What USC Trojans' Lindsay Gottlieb Said After Winning Big Ten Coach of the Year

This is now the 2nd straight year where Gottlieb has engineered the Trojans to 26 plus wins. This has not happened for the program dating back to the 1982-1983 and 1983-1984 seasons. In each of those years, USC won the National Championship. 

Gottlieb “Humbled” By Winning Big Ten Coach of the Year

Lindsay Gottlieb spoke on the Big Ten Network Tuesday morning shortly after being named the Big Ten Coach of the Year. 

“It’s truly humbling,” Gottlieb said. “We have an 18 team league, with 13 NCAA tournament teams and so many great coaches, so to be singled out by my peers and the media is really something I'm grateful for. 

Gottlieb gave major props to the rest of her staff and the players for putting her in a position to win this award. 

“It’s a staff award, a team award,” Gottlieb said. “None of this happens unless the team wins a championship. Unless the staff I have comes to work very day with the right mindset. I’m really grateful.”

Gottlieb got her start in coaching right after her playing career at Brown University ended in 1999. Months later, she was an assistant at Syracuse and further progressed through the ranks to being a coach at UC Santa Barbara from 2008-2011, California from 2011-2019, and now USC starting in 2021. 

“I always loved sports…I was a big X’s and O’s nerd…and at the same time felt like, there was an opportunity to have an impact on people.” Gottlieb said. “This is the profession for me….I’ve been very lucky to have a job that I feel so passionate about. 

"Sky's the Limit" For Trojans This Postseason

USC will be the No. 1 seed in this week’s Big Ten tournament. The Trojans are also in line to be a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament. Gottlieb knows that when her team plays to the best of their abilities, they can go a long way. 

“When we do it our way and we dial into our identity of what we can be, then really the sky is the limit for this program,” Gottlieb said. 

USC was knocking on the door of the Final Four last season, but fell just short in the Elite Eight to the UConn Huskies. Gottlieb has made the Final Four one time in her career; in 2013 when she was coaching Cal.