The Register Citizen (Torrington, CT)
The end of an era
UConn’s record-setting coach Nancy Stevens announces retirement
The numbers retiring UConn field hockey coach Nancy Stevens put together during her legendary run with the Huskies was barely mentioned when she informed her stunned players of her decision in a Friday afternoon video conference call and met with the media through the same platform a couple of hours later.
Stevens — who announced that she would be staying with the UConn program as a volunteer assistant as Paul Caddy is promoted from associate head coach to Stevens’ replacement as the Huskies’ head coach — won more games than any other NCAA field hockey coach between her stints at Franklin & Marshall, Northwestern and UConn. She led the Huskies to 10 Final Fours and national titles in 2013, 2014 and 2017. Her retirement will become official Sept. 1.
“I’m at peace with the decision,” Stevens said. “I think it’s the right time and I feel I have the full support of our team, my administration and Paul and [UConn assistant coach] Cheri [Schulz].”
Stevens cited COVID-19 and the fact that there will be no field hockey season in the fall for UConn as factors in her decision to step away from her head coaching responsibilities now.
Stevens admitted there was a sense of shock among her players when she informed them of her decision but once she let them know that Caddy would be head coach and that she would remain as a volunteer assistant, the collective sense of anxiety quickly subsided.
“I’ve had a number of my players call me today after the release, my national champions, my captains,” Stevens said. “I’ve gotten a lot of emails, texts and I’ve been able to speak with some of them before the announcement came out and that is the most important thing, those relationships and those memories that we share. As we tell our national champions, we walk through history together.
“Boy, don’t we have to sit back sometimes and think about how lucky we are