One of the longest-tenured employees in athletic department history, Connie Richardson made her mark at Otterbein spanning more than 30 years and four different decades.

Hired in 1991, Richardson came aboard to start making an impact both on the basketball floor and inside the classroom. She led the women’s basketball program to 382 victories during her time, ranking fourth in Ohio Athletic Conference history at the time she concluded.

A 2x OAC Coach of the Year, Richardson’s 2003-04 team holds the school record for most victories (23) in a single season. They made the OAC Tournament Final before falling to eventual national champion Wilmington.

Almost a decade later, in 2012-13, her program capped off a two-year run that saw a combined 41-14 record and the program’s only NCAA Tournament appearance. That group dropped a tight game with Maryville (Tenn.) during opening-round action in Indiana. Richardson coached 20 first team All-OAC selection, three All-Americans, two Hall of Famers and built a very supportive/loyal alumni base in the process.

In addition to coaching, she served as an instructor in the physical education department for almost 20 years teaching everything you could think of; cycling, bowling, archery, billiards, etc. Richardson helped guide the evolution of the program, which was originally separated (men’s and women’s) before conjoining into one department. She learned alongside the likes of Bud Yoest, Dick Reynolds, Bob Gatti and Dr. Marilyn Day.

Richardson was also a dedicated administrator throughout her career, both on campus and across the league. She served as OAC President, the women’s basketball coaches chair multiple times, and on both the OAC Awards and Championships committees. A longtime Senior Woman’s Administrator (SWA) for Otterbein, Richardson stepped away from coaching in April of 2019 but continued serving as Associate Athletic Director. Her efforts helped guide the department through the COVID-19 pandemic and countless day-to-day tasks behind the scenes. The women’s varsity locker room in the Rike Center is now named after Richardson, and a special endowment for the women’s basketball program was constructed in her honor.

A 1986 graduate of Heidelberg, Richardson was a 2x All-American and four-year starter for the Student Princes on the hardwood. She led the OAC in scoring (20.1) and rebounding (14.02) on her way to first team All-American status as a senior. The Caldwell, Ohio native was inducted into the Heidelberg Athletics Hall of Fame in 1993 and is also part of multiple HOF’s around the region and her hometown area.

Both of Richardson’s children have followed in the coaching and teaching footsteps of their mother. Her son, Nick, is coaching football and working alongside his father (Clete), a very large supporter of the women’s basketball program. Her daughter, Hannah, is now teaching fifth grade and coaching softball.