Jacey Brooks ready to tackle the job of boosting NIU's women's basketball program
DEKALB, Ill. (WTVO/WQRF) — The women's basketball program at Northern Illinois University is getting a reset. The Huskies have undergone a coaching change.Lisa Carlsen resigned a couple weeks ago. Jacey Brooks was quickly hired to replace her.Brooks was introduced to media, alumni and NIU supporters Wednesday afternoon in DeKalb. She spent the last two seasons at fellow MAC school the University at Buffalo. She just helped Buffalo win the Women's NIT last weekend.Brooks has also been an assistant coach at Bowling Green, Canisius and St. Bonaventure. She was the head coach at NCAA D3 SUNY Cortland from 2018-2023. Under her guidance, SUNY Cortland made three NCAA Division III Tournament appearances.She is taking over an NIU program that hasn't had a winning season since 2018-19.'Thank you to Vice President and Director of Athletics Sean T. Frazer and Senior Associate Athletic Director Chris Barker. This is just a tremendous honor to lead this program,' said Brooks during her press conference. 'You both trust in my vision of getting this program back to prominence, and I won't let you down.'She also addressed several of the nine returning players at NIU who were in attendance who play to remain at NIU.'I will say that each and every day we are going to play hard. We are going to play together and we're going to have fun.' 'We have a lot of work to do, and we're going to be passionate about what we do.'Brooks is from New York State. She played basketball at Buffalo State University. She will also oversee NIU's transition from the MAC to the Horizon League in 2026-27.
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