Stillwater, Okla., wasn't
Julie Goodenough's first rodeo.
But heading back there 15 years later to lead Abilene Christian University into a women's basketball battle against against her former team, Goodenough admits the bull was bigger than she thought.
"I honestly had no clue," she recalls, "about the vast difference between coaching in the Big 12 and the American Southwest Conference."
In April 2002, after guiding Division III Hardin-Simmons University to 188 wins, seven conference titles and six trips to the national playoffs, Goodenough left Abilene for the bright lights and big expectations of the Big 12 Conference. At 33, she was the youngest head coach in Division I.
"I loved my job at HSU and had not really thought about leaving," Goodenough says. "When the opportunity to coach at Oklahoma State presented itself, I was so excited and unbelievably thankful. Based on my success at HSU, I was totally confident I could turn the OSU program around."
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