She might be a new face on the staff, but Jodi Steyer is no stranger to women’s basketball at Iowa State or ISU head basketball coach Bill Fennelly.

Steyer, a new assistant coach this season, has lived in Ames for four years with her husband, Ed, and their two children. She has also helped with Iowa State’s summer basketball camps since moving to Iowa.

Her relationship with Fennelly goes back to 1989, when she became his assistant at Toledo.

She was just 22 years old, fresh off a record-setting season as a forward for Colorado State. At that time, Fennelly had only one year under his belt as a head coach.

“I was right out of college. One of the girls on the team was older than I was,” Steyer said. “There were a few girls on the team I had gone to camp with a couple years earlier.”

Steyer said a men’s basketball coach at Colorado State got Fennelly in touch with her.

At the time of the offer, Steyer wasn’t sure she wanted to coach.

“Normally, you’re begging for a job, but I’m like ‘well, I’ll give it a try and we’ll see,’ and there I was six years later,” Steyer said. “It was a great experience. I think he’s wonderful to work with.”

Together, Fennelly and Steyer led the Rockets to a 141-45 record in six seasons. Toledo advanced to the post-season in five of those seasons. “For a long time, she was my only assistant at Toledo,” Fennelly said. “The success we had there, she was a big part of it.”

Fellow ISU assistant coach Latoja Harris didn’t hurt matters either. Harris was an all-conference performer for the Rockets in 1993.

Steyer spent one more year at Toledo after Fennelly took the job at Iowa State. Under the direction of Mark Ehlen in 1996, Steyer helped Toledo advance to the second round of the NCAA tournament, posting a 25-6 record.

Although Steyer and her husband were nearly 600 miles away from Fennelly, they never lost track of him.

“Right before his first game we sent an e-mail over and all the girls signed it. They were very close to him,” Steyer said. “Some of the games could be broadcast over the Internet, so we would sit up in our little room upstairs and listen to the game that way.”

Steyer left the program at Toledo the next year to concentrate on raising a family. Daughter Jamie was soon welcomed into the Steyer family.

In 1998, Ed was offered a job in Des Moines. Since they were already familiar with Ames after visits to see Fennelly, the Steyer family made their new home in Ames, four blocks away from Fennelly. Now, after six years away from coaching, Steyer and Fennelly will be reunited on the court this season.

Steyer and the other assistant coaches will each work with all of the players, splitting up the duties. She will also play a role in recruiting, compliance and opponent scheduling.

It has been an easy transition for Steyer, but her children have also adapted very well. She said their four-year-old son, Eric, is already a huge Cyclone fan, and Jamie has had a mini ISU cheerleading outfit for a while now.

“Eric just had to get his Seneca Wallace jersey this year,” Steyer said. “He desperately still has a crush on Tracy Gahan. He has this long No. 22 jersey that a friend gave him, and [he] had to wear it all over. He still gets all red in the face when you talk about Tracy Gahan. That’s the big goal this year, we’ve got to find him a new girl.”

On the court, the Cyclones will be challenged to find a replacement for Gahan, regarded as one of the most complete players in ISU women’s basketball history.

And while some publications have already proclaimed it a rebuilding year in Ames, Steyer is still very excited about the possibilities the season may hold.

“I’m excited to be here, but it’s almost more exciting because there’s a lot of doubt,” Steyer said. “Our girls have a lot of heart and they work extremely hard, so for those people that question, I’m hoping that we’re going to surprise some people.

“There’s a lot of work to be done, but it’s exciting to be a part of it. There’s just certain times when maybe you’re not expected to do a lot, but that’s probably the most satisfaction and the most determined you are to prove some people wrong. That’s kind of the attitude we’re taking.”