Completed Event: Women's Basketball at Eastern Kentucky on March 19, 2026 , Loss , 58, to, 72
Final Score
Women's Basketball
58
at Eastern Kentucky
72
The University of Utah Athletics
.@UtahWBasketball Head Coach Lynne Roberts Appears on ESPN 700
8/4/2015 12:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Aug. 4, 2015
SALT LAKE CITY - University of Utah women's basketball head coach Lynne Roberts appeared on ESPN 700's Bill and OC Show this evening. She discussed her transition to Utah and the upcoming season with Bill Riley and Sean O'Connell.
Listen to the entire conversation at espn700sports.com.
Thx for having me on, gentlemen! I'm not going to forget that lunch date offer. 😉 #GoUtes @espn700bill @realOCsports https://t.co/1tn9okhicI
-- Lynne Roberts (@UtesCoachRob) August 5, 2015
Below is a complete transcription of the interview ...
Bill Riley (BR): Alright, so you're coaching at Pacific, which is a beautiful area, you're from California, the whole thing. Walk us through the phone call. Again, Pacific is a terrific job, but the Pac-12 is the Pac-12. Walk us through [the process]. Did [Director of Athletics] Chris Hill give you a call? Did one of his lieutenants reach out to you first? How does this whole process work?
Lynne Roberts (LR): Well, these things are crazy. The whole hiring process is always interesting. Our season [at Pacific] was still going on when this job opened up so I did not hear from Utah until our season officially ended. Everything I learned about the place, and the more research I did, the more of an incredible opportunity it seemed. You're right, Pacific is a great job. It was a great for me and I loved it. They took great care of me, but this is just an incredible opportunity. Pac-12 is the best conference in the country, particularly for women's sports, it's up there so it's an exciting time to be here. I'm fired up about it. To answer your question, I heard from a couple of his lieutenants and I heard from the man himself, Chris Hill. It was a fun process and I'm certainly grateful to be here."
Sean O'Connell (OC): Whenever there is a coaching change, we always ask the players, `When is the moment that you realize this era is going to be different? This is going to be a completely new adjustment. Have you had that moment yet as a coach? What caused it if you have had it?
LR: That's a great question. The way the NCAA rules are, we have such limited access to the players right now. We're allowed summer access, they just allowed this a couple of years ago. We're allowed two hours of work per week if a player is in summer school so that's been great. I've been able to work with them a couple hours a week with the players who are here for summer school. That part has been fun. I don't know what it was like before I got here. I make it a point, this is the third program I've taken over, there's no point in focusing on the past. We have to move forward and we have a lot of work to do so let's just move forward. We'll have a different style of play just because there are different coaches and a different style of program again because there's different leadership. We're just moving forward, onward and upward, and seeing what we can achieve here."
OC: One of the big things when you take over a program, what you have to ask every coach in this situation, you're not inheriting your own kids or recruits. You show up on Utah's campus and you're just starting to get to know these girls who will be playing for you. Do you like your roster? Do you feel like you have a chance to compete in the Pac-12 Conference?
LR: It's interesting. When coaches take over, we look at it through the lens of the coach having to adjust to the players. We always have to be mindful of the fact that these guys didn't sign to play for me. It's an adjustment on the players as well. They signed up for a different package and now they're getting this one and I will give credit where it's due to the previous staff did a great job of recruiting really good kids. They have been awesome to work with. Do I like them? I really do. They have been great to work with. They're doing everything we ask. They're getting worked harder in the weight room and conditioning than they've ever worked. They're doing it with an enthusiasm that's great. Obviously, it's going to take a couple of years before we're where we want to be. As I said before, this isn't a ship at the bottom of the ocean where we have to build a new one. We just have to point it in a different direction and get it all working in that same direction. I do really like [the players on the team]. I'll say this, they love Utah and being Utes. That's fun to coach."
BR: Can you take the mindset and what you did at Chico State and Pacific and at least in principle apply it here knowing that it might be more difficult because it is the Pac-12?
LR: It's a great conference and that's why I'm here. I want to be somewhere where you can be nationally relevant and do something that's never been done. Utah women's basketball has tremendous tradition and incredible success. It's in the top 15 for all-time win in the history of the sport. That's pretty impressive. I don't know how many people know that, but it's never been done in the Pac-12. We have not achieved great success in the Pac-12 and that's what I want to do. I'm determined to do it. To your point, this is a tough league, but it's also a league where there's opportunity. If you finish in the top five or six in this league, you're probably going to make the NCAA Tournament. Look at what our men's team has done, once you start doing that, then you really have the snowball effect going and you become nationally relevant. Do I think we can do it? I wouldn't be here if I didn't think we could. I'm not naïve, I know it's going to take a lot of work and it's going to take time to do it the right way. I do think there's a process that you have to do things the right way, you have to recruit the right people who fit the culture. There are a lot of good players out there, but you have to make sure they fit your program, your school and who you are. That I know is the formula that works. Along with that, we have to create an atmosphere here. We need people to come to our games. I don't care what sport, there's no example of sustained success without some sort of home atmosphere. We need people to come to games. We need to create a buzz about our program and when you start making the NCAA Tournament, you start having a home atmosphere and you start getting the big-time recruits. And then you're off to the races."
BR: Is it true you earned 12 varsity letters [in high school], or did someone just put that on your Wikipedia page?
LR: Basketball is my first love. I have two older brothers and that's part of my passion for athletics. I was always playing catch up trying to keep up with the boys, literally. That's where I get the competitive fire and fearlessness that I have. Basketball was my favorite sport. I was decent at some other ones, but basketball was certainly the one I was the best at. I do believe in playing a lot of sports as a kid. I think we're too specialized now with kids so any time we're recruiting someone who plays more than one sport, I'm always excited about that. But yes, I did actually get 12 varsity letters, believe it or not."
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