Coach guiding force in IU's tradition

IU's women's golf team has ascended to one of the elite programs in Big Ten history, and the Hoosier program has known only one coach in its 22 year existence. Coach Sam Carmichael assumed the role of coach for the IU women's golf team in the fall of 1981. He has been a steadying force in leading the Hoosiers to seven Big Ten Championships, which ranks second in Big Ten history behind Ohio State's eight titles.\n"I didn't expect to be here as long as I have," Carmichael said. "I was looking to stay here for three maybe four years, not 22."\nCarmichael is a seven-time Big Ten Women's Coach of the Year winner, and has also received NCAA Regional Coach of Year honors four times. He spent nine years as coach for both the IU's men's and women's golf teams. Before Carmichael directed his attention solely to the women's golf program in 1998, he won Men's Big Ten Coach of the Year honors twice and won Men's Big Ten titles in 1991 and 1998.\nHe has led the women to seven Big Ten Championships in the last 14 years and 11 top three finishes. During a 19-year span from 1984 to 2002, IU is the only team in the Big Ten to place in the top three on 16 occasions. \nCarmichael's IU women's teams have earned automatic berths to the NCAA tournament eight times since 1981. In that span, the Hoosiers' highest finish was fifth in the nation in the 1995-96 season. In 1987, Carmichael was named Indiana PGA Teacher of the Year and NCAA National Coach of the Year. \nCarmichael's success as a mentor is not limited to the course. A Big Ten record 89 Academic All-Big Ten honors have been awarded to IU golfers since 1985. With such a stellar track record, Carmichael has no problem searching for golfers who want to be a part of the Hoosier golfing tradition.\n"I knew I had a lot of room to improve and that he was a very well known coach all over the country," junior Karen Dennison said. "Many coaches act mainly as a chaperone; Coach Carmichael is different. He is a great coach and loves the game of golf. He has done so much for me and my game, it is hard to put into words. I have learned so much about the game from him, I love to just watch him play and ask for his advice."\nJunior Ambry Bishop also said Carmichael was a factor in her choice to attend IU.\n"My main reason for coming to IU was Coach Carmichael," she said. "I knew if I wanted to reach my full potential with golf it would only be at IU with Coach."\nThis year the team has rebounded from last year's title-less season and have won three tournaments. Of the eight tournaments the team has competed in, it has finished out of the top four just once.\nCarmichael said while he has accomplished so much already, he's not going to rest on his prior achievements. \n"We want to win more championships; we want to perform well in the NCAAs," he said. "You just have to keep getting better and keep aiming higher"