Back in 1976, when Title IX was closer to a revelation than a revolution for women’s sports, a 26-year-old DePaul assistant athletic director named Doug Bruno didn’t see it coming when his job description changed.
But Gene Sullivan, the late former DePaul athletic director and Loyola basketball coach, saw something special in Bruno, his protege.
“Gene told me to start coaching the women’s basketball team,’’ Bruno recalled this week. “And that was the only time he ever got salty with me. I asked him if he was going to pay me for my new job. And he said, ‘No, you’re not going to get paid extra. You should consider it an honor to be able to coach.’’’
Four decades and 1,000 games later, the privilege is DePaul’s as Bruno represents the best about his alma mater, a selfless leader and tireless worker whose small ego complements his big heart, the epitome of what Chicagoans appreciate in their coaches.
Bruno took over DePaul’s nascent women’s basketball program 42 years ago with four scholarships divided 15 ways, piling players into vans and personal cars for road games, and gradually turned it into a beast in the Big East.
When the Blue Demons beat Marquette 98-63 Tuesday night at Wintrust Arena in the conference tournament final, it clinched DePaul’s 23rd NCAA berth under Bruno. While DePaul men’s basketball languishes, Bruno’s bunch flourishes.
“I’m proud of what we’ve achieved at DePaul, but I wouldn’t be doing this if I didn’t think there was more to do,’’ said Bruno, 67. “We still have to get to the Final Four. I don’t get mad because UConn is as good as they are. We have to beat them. So there still is a lot to accomplish here, and that gets me going every day.’’
That drive steered Bruno through the most pivotal time in his program, after the 1996-97 season. DePaul had just gone 20-9 and qualified for the NCAA tournament for the sixth time in seven years, yet Bruno sensed the success was unsustainable. He called the moment as “an epiphany.’’
“In business, they’d call it a paradigm shift,’’ Bruno said. “True competitiveness knows no gender, but one of the reasons you coach women is you have a better chance to coach the whole program where your student-athlete is really a student and embraces service to your community and it’s about the achievement and not necessarily the celebrity.’’
Bruno paused, carefully choosing his words like a coach trying to come up with the perfect out-of-bounds play.
“The shift was, we were going to do this with real quality human beings — and the others were, too, believe me — but I knew, going this new way, I was going to either get fired or it would work,’’ Bruno said.
Five straight seasons without an NCAA berth followed. But so did an identity, forged by the guy who played for Ray Meyer at DePaul, coached under Sullivan at Loyola between DePaul stints from 1981 to 1988, and vowed to do things the right way. Validation came with DePaul’s return to the NCAAs in 2003, the first of 16 straight mad Marches.
“The foundation of DePaul women’s basketball always has been consistent because of Doug Bruno’s character, integrity and style — and I felt it immediately when I got there,’’ said Sarah Kustok, the Brooklyn Nets analyst for YES Network who played at DePaul during that transitional period of 2000 to 2004. “He cares more about his players as people and students than any coach I’ve ever seen.’’
Kustok, a DePaul assistant the 2005-06 season, sometimes thinks of her college experience watching NBA teams run the space-and-pace offense she executed as a 3-point ace for the Blue Demons.
“The way we played then is like a lot of the NBA stuff I see now, which shows you how Doug was ahead of the game,’’ Kustok said. “Why would you not want to play in that system?’’
Players kid that Bruno’s freewheeling offense features the greenest green light in America. No NCAA team attempted more 3-pointers this season than DePaul, which hit 36 percent. Bruno tells the Blue Demons to bring their lunch pails to play defense and rebound so they can enjoy the party on offense. The man throwing it insists everyone will have a good time if they simply play together.
“Our goal every year isn’t to lead the nation in scoring, it’s to lead the nation in assists,’’ Bruno said.
This season, the 26-7 Blue Demons shared the ball well enough to rank third. Senior guard Amarah Coleman, the Big East tournament MVP who transferred from Illinois, benefited from DePaul’s up-tempo approach as much as she did from Bruno’s relentless demeanor.
“When I first came here he said he would love us like daughters, but when he has to be the hammer, he will,’’ Coleman said. “Tough love. He has his moments but can be funny and go off on tangents with long stories too. I can’t give you one example because there are so many and I probably haven’t listened to all of them.’’
Bruno’s story will be the stuff of legend if he completes his current contract, which runs through the 2020-21 season. With 58 more victories, Bruno will surpass Meyer’s total of 724 and become the winningest coach in DePaul history. Just don’t mention it.
“What Ray did was such a different era, I could never compare myself with Coach,’’ Bruno scoffed. “I’m just trying to get somebody to come to DePaul who’s taller than 6-2. I’m just trying to win the next freaking game. It’s not about counting victories.’’
That’s how you amass 667.
Twitter @DavidHaugh
