WRITTEN BY ATHLETICS COMMUNICATIONS INTERN: BRENDAN BILLBURY

Jeff Tungate has been the Head Women's Basketball Coach at Oakland for eight years. This past weekend, Coach Tungate hit a career milestone of 100 wins. He doesn't like to or want to dwell on that statistic or take away from the team, but it's a milestone to be proud of. 

  Another thing to be proud of is the effect that Coach Tungate has had on the players who have come through the program. Being a former student-athlete at Oakland has helped Tungate create a special bond with the university and the women's basketball program. 

  Q: As a former baseball student-athlete and assistant coach for the men's basketball team, what has it meant to give back to OU and develop women student-athletes?

 A: Well, obviously this is a special place, a place that I truly care about and to have the opportunity to be a head coach at your alma mater, not too many people get to say that. So, it's been a great opportunity and I've been blessed to work with some great people. I'm really proud of our team, past and present. 

 Q: What sense of pride do you have in playing a role in helping women student-athletes for life after college and after basketball?

A: Well that's an important part of our program, we want to prepare the players for the biggest game of them all, that's the game of life. We do a lot of things in the summer, we obviously couldn't this summer with the pandemic, but we like to do a lot of training in the summer to get them ready for the real world. At the end of the day, that's the most important thing, it's not whether you win or lose, it's whether or not you're ready to take on the world and I think our players here get every opportunity to learn the lessons they need to be successful in life. 



Q: What has been your most memorable win as the women's basketball coach? 

A: The most important win is the day they graduate. That's a win. You have people that come here and to see all of our seniors graduate and see what they're doing today and the success that they're having in the real world, that's what it's all about. So that's the biggest win of all knowing that in some small way you contributed to them not only getting their degree but just going on into the real world. That's the biggest win. 

Wins and losses are what's counted in the official record book but the successes that Coach Tungate holds closer are found off the court, in the classroom and in the real world. 



Milestone wins:
1st career win: at home vs Niagara (11/27/13)
50th career win: at home vs Youngstown State (1/22/17)
100th career win: at home vs Robert Morris (2/6/21)

Notable wins:
First win over Green Bay: 2/4/15
First win over a nationally ranked opponent: at No. 22 Green Bay (1/28/16)
Second win over a nationally ranked opponent: home vs No. 21 Green Bay (2/2/17)
Program 300th Division I win: at UIC (2/18/17)
Program 800th overall win: vs Lourdes (12/21/19) 

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