As Pam Borton heads into her eighth season at the helm of the women’s basketball program at the University of Minnesota, her philosophy and system are firmly in place. Her teams have been built, and will continue to be built, on the ethic of hard work paying dividends. Borton’s Golden Gophers play with a focused tenacity, the same quality these young women display in the classroom and in their everyday lives.  

Athletic success on the surface breaks down to the simple wins and losses. The Golden Gopher program obviously relishes its tradition of success on the court, however to those lucky few who don the Maroon and Gold, there is so much more. One can point to postseason appearances in every season that Borton has graced the sidelines and although impressive in itself, there is still more to be proud of. A deeper look reveals signposts such as nationally ranked attendance averages and academic achievements that have the Golden Gophers building upon an accomplished, proud and lasting tradition.

In the coaching realm where 20-win seasons are significant indicators of success, Borton has averaged 20 wins over her 11 seasons as a head coach, including an average of 22 wins per season in her seven years at Minnesota. Along the way, with Borton at the reigns, Minnesota has enjoyed seasons with 25 or more wins three times, six NCAA Tournament appearances, three Sweet Sixteens, as well as a magical ride to the Final Four in 2004.

Borton owns a career coaching record of 221-119 and a Minnesota mark of 152-73. Her teams have accomplished 3.0 grade point averages in every semester since her arrival in the Twin Cities, while boasting the most Academic All-Big Ten honorees (43) over the last seven years.

Minnesota enjoyed another 20-win season in 2008-09 compiling a 20-12 record and advancing to the Second Round of the NCAA Tournament. The season’s journey was highlight by the program’s first win at Ohio State and a thrilling NCAA upset at Notre Dame. Emily Fox was drafted by the Minnesota Lynx in the 2009 WNBA Draft, marking the third player in Gopher history (Lindsay Whalen, 2004; Janel McCarville, 2005) to be drafted in the league.

The Gophers posted a 20-12 record in 2007-08 and earned the program’s seventh bid into the NCAA Tournament. Three players – Fox, Leslie Knight and Ashley Ellis-Milan – were accorded All-Big Ten acclaim, marking the fourth time in Minnesota women’s basketball history, and first since 2005, that the Gophers celebrated three all-conference honorees. Borton collected her 200th career coaching victory late in the season with a 69-54 victory over Indiana on Feb. 28, 2008.

Borton celebrated her 100th victory at Minnesota during the 2006-07 season with a 70-67 victory over Kent State in the Northern Arizona Thanksgiving Tournament. She added an exclamation point to number 100 by accomplishing the feat faster than any other coach, men or women, in modern Golden Gopher history.  

Borton successfully completed one of her most successful seasons of teaching when she molded her 2006-07 squad, tabbed the second-youngest team in the nation starting the season with eight freshmen and one senior, into a team that posted a winning record (17-16) and advanced to the second-round of the WNIT. The season marked the emergence of Emily Fox, who went on earn All-Big Ten Second Team accord and a spot on the USA Pan American team.

Borton’s charges also perform at the highest level in the classroom, combining for a 3.2 grade point average during the 2006-07 school year. The Gophers have earned a team GPA of over 3.0 in every semester that she has been the head coach. In 2005, Minnesota was honored by the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) for having one of the nation’s top 25 team GPAs. Led by ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District honoree Leslie Knight, the Gophers had five of six eligible players honored on the Academic All-Big Ten Team a year ago.

The Gophers marked a 19-10 record in 2005-06 and advanced to their fifth consecutive NCAA Tournament. Minnesota extended their streak of national rankings in the Associated Press Poll to a school-record 83 consecutive weeks and finished the season ranked No. 25.

Coach Borton was the first coach in Big Ten history to lead a school to 25 or more wins in each of her first three seasons, accomplishing this feat at Minnesota from 2002-05. Borton’s 76 wins over a span of her first three seasons with the Gophers ranks second in Big Ten annuals. Even some of the greatest names in the history of coaching, such as Pat Summitt and Geno Auriemna, are unable to boast of a trio of 20-plus win seasons out of the blocks, much less 25-plus. Borton’s 26 wins in the 2004-05 campaign were the most in school history during the NCAA era.

On the heels of the Gophers’ historic trek to the 2004 Final Four, Borton guided her 2004-05 squad to the highest of expectations where the Gophers succeeded on a level never before seen in school history. Minnesota tallied 26 wins and earned passage to the Gophers’ third straight Sweet 16. The Gophers went farther than ever in the Big Ten Tournament, finishing as the tourney runner-up, losing a tough finale to Michigan State. Overall, the Gophers’ 26-8 overall record would include six losses to teams that played in the 2005 Final Four. Minnesota was ranked No. 11 in the ESPN/USA Today Coaches National Poll and No. 12 in the Associated Press National Poll to complete the 2004-05 campaign.

At season’s end, Borton saw her senior All-American Janel McCarville named the No. 1 pick overall by the Charlotte Sting in the 2005 WNBA Draft to become the first player from the Big Ten Conference to be drafted No. 1 overall. In addition to McCarville collecting several All-America awards, Borton herself was honored as one of 25 finalists for the Naismith Coach of the year award for the second time in three years.

Borton led the Gophers to their first Final Four in school history and a record of 25-9 in the 2003-04 campaign. The national exposure gave Borton the opportunity to announce the arrival of the Golden Gophers as one of the elite teams in the nation. Minnesota has been nationally ranked in every poll during Borton’s tenure, peaking at No. 4 in the ESPN/USA Today following the Final Four. However, it was the fascinating march to the Final Four that made Minnesota a household name across the nation and one of the most popular sporting teams ever in its home state.

The Gophers accomplished many program firsts during the 2003-04 season in addition to their Final Four appearance. Minnesota started the season with 15 consecutive victories; the longest overall winning streak and the best start to a season. At 15-0, the Gophers were the last undefeated team in the nation. The team was ranked in the top 10 of the Associated Press national poll for a school-record eight weeks.  

As Minnesota’s national ranking soared, so did its attendance figures. A record crowd of 14,363 packed Williams Arena to see the Gophers defeat then No. 5-ranked Penn State on Feb. 8, 2004. Minnesota’s average of 11,281 in conference games led the Big Ten. Final attendance numbers reached six figures for the first time in school history and by season’s end, the Gophers averaged 9,703 fans per game, an average that ranked sixth in the nation.  

Minnesota was selected to host the first and second rounds of the NCAA Tournament, the first time the Gophers played host to a March Madness contest in Williams Arena. After defeating UCLA and Kansas State at home, fans followed the Golden Gophers as they continued their tournament run in the NCAA Mideast Regional in Norfolk, Va., with wins over Boston College and Duke. The win over Duke marked the first win in school history over a team ranked No. 1 in the nation. Thanks to record-setting attendance figures in 2004, both at home and on the road, Williams Arena hosted the first and second rounds of NCAA Tournament play in 2005 and 2007.

Following the season, the Gophers’ All-America guard and all-time leading scorer Lindsay Whalen was drafted at No. 4 by the Connecticut Sun, becoming the first Minnesota player drafted into the WNBA and the highest pick in Big Ten history. Borton also collected the honor of National Coach of the Year awarded by the New England Basketball Hall of Fame.

Minnesota posted a record of 25-6 in 2002-03, Borton’s first season with the Golden Gophers. The mark was the school’s best overall record during the NCAA era until her squad bettered it with 26 wins in 2004-05. The Gophers collected their first top-10 national ranking during the season and advanced to their first Sweet 16 in the NCAA Tournament. Borton was again among 25 national finalists for the Naismith Coach of the Year Award.

Minnesota fans flock to historic Williams Arena to support their Golden Gophers. In Borton’s six seasons, Minnesota has ranked in the top 10 of the national attendance figures four times, including top-5 showing in both the 2004-05 and 2005-06 seasons. Before the Borton era, there were only two crowds of over 10,000 spectators in the Gopher record book. There are now 21, highlighted by a sell-out of The Barn on Feb. 8, 2004, versus Penn State.

When Big Ten opponents come to town, the Gophers’ attendance figures are even more impressive. Minnesota has ranked first in conference attendance the last three of the last four seasons. Since Borton’s arrival in 2002, Minnesota has posted four of the top 12 conference-only average attendance figures in Big Ten history. An average attendance of 11,281 fans per game in the 2003-04 season was the best in Gopher history and ranks second all-time in Big Ten history.

Borton has also made a huge contribution off the court, both in the University community and the communities throughout the state of Minnesota. Borton served as the department spokesperson for the University’s 2005 Community Fund Drive campaign. She also engaged and succeeded in leading a $1 million fundraising campaign for a new lockerroom for the Golden Gophers completed in 2006. A sought-after speaker in the public and private sectors, Borton has entertained several crowds with her message of success, including recent appearances with metro area Rotary, Chamber of Commerce, and Professional Women in Business groups, as well as several large local companies such as Best Buy, Cargill and Comcast.

Coach Borton was named as the Minnesota women’s basketball coach on May 24, 2002, the seventh head coach in the history of Golden Gopher women’s basketball. Previously, Borton spent five years (1997-2002) at Boston College, where she was promoted to associate head coach for the last two years. She served as the Eagles’ recruiting coordinator and produced top 25 recruiting classes three times.  

Borton helped the Eagles to a 102-51 record, including NCAA Tournament berths in 1999, 2000 and 2002. Boston College advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament in 1999 and 2000, and entered the 2002 tournament as a No. 5 seed but was upset by Mississippi State in the first round. BC finished the 2001-02 season with a record of 23-8 overall and 12-4 (third) in the BIG EAST. The Eagles lost to eventual undefeated national champion Connecticut in the BIG EAST Tournament championship game.

Borton joined the Boston College women's basketball staff as an assistant coach in June 1997, after serving as the head coach at the University of Vermont from 1993-97. In her four years as head coach at Vermont, she led the Catamounts to a 69-46 (.667) record, a North Atlantic Conference championship, and an NCAA Tournament appearance in 1994.  

A Fayette, Ohio native, Borton was an assistant at Vermont for five years and was named head coach in May of 1993. In her first season as head coach, she led Vermont to the North Atlantic Conference title, marking the third consecutive championship for the Catamounts. Vermont finished second in the league in 1995-96 and 1996-97. As a Vermont assistant coach, Borton helped lead the Catamounts to consecutive undefeated seasons in 1991-92 and 1992-93, including an NCAA-record 53 consecutive regular-season victories.  

Prior to her arrival at Vermont in 1988, Borton served as an assistant coach with the Bowling Green University for the 1987-88 season. Borton received her Master's degree in Sports Management from Bowling Green in 1988.  

A 1987 graduate of Defiance College in Ohio, Borton received a Bachelor of Science Degree in Physical Education. She was a four-year letterwinner on the basketball team, served as the team captain as a junior and senior, and was a third-team All-American both years. A three-time all-conference and all-district selection, Borton was named the conference and district player of the year as a senior. Borton scored more than 1,000 points during her collegiate career and was voted Defiance College's Female Athlete of the Year as a senior.  Borton was inducted into the Defiance College Athletic Hall of Fame in 2007.