Carol Owens

Biography

Owens originally came to Notre Dame in 1995 following two seasons as an assistant at Michigan, where she began her coaching career after enjoying a three-year professional playing stint in Japan, Spain and Italy. As a standout player at Northern Illinois from 1985-90, Owens compiled a very impressive resume. A two-time Kodak (now WBCA) Coaches' All-District IV Team selection (1989 and 1990), Owens scored 2,102 points and averaged 18.0 points per game over four campaigns, covering 117 games. She also captained the Huskies for four seasons and, in her final collegiate campaign (1989-90), she guided Northern Illinois to the best record in school history (26-5), as the Huskies went undefeated in North Star Conference play (12-0) and earned the school's first-ever NCAA Tournament bid. Owens finished her NIU career with 13 school records, most notably standing as Northern Illinois' all-time leader in scoring, blocked shots, free throws made, free throw attempts and field-goal percentage. One of the nation's premier post coaches, Carol Owens coached her 26th year on the Notre Dame women's basketball coaching staff for the 2025-26 season and her 17th as associate head coach for the Fighting Irish. Throughout her tenure at Notre Dame, Owens has focused on working with the Fighting Irish post players, while also assisting with the program's nationally-ranked recruiting efforts. She has been a part of two national championship teams while in South Bend.