Dawn Plitzuweit

Dawn Plitzuweit (PLITTS-zoo-white; born October 31, 1972) is an American basketball coach, currently the head women's basketball coach at the University of Minnesota.

Dawn Plitzuweit

Plitzuweit in 2023
Current position
Title	Head coach
Team	Minnesota
Conference	Big Ten
Record	45–27 (.625)
Biographical details
Born	(1972-10-31) October 31, 1972 (age 52) West Bend, Wisconsin, U.S.
Playing career
1990–1995	Michigan Tech
Coaching career (HC unless noted)
1995–1998	Michigan Tech (assistant)
1998–2002	Green Bay (assistant)
2002–2007	Grand Valley State
2007–2012	Michigan (assistant)
2012–2016	Northern Kentucky
2016–2022	South Dakota
2022–2023	West Virginia
2023–present	Minnesota
Head coaching record
Overall	410–167 (.711)
Tournaments	2–4 (NCAA Division I) 5–0 (WBIT) 8–3 (WNIT) 1–4 (WBI)
Accomplishments and honors
Championships
NCAA Division II Tournament (2006) 3× Summit League regular season (2017–18, 2019–20, 2021–2022) 3× Summit League conference tournament championship (2020, 2021, 2022) WBIT (2025)
Awards
As player: 2× GLIAC Player of the Year 2× WBCA All-Academic (1994, 1995) Michigan NCAA Woman of the Year Award (1995) GLIAC Freshman of the Year (1991) As coach: Kay Yow Award (2022) 3× Summit League Coach of the Year (2018, 2019, 2020)[1]

Playing career

Plitzuweit attended Michigan Tech between 1990–1995, but did not play basketball during the 1991–92 season. In her freshman year she started all 29 games. Her sophomore year, 1992–93, played in all 33 games leading Michigan Tech to a record of 30–3 scoring 12.4 points a game, 2nd on the team. Her Junior year she, once again, played in all 28 games. Her senior year she played in 29 of the 30 games that year and would finish her career with a playing record of 99–22.

Michigan Tech statistics

Legend

GP	Games played	GS	Games started	MPG	Minutes per game
FG%	Field goal percentage	3P%	3-point field goal percentage	FT%	Free throw percentage
RPG	Rebounds per game	APG	Assists per game	SPG	Steals per game
BPG	Blocks per game	PPG	Points per game	Bold	Career high

Year	Team	GP	Points	FG%	3P%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
1990–91	Michigan Tech	29	268	.519	.000	.727	7.1	4.0	2.9	0.0	9.2
1992–93	Michigan Tech	33	408	.529	.500	.683	7.0	3.2	2.6	0.02	12.4
1993–94	Michigan Tech	28	340	.474	.130	.674	8.8	4.0	3.3	0.1	12.1
1994–95	Michigan Tech	30	382	.523	.371	.678	6.1	3.5	2.2	0.1	12.7
Career		120	1,398	.511	.---	.690	6.0	3.7	2.8	0.1	11.6

Source:^[2][3][4][5]

Coaching career

Early coaching career

Plitzuweit started her career at her Alma mater, Michigan Tech, under her collegiate coach Kevin Borseth, and would continue to coach with him at Green Bay and then Michigan.^[6]

Grand Valley State

Over her career five year career at Grand Valley State, Plitzuweit reached the NCAA Division II Tournament four of the five years. In 2006, Grand Valley State, with a record of 33–3, won the 2006 NCAA Division II Tournament over American International College 58–52.

Northern Kentucky

Left Michigan at the end of the 2012 season and accepted the head coaching job at Northern Kentucky.^[7] Northern Kentucky would go on to reach the WBI in all four years making it to the second round only once.

South Dakota

On April 22, 2016, Plitzuweit became the South Dakota head coach. During her tenure, she led the team to an 158–36 overall record, tallying an 83–10 mark in conference play. Coach Plitzuweit led the Coyotes to three Summit League regular season titles, three consecutive Summit League Tournament Championships, and four straight NCAA tournament appearances including a trip to the Sweet 16 in 2022. Plitzuweit was selected as Summit League coach of the year 3 times in her tenure with the Coyotes. At the conclusion of her final season with the Coyotes, Plitzuweit was named the Kay Yow National Coach of the Year.

West Virginia

On March 31, 2022, Plitzuweit was hired as the head women's basketball coach at West Virginia University.^[8]

Minnesota

On March 18, 2023, Plitzuweit was hired as the head women's basketball coach at the University of Minnesota, on a six-year contract.^[9]

Personal life

Dawn is married and has a son and daughter.

Coaching Record

Statistics overview

Season	Team	Overall	Conference	Standing	Postseason
Grand Valley State (Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference) (2002–2007)
2002–03	Grand Valley State	24–7	13–5	2nd	NCAA Div. II First Round
2003–04	Grand Valley State	11–15	8–10	T-5th
2004–05	Grand Valley State	28–6	16–2	T-1st	NCAA Div. II Quarterfinals
2005–06	Grand Valley State	33–3	15–1	1st	NCAA Div. II Champion
2006–07	Grand Valley State	21–8	14–4	1st	NCAA Div. II First Round
Grand Valley State:		117–39 (.750)	66–22 (.750)
Northern Kentucky Norse (Atlantic Sun Conference/Horizon League) (2012–2016)
2012–13	Northern Kentucky	15–13	12–6	4th	WBI First Round
2013–14	Northern Kentucky	18–13	13–5	3rd	WBI Second Round
2014–15	Northern Kentucky	19–14	8–6	3rd	WBI First Round
2015–16	Northern Kentucky	19–14	9–9	T-5th	WBI First Round
Northern Kentucky:		71–54 (.568)	42–26 (.618)
South Dakota Coyotes (Summit League) (2016–2022)
2016–17	South Dakota	23–9	11–5	4th	WNIT Second Round
2017–18	South Dakota	29–7	14–0	1st	WNIT Quarterfinals
2018–19	South Dakota	28–6	14–2	2nd	NCAA First Round
2019–20	South Dakota	30–2	15–0	1st	Postseason not held
2020–21	South Dakota	19–5	12–2	2nd	NCAA First Round
2021–22	South Dakota	29–6	17–1	T-1st[10]	NCAA Sweet Sixteen
South Dakota:		158–35 (.819)	83–10 (.892)
West Virginia Mountaineers (Big 12 Conference) (2022–2023)
2022–23	West Virginia	19–12	10–8	T-4th	NCAA First Round
West Virginia:		19–12 (.613)	10–8 (.556)
Minnesota Golden Gophers (Big Ten Conference) (2023–present)
2023–24	Minnesota	20–16	5–13	T–11th	WNIT Runner–up
2024–25	Minnesota	25–11	8–10	13th	WBIT Champions
Minnesota:		45–27 (.625)	13–23 (.361)
Total:		410–167 (.711)
National champion         Postseason invitational champion         Conference regular season champion         Conference regular season and conference tournament champion       Division regular season champion       Division regular season and conference tournament champion       Conference tournament champion