University of North Carolina Ashville Athletics
Betsy Blose is Now An Author
02.09.2009 | Women's Basketball
By Jason McGill
Asheville Citizen-Times
Reprinted WITH permission
ASHEVILLE, N.C. ? After experiencing some of the highest highs in her professional career and the lowest lows in her personal life, UNC Asheville women's basketball coach Betsy Blose jumped at the chance to put it all down on paper.
And while the story “Every Day Is Father's Day” takes up only three of the 373 pages in “Chicken Soup for the Soul: Inside Basketball,” it's a huge chapter in both women's lives.
“We cried a lot that weekend,” Ellen Blose said. “What Betsy said in that piece is just exactly what she felt about her dad and what her dad felt about her. But we've got seven beautiful daughters, and they've all got great stories.”
The essay details Blose's playing days at James Madison, her first head coaching job at Shepherd University in West Virginia and her rise at UNC Asheville.
“Part of the grieving process is writing about it. It helps you heal. When dad died, there were a lot of firsts, like the first game he missed,” Betsy Blose said. “This ?Chicken Soup' book was a year in the making. But it's kind of ironic. The last one I read was ?Chicken Soup for the Grieving Soul.'”
Bill Blose died just a month after Betsy Blose helped guide the Bulldogs to one of the biggest turnarounds in NCAA history. UNC Asheville rebounded from a 3-25 record during her first year in Asheville to 19-9 the following season.
That's also when Western Carolina tried courting Blose to lead the Catamounts' program.
“When I was at Samford, I saw Betsy coach twice in Alabama. I found out I was going to be the athletic director at UNC Asheville right when Betsy's father died. Then, I heard Western was trying to get her,” Janet Cone said. “I called (then chancellor) Jim Mullen and asked him if I could talk to Betsy. I told her it wasn't a good time for big changes, and that if she stayed at UNC Asheville, we'll win a championship.”
Three years later, Blose and the Bulldogs stormed through the Big South Conference tournament and punched the school's first ticket to the Big Dance.
Asheville traveled to Austin, Texas, to face LSU in the first round of the NCAA tournament.
“It was just a tribute to him. I just looked back and thought of all the memories of my father,” said Betsy Blose, whose team capped a 21-12 season with a 77-39 loss to the Tigers.
“We saw what she did at Shepherd with that team, too,” Ellen Blose said. “She has a real knack for building a team.”
Blose, now in her seventh year in Asheville, said former Orlando Magic general manager Pat Williams included her when he put out a call for basketball personalities to write essays for a ?Chicken Soup' book. Soon after submitting her story, Blose received a call from Pat Williams saying he loved it.
The book is set to be released nationwide on Tuesday ? the price is $14.95. Blose has already handed out copies to her coaching staff and Cone, with inscriptions reading, “Thanks for being part of my journey.”
The book also features 101 basketball-themed essays from current and former players, coaches, administrators and reporters. The list includes New Orleans Hornets guard Chris Paul, San Antonio Spurs coach Gregg Popovich and Southern Methodist coach Matt Doherty, who played and coach at North Carolina.
