on Nov. 27, 2013 for its first win over a Division I program since 1993. Less than a month later, the Wildcats earned one of the biggest wins in school history with a 58-57 takedown of Texas Tech in Lubbock. They closed the season with wins in five of their last six games, including four Southland victories. Suzzy Dimba made her first of four consecutive appearances on the conference’s All-Defensive Team.

Going Out on a High Note

Goodenough took the helm of an ACU program entering its final season at the Division II level in 2012 and inherited a roster featuring many of the same players from the previous year’s meager 12-14 campaign. She maximized her team’s talents as the Wildcats went on to share the Lone Star Conference regular season title with Midwestern State at 16-4. ACU was picked to finish seventh, but rejected the naysayers with an overall mark of 21-7 for the program’s first 20-win season since 2004-05. The Wildcats also accepted their 12th bid to the NCAA Division II South Central Region Tournament, marking their first appearance since 2008-09.

The turnaround earned Goodenough co-Coach of the Year honors from the conference, making her the sixth ACU coach to earn the title. Three players were named All-Conference Wildcats and point guard Whitney (West) Swinford was voted the league’s Freshman of the Year. Three seasons later, she became the first Wildcat student-athlete across all sports to win both a Lone Star and Southland Conference team championship. Mackenzie Lankford grabbed First Team recognition, Renata Marquez landed on the Second Team and Kelsey Smith received Honorable Mention accolades.

The Wildcats ranked 12th nationally in scoring offense at 74.8 points per game during their final Division II season and averaged the seventh-most three-point field goals per game with 8.4. ACU also possessed one of the nation’s best defenses as evidenced by its 16th-ranked scoring margin and 23rd-ranked field goal percentage defense. Opponents struggled year-round from beyond the arc, as the Wildcats boasted the country’s third-best three-point field goal defense.

Big Country Legend

Goodenough’s 10-plus-year tenure at ACU isn’t her first coaching stop in Abilene. The Haskell, Texas product got her start in college coaching in 1993 down Ambler Avenue at Hardin-Simmons University, where she led the Cowgirls for nine seasons. Goodenough guided them to the Division III Elite Eight in 2000 with a 27-2 mark. Two seasons later, Hardin-Simmons went 26-2 and made its third Sweet 16 appearance under Goodenough. That year, the Cowgirls led Division III in home attendance. She was a 2007 inductee into the Hardin-Simmons Sports Hall of Fame in recognition of her 188-54 record, leaving as the winningest coach in school history while overseeing its transition from NAIA to Division III in 1996. Goodenough’s last four Cowgirl squads advanced to the Division III Sweet 16 after she coached them to the NAIA national tournament in her first two seasons. She was the five-time conference coach of the year and two-time South Region Coach of the Year. 

Hardin-Simmons captured seven Trans-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association and American Southwest Conference titles under Goodenough, including in each of her final five seasons. Her teams won the first four ASC Tournaments in league history. Goodenough’s last six teams were recognized in the nation’s top 15 teams in GPA. Goodenough coached three All-America selections, 34 All-Conference selections, 12 Academic All-Americans and 46 Academic All-Conference selections with a 100% graduation rate. Goodenough also served as an assistant athletic director and senior women’s administrator at Hardin-Simmons and was a member of the NCAA Rules Committee.

Following her successful run with the Hardin-Simmons Cowgirls, Goodenough made the jump from Division III to Division I to lead the Cowgirls of Oklahoma State in 2002. There, she coached 2004 Big 12 Newcomer of the Year Nina Stone, who earned All-Conference Honorable Mention accolades in 2005. Trisha Skibbe was named to the All-Big 12 Second Team in Goodenough’s first season in 2003. She attracted the nation’s 19th-ranked recruiting class to Oklahoma State and coached games in front of five of the 10 largest crowds in program history at the time, including the largest crowd to ever watch a home basketball matchup. Goodenough led Oklahoma State to wins over top-10 opponents Texas Tech and Arkansas.

After three seasons with the Cowgirls, Goodenough left the Lone Star State to become the head coach at Charleston Southern in 2006. Taking over a program that boasted just two winning seasons from 1976 to 2006, Goodenough matched that total in six years on the job. The Buccaneers made a pair of appearances in the Women’s Basketball Invitational as part of two winning seasons in Goodenough’s final three years with the team. The initial tournament berth in 2010 marked Charleston Southern’s first-ever postseason appearance, while its 17 wins were one shy of tying the school record. The 2011-12 campaign featured an upset win at Clemson, the program’s second-ever trip to the Big South Tournament semifinals and another WBI berth. The Buccaneers again tallied 17 wins, giving Goodenough a 48-45 record in her final three seasons in Charleston, S.C. She coached eight players to All-Big South honors, including 2011 Player of the Year Katie Tull, who led the nation in three-point shooting. Charleston Southern saw four players earn All-Freshman Team distinction and six Buccaneers make the All-Academic Team under Goodenough’s watch.

Prior to being named head coach at Hardin-Simmons, Goodenough served in coaching stints at Texas Tech, UT Arlington and Lubbock Christian. She began her collegiate career at Western Texas College, where she was a two-year captain of the women’s basketball team. Goodenough received All-Conference honors as the league’s assist leader and was named the school’s Outstanding Female Student and Outstanding Academic Athlete. She earned an Associate’s degree in pre-physical therapy in 1989. Goodenough then transferred to UT Arlington, where she was a two-year captain and ranked 13th on the school’s all-time scoring list by the end of her playing career. She garnered 1991 Second Team All-Southland accolades after leading the Mavericks in scoring, field goals and minutes played and was named UT Arlington’s Scholar-Athlete of the Year.

Goodenough graduated from UT Arlington in 1992 with a Bachelor’s in exercise science and earned her Masters of Education in sports administration from Texas Tech in 1993. The former Julie Roewe and her husband, Rob, have two daughters, Bailey and Macy.