Bebe Bryans Birthdate: 08/21/1957 Experience: Seventh Year at MSU Email: bryansb@ath.msu.edu

Bebe Bryans returns for her seventh season as head coach for Michigan State women's crew in 2003-2004. Bryans has been the head coach for MSU women's crew since its inception as a varsity sport in 1997-1998. Bryans established a tradition of success from the start of the first season by incorporating her extensive rowing and coaching experience into the development of a solid rowing program at MSU.

2002-2003:

Last season, Bryans was named the 2003 Co-Big Ten Rowing Coach of the Year for the second time in her career at MSU and coached her team to a second place finish at the Big Ten Championships. Bryans also led her team to earn a bid to the 2003 NCAA Championships, which marked the Spartans' sixth consecutive season to achieve this honor.

2001-2002:

Bryans led her team to an impressive NCAA showing in 2002, when the Spartans' second varsity eight boat earned fourth place in the NCAA Championships and their varsity four ranked fifth. In addition, MSU's varsity four captured the first Big Ten Championship in the program's history.

2000-2001:

Bryans led her team's first varsity eight to take third place in the 2001 Big Ten Championship, earning the boat a spot to compete in the NCAA Championships, where it finished in the top ten.

1999-2000:

Bryans was named the 2000 Co-Big Ten Coach of the Year. Bryans spent the summer of 2000 coaching the U.S. women's four and the lightweight single boats at the 2000 World Rowing Championships in Croatia.

1998-1999:

The Collegiate Rowing Coaches Association named Bryans the Central Region Coach of the Year. Bryans guided her crew to rank eighth overall at the NCAA Championships in 1999.

1997-1998:

In Bryans' first season as MSU head coach, the Spartans' varsity eight placed ninth at the 1998 NCAA Championships. As such, Bryans earned MSU the honor of being the only first-year crew program ever to qualify for national championship competition at that time.

Before MSU:

Prior to joining Michigan State, Bryans served as the women's varsity rowing coach at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C. At Georgetown, she was a member of the NCAA Women's Rowing Committee. During this time, Bryans led the Hoyas to championships at the Dad Vail and Champion regattas in 1993 and 1994 as well as leading them to earn silver medals in 1995 and 1996. She also coached her Georgetown rowers to a second place finish in the prestigious Royal Women's Henley Regatta in London, England in 1995 and two of Bryans' rowers from the 1993 championship-winning boat went on to row in the 1996 Olympics.

Before joining the coaching staff at Georgetown, Bryans was the head rowing coach at Mills College from 1988-1992. Prior to her stint as crew coach at Mills, Bryans was the assistant swimming coach at San Francisco State University from 1986-1988. She also served as founder, executive director and head coach of the Pacific Rowing Club from 1980-1992.

In addition to her collegiate coaching experience, Bryans has been active in the coaching ranks of the U.S.A. Women's National Rowing Team since 1985. As the head coach at the Junior World Championships in 1992 and 1993, Bryans led the 1992 women's eight to a bronze medal, which marked the first medal won for the U.S. in a Junior World contest. Bryans went on to serve as the women's elite sculling coach at the 1995 World Championship. She was a member of the Women's Olympic Rowing Committee from 1992-1994 and she took on the role as the chair of the committee in 1993-1994. Bryans' most recent international coaching experience was at the 1998 Nation's Cup in Greece, where she coached the pre-elite women's national sweep team. The pre-elite squad, which consists of women age 23 and under, raced a straight four and a pair in Greece, where the four earned a second place finish. Beyond her coaching expertise, Bryans nabbed a gold medal for a top finish in the 1994 Canadian Henley, where she rowed in the U.S. senior women's eight event.

A 1986 graduate of San Francisco State University, Bryans was a ten-time All-American honoree for Division II swimming. In 1986, she was named the SFSU Woman Athlete of the Year. Bryans was dubbed the Northern California Athletic Conference Female Scholar Athlete of the Year in 1986 as well. A 1991 FISA world champion in the eight and the quad events, Bryans received her master's degree in physical education from San Francisco State in 1989. Born Aug. 21, 1957, Bryans currently resides in Lansing, Mich.