Kristie Maravalli, throughout her 13 years as the head coach for the John Carroll University's women's basketball team, has made strides to improve a program that plays in one of the country's top Division III conferences.
After inheriting a team that won only six games in the 1998-1999 season, Maravalli has been able to steadily build the Blue Streaks into a program that annually challenges the upper echelon of the Ohio Athletic Conference (OAC). In 2007-2008, the Blue Streaks posted a 15-11 record, its best since the 1994-95 campaign. JCU also finished tied for fourth in the league, which marked its best finish in 13 years. That was followed by a 14-win campaign in 2008-2009, which gave the Blue Streaks back-to-back winning seasons for the first time since the mid 1990's.
In 2010-2011 Maravalli guided the Blue Streaks to their first OAC tournament championship game in program history. As her team has begun to earn respect across the conference and region, so have her players. In the past six years, she has coached four All-OAC first teamers, six Academic All-OAC winners, and an OAC and Great Lakes Region Rookie of the Year.
In becoming the 11th head coach in the history of the JCU program, Maravalli was hired, in large part, due to her successful background in the sport. She has served as the first assistant coach to Jenny Przekwas for the St. Francis College (PA) women's basketball program during a season in which the Red Flash finished with a 18-12 record. It marked the school's fourth consecutive bid to the NCAA Division I Championship tournament.
In addition to her stop at St. Francis, Maravalli has also been an assistant coach at Manchester (IN) College and Swartmore (PA) College.
Maravalli is a 1993 graduate of Susquehanna University with a Bachelor of Arts degree in English. She then earned a Master's of Science in Administration (concentration in Sports Management) from West Chester University in 1996. As a player at Susquehanna, she was a three-time All-Conference women's basketball player who helped lead the Crusaders to three NCAA Division III playoff appearances (1991, 1992 and 1993).
On September 20, 2003, Maravalli was inducted into the Susquehanna Athletic Hall of Fame.
In addition to her basketball duties at John Carroll, Maravalli has been a track & field assistant coach (1999-2000) and also served for a time as the strength and conditioning coordinator for women's athletics.
Maravalli also served as the moderator for the John Carroll chapter of the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) for three years.
