# Rhonda Rompola

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American college basketball coach

Rhonda Rompola Biographical details Born (1960-03-09) March 9, 1960 (age 66) Sayreville, New Jersey Alma mater SMU Playing career 1979–1980 Old Dominion 1981–1983 SMU Position Forward Coaching career (HC unless noted) 1983–1991 SMU (asst.) 1991–2016 SMU Head coaching record Overall 438–318 (.579) Tournaments 3–7 (NCAA) 1–5 (WNIT) 2–1 (NWIT) Accomplishments and honors Championships As a player: 2× AIAW (1979, 1980) As a head coach: WAC regular season (2000) WAC tournament (1999) 2× C-USA regular season (2009, 2013) C-USA tournament (2008) Awards WAC Coach of the Year (1999)

**Rhonda Lee Rompola** (born March 9, 1960)[1] is an American [college basketball](/source/College_basketball) coach who was most recently the head women's basketball coach at [Southern Methodist University](/source/SMU_Mustangs_women's_basketball) (SMU) from 1991 to 2016.[2]

## Early life and education

Rompola was born and raised in [Sayreville, New Jersey](/source/Sayreville%2C_New_Jersey). She graduated from [Sayreville War Memorial High School](/source/Sayreville_War_Memorial_High_School) in 1978.[3] From 1978 to 1980, Rompola played basketball at [Old Dominion University](/source/Old_Dominion_Monarchs_women's_basketball) in [Norfolk, Virginia](/source/Norfolk%2C_Virginia), averaging 10.3 points, 4.3 rebounds, and 3.5 assists and was part of two [AIAW](/source/Association_of_Intercollegiate_Athletics_for_Women) championship teams.[3] Rompola transferred to [SMU](/source/SMU_Mustangs_women's_basketball) in [Dallas](/source/Dallas). After redshirting one season per NCAA transfer rules, Rompola played at [forward](/source/Forward_(basketball)) at SMU from 1981 to 1983. With 21.3 points per game, Rompola was SMU's leading scorer in 1981–82. She graduated in 1983 with a business degree.[3]

## Coaching career

From 1983 to 1991, Rompola was an assistant coach at SMU before being promoted to head coach.[2]

In her first season as coach in 1991–92, she posted a 17–12 record, the team's first winning season since 1981–82 when she was a player. Overall, she posted a 439–317 (.581) record at SMU.[2] In 1998, SMU won its first-ever [WAC](/source/Western_Athletic_Conference) tournament title, as it defeated 4th-ranked [Colorado State University](/source/Colorado_State_University) in the final, and then 25th-ranked [Toledo](/source/Toledo_Rockets_women's_basketball) in the opening round of the [NCAA tournament](/source/1998_NCAA_Division_I_women's_basketball_tournament). In 1998 and 1999, Rompola guided the Mustangs to back-to-back 20-win seasons. She was named the 1999 WAC Coach of the year for her efforts. In 2007, SMU went 24–9, and finished second in Conference USA play with an 11–5 mark. Along with being SMU's all-time leader in coaching wins in any sport, she also earned an honorable mention on the all-time Old Dominion Lady Monarchs basketball team.[3] She coached her 400th victory on February 21, 2013.[4]

## Personal life

Previously married to Steven Haddock, Rompola married men's basketball coach [Mike Dement](/source/Mike_Dement) in June 2007.[5]

## Head coaching record

Record table Season Team Overall Conference Standing Postseason SMU Mustangs (Southwest Conference) (1991–1996) 1991–92 SMU 17–12 7–7 T–4th 1992–93 SMU 20–10 8–6 3rd NWIT Runner-up 1993–94 SMU 18–9 8–6 4th NCAA first round 1994–95 SMU 21–10 9–5 T–2nd NCAA second round 1995–96 SMU 19–11 9–5 3rd NCAA first round SMU (SWC): 95–52 (.646) 41–29 (.586) SMU Mustangs (Western Athletic Conference) (1996–2005) 1996–97 SMU 19–11 11–5 3rd (Mountain) 1997–98 SMU 21–8 11–3 T–2nd (Pacific) NCAA first round 1998–99 SMU 20–11 11–3 2nd (Mountain) NCAA second round 1999–2000 SMU 22–9 12–2 1st NCAA second round 2000–01 SMU 17–12 11–5 3rd 2001–02 SMU 12–18 6–12 7th 2002–03 SMU 16–15 8–10 7th 2003–04 SMU 13–15 9–9 5th 2004–05 SMU 19–11 10–8 5th WNIT first round SMU (WAC): 159–110 (.591) 89–57 (.610) SMU Mustangs (Conference USA) (2005–2013) 2005–06 SMU 16–14 10–6 3rd 2006–07 SMU 18–12 9–7 6th 2007–08 SMU 24–9 11–5 2nd NCAA first round 2008–09 SMU 20–12 12–4 1st WNIT first round 2009–10 SMU 20–11 10–6 2nd WNIT first round 2010–11 SMU 14–16 7–9 8th 2011–12 SMU 14–17 6–10 T–9th 2012–13 SMU 21–10 12–4 1st WNIT first round SMU (C-USA): 147–101 (.593) 77–51 (.602) SMU Mustangs (American Athletic Conference) (2013–2016) 2013–14 SMU 18–14 8–10 6th WNIT second round 2014–15 SMU 7–23 3–15 10th 2015–16 SMU 13–18 7–11 7th SMU (The American): 38–55 (.409) 18–36 (.333) Total: 438–318 (.579) National champion Postseason invitational champion Conference regular season champion Conference regular season and conference tournament champion Division regular season champion Division regular season and conference tournament champion Conference tournament champion

## References

1. **[^](#cite_ref-going_the_distance_1-0)** Daniels, Rob (January 17, 2008). ["Going the distance"](https://www.greensboro.com/sports/going-the-distance/article_b0308c10-c8c4-5a31-9d86-3d058016f069.html). *News & Record*. Retrieved June 25, 2017.

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-Retiring_2-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-Retiring_2-1) [***c***](#cite_ref-Retiring_2-2) ["BREAKING: Rhonda Rompola Announces Retirement"](http://www.smumustangs.com/news/2016/2/22/Rompola_Announces_Retirement.aspx). SMU Mustangs. Retrieved March 9, 2016.

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-SMU_3-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-SMU_3-1) [***c***](#cite_ref-SMU_3-2) [***d***](#cite_ref-SMU_3-3) ["Rhonda Rompola"](https://web.archive.org/web/20150926002610/http://smumustangs.com/sports/w-baskbl/mtt/rompola_rhonda00.html). [SMU Mustangs](/source/SMU_Mustangs). Archived from [the original](http://www.smumustangs.com/sports/w-baskbl/mtt/rompola_rhonda00.html) on September 26, 2015. Retrieved June 25, 2017.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-4)** Nichols, Bill (February 22, 2013). ["SMU women's basketball coach Rompola gets her 400th career win"](http://www.dallasnews.com/sports/college-sports/smu-mustangs/20130222-smu-women-s-basketball-coach-rompola-gets-her-400th-career-win.ece). *The Dallas Morning News*. Retrieved October 11, 2014.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-5)** O'Neil, Dana (January 17, 2008). ["Dement, Rompola honeymoon includes lots of phone calls, airline miles"](https://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/columns/story?id=3199107). ESPN. [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20080119060427/http://sports.espn.go.com/ncb/columns/story?columnist=oneil_dana&id=3199107) from the original on January 19, 2008. Retrieved October 11, 2014.

v t e SMU Mustangs women's basketball head coaches Suzanne Troutman (1976–1977) Welton Brown (1977–1991) Rhonda Rompola (1991–2016) Travis Mays (2016–2021) Toyelle Wilson (2021–2025) Adia Barnes (2025– )

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Rhonda Rompola](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rhonda_Rompola) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rhonda_Rompola?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.