Annie Byrne, who coached Marian Catholic to state title, takes over at Prairie State. Method? ‘Put the work in.'
But now that she's the new women's basketball coach at Prairie State, the Joliet Catholic graduate isn't clowning around when it comes to having her new players hit the books.
Byrne, who coached Marian Catholic to a Class 4A state title in 2013, felt the junior college experience helped point her in the right direction. And she wants to do the same for the Pioneers.
'I committed to Western Illinois but didn't clear the NCAA clearinghouse,' she said of her high school days. 'I got a 17 (ACT score) twice. If you are a monkey, you can get an 18.
'But I was a bozo and didn't need to do the stuff academically that I needed to do.'
Connors State, a junior college in Oklahoma, came calling, however. Things then turned around for Byrne, whose maiden name is Basic.
'I achieved wonderfully academically and athletically there and we won a national championship my freshman year,' she said. 'I had a never-give-up attitude and always believed that you can accomplish what you want to accomplish and put the work in.'
She wants to instill that wisdom in her players. Prairie State athletic director Joe Belcaster said that's what made Byrne stand out during the interview process.
'I think that's a great connection — these student-athletes' coach has experienced junior college the same way they have,' Belcaster said. 'She can help them through this process and tell them the do's and don'ts.
'She lived it and can say, 'Look where I am today.'''
After posting a 216-51 record, Byrne resigned as Marian's coach in 2014 to become the director of operations at the Legends Sportsplex in Bourbonnais. She's also co-founder of the Illinois Defenders girls basketball travel program. She earned a master's degree in school leadership from Concordia after graduating from St. Xavier.
Byrne, who lives in Munster, Indiana, said she got the itch to coach again after watching daughters Lucia, 13, and Ellie, 10, play club volleyball and then seeing many of her players again in May when Marian's 2013 girls team was inducted into the Illinois Basketball Coaches Hall of Fame.
'It was fun getting up in front of 600 people and talking about the players,' she said. 'The people you see — it's such a small world. It's such a small arena, even though it's a big arena in the basketball world. It brought back a lot of feelings that are close to our heart.
'I've been out of coaching for a long day, but I am glad I have this opportunity.'
The Pioneers won 20 games under Tanner Kuehn in 2024-25 — the program's first 20-win season since 2013. Byrne is expecting to keep things headed in the right direction.
She confirmed that she wants to build a program that either wins a national championship or is in a position to win a national championship each season.
Before taking over at Marian, Byrne was the coach at Illinois Institute of Technology when she was only 22. Now, at age 44, she will change her style a little bit, but she won't be a shrinking violet.
'I've learned that it's really important that we build up our athletes and it's extremely important that we lift our athletes,' she said. 'But I'm also one of those coaches who will holler at someone the same way I compliment someone.
'Some players adapt to that and some players don't. I've learned to embrace that. Not everyone is going to love that style, but I would rather be that aggressive coach who is very instructive.'
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USA Today
5 days ago
- USA Today
Here's how to improve college football season with plan from Alabama
Alabama's athletic director offered one of the offseason's best ideas for how to improve the college football season – and its playoff selection process. I initially thought Alabama athletic director Greg Byrne's idea for how to tweak the College Football Playoff selection process must be self-serving. After all, most playoff ideas that originate from a university or conference administrator are rooted in self-interest. But, the more I considered Byrne's idea to more greatly reward non-conference strength of schedule during the at-large selection process, the more I liked it. My lasting thought: Byrne suggested a worthwhile idea for how to improve the college football season. This came after I asked Byrne, one of the nation's most prominent athletic directors, last spring how he'd address the playoff. He shared a few thoughts, but he emphasized he felt most passionately about the selection process needing to place additional merit on non-conference strength of schedule. 'I am 100% convinced that (would be) good for the game and everybody around it,' Byrne told me. He's right. Weighting non-conference strength of schedule would encourage Power Four teams to schedule more games fans want to see and media partners want to televise. That's good for the game. The playoff is not broken. Neither is the selection process, subjective and controversial though it is. But, playoff ideas that would boost the season interest me. This idea would do that, by incentivizing schools to schedule better non-conference games. I'd add an addendum to Byrne's suggestion. Don't just value non-conference schedule strength. Value teams that win key interleague games. The March Madness selection process has figured this out better than college football. Consider last basketball season, when the SEC dominated non-conference play, including a 14-2 record in the ACC-SEC challenge. The SEC's NET ranking topped all conferences, and it appropriately qualified 14 of its 16 teams for the tournament. Throughout the postseason, the SEC lived up to the reputation it built during the season. ON CAMPUS: What is the best college football stadium? Our top 25 ranking BAD IDEA: Big Ten's playoff plan a recipe to make season worse, not better Byrne, who serves on the NCAA men's tournament selection committee, says he pays particular attention to non-conference metrics as he partakes in the selection process. 'One of the first things I look at is non-conference strength of schedule in men's basketball,' Byrne said, 'because I think that's good for men's basketball to have it not be just a January to March sport.' Again, he's right. Likewise, wouldn't it be better if college football's September docket featured more non-conference blockbusters like Texas-Ohio State or LSU-Clemson, while reducing the number of games like Houstin Christian-Nebraska and Austin Peay-Georgia? The abundance of lopsided, lackluster non-conference games creates a drag on the regular season. Too many coaches and their bosses gravitate toward the path of least resistance, after seeing that strategy rewarded. The past two national champions, Ohio State and Michigan, finished on top after neither played a Power Four non-conference opponent. Penn State crafted a similar road map for this year. The Nittany Lions will begin the season by chowing down on Nevada, Florida International and Villanova. Indiana wriggled into the playoff last season after rolling through a non-conference feast of Florida International, Western Illinois and Charlotte. The Hoosiers recently doubled down on this strategy, adjusting their future non-conference schedules to make them as easy as possible. Washington coach Jedd Fisch called Indiana's strategy of playing three non-conference nobodies 'dead-on right.' It's doggone pathetic, too, and it doesn't stop with Indiana. Big Ten, SEC teams among those seeking out cupcakes Big Ten teams will play four times as many MAC foes as they will SEC opponents. SEC teams will square off against the Ohio Valley as often as they'll face the Big 12. Six Big Ten teams won't play a single non-conference game against either a Power Four opponent or Notre Dame. Alabama, Florida and South Carolina are the only SEC teams that will play two Power Four non-conference games, for a total of 10 games against Power Four competition. The rest of the conference opted for additional patsies. Teams might lose their appetite for cupcakes if the playoff committee more heavily weighted non-conference metrics. And, if teams stiffened their non-league schedules, that would assist the committee's task of evaluating at-large playoff contenders. How might this idea affect playoff selection? If non-conference metrics had been more heavily weighted last season, that might have exposed Indiana, one of the last at-large teams admitted into the field. The Hoosiers didn't bother to play a Power Four non-conference opponent. The committee admitted Indiana thanks to its 11-1 record and its avoidance of a bad loss. If non-conference results had been more greatly valued, a 10-2 BYU team that beat SMU, a playoff qualifier, might have appealed more to the committee. Two-loss Miami, which beat Florida at The Swamp, also would have merited a stronger look. Three-loss South Carolina could have gained more of a boost from winning at Clemson, the ACC's champion. Now, let's revisit my original thought: Would adding weight to non-conference schedule strength be self-serving for Alabama? Perhaps. Starting this year, through 2034, Alabama has two games scheduled per season against either Power Four non-conference opponents or Notre Dame. Adding playoff selection value specific to non-conference metrics might therefore accelerate Alabama in bubble situations. But, shouldn't we want teams to follow Alabama's lead of seeking out challenging non-conference opponents, rather than ducking Power Four opponents in favor of Austin Peay? To Byrne, the answer seems obvious. 'Good non-conference games are really good for college football,' Byrne said. Rewarding teams that play good non-conference games would help ensure those games remain part of college football's future. Blake Toppmeyer is the USA TODAY Network's national college football columnist. Email him at BToppmeyer@ and follow him on X @btoppmeyer.
Axios
23-07-2025
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The Agenda: A new fire station, trail art and artificial turf
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Chicago Tribune
17-07-2025
- Chicago Tribune
Annie Byrne, who coached Marian Catholic to state title, takes over at Prairie State. Method? ‘Put the work in.'
Annie Byrne admits that she was a 'bozo' when it came to her academics in high school. But now that she's the new women's basketball coach at Prairie State, the Joliet Catholic graduate isn't clowning around when it comes to having her new players hit the books. Byrne, who coached Marian Catholic to a Class 4A state title in 2013, felt the junior college experience helped point her in the right direction. And she wants to do the same for the Pioneers. 'I committed to Western Illinois but didn't clear the NCAA clearinghouse,' she said of her high school days. 'I got a 17 (ACT score) twice. If you are a monkey, you can get an 18. 'But I was a bozo and didn't need to do the stuff academically that I needed to do.' Connors State, a junior college in Oklahoma, came calling, however. Things then turned around for Byrne, whose maiden name is Basic. 'I achieved wonderfully academically and athletically there and we won a national championship my freshman year,' she said. 'I had a never-give-up attitude and always believed that you can accomplish what you want to accomplish and put the work in.' She wants to instill that wisdom in her players. Prairie State athletic director Joe Belcaster said that's what made Byrne stand out during the interview process. 'I think that's a great connection — these student-athletes' coach has experienced junior college the same way they have,' Belcaster said. 'She can help them through this process and tell them the do's and don'ts. 'She lived it and can say, 'Look where I am today.''' After posting a 216-51 record, Byrne resigned as Marian's coach in 2014 to become the director of operations at the Legends Sportsplex in Bourbonnais. She's also co-founder of the Illinois Defenders girls basketball travel program. She earned a master's degree in school leadership from Concordia after graduating from St. Xavier. Byrne, who lives in Munster, Indiana, said she got the itch to coach again after watching daughters Lucia, 13, and Ellie, 10, play club volleyball and then seeing many of her players again in May when Marian's 2013 girls team was inducted into the Illinois Basketball Coaches Hall of Fame. 'It was fun getting up in front of 600 people and talking about the players,' she said. 'The people you see — it's such a small world. It's such a small arena, even though it's a big arena in the basketball world. It brought back a lot of feelings that are close to our heart. 'I've been out of coaching for a long day, but I am glad I have this opportunity.' The Pioneers won 20 games under Tanner Kuehn in 2024-25 — the program's first 20-win season since 2013. Byrne is expecting to keep things headed in the right direction. She confirmed that she wants to build a program that either wins a national championship or is in a position to win a national championship each season. Before taking over at Marian, Byrne was the coach at Illinois Institute of Technology when she was only 22. Now, at age 44, she will change her style a little bit, but she won't be a shrinking violet. 'I've learned that it's really important that we build up our athletes and it's extremely important that we lift our athletes,' she said. 'But I'm also one of those coaches who will holler at someone the same way I compliment someone. 'Some players adapt to that and some players don't. I've learned to embrace that. Not everyone is going to love that style, but I would rather be that aggressive coach who is very instructive.'
