After four highly successful years with the Cyclone women’s basketball program, assistant coach and recruiting coordinator Brenda Oldfield will now have a team of her own.

Oldfield, who has worked with head coach Bill Fennelly for all of the past four seasons, is scheduled to take over the head coaching duties at Ball State University on April 12.

“I’m really excited to be part of the Ball State family,” Oldfield said. “After I visited last week, I was really impressed.”

Oldfield began her basketball career in Cedar Rapids, where she led Washington High School to its first ever state championship as a player.

After high school, she went on to outstanding success at the University of Arizona, lettering four times and starting for three seasons.

It was also at Arizona that Oldfield got her start in coaching, assisting at Pima Community College in Tucson.

After college, she went on to assistant coaching duties at Kent State, working primarily with the guards for two seasons as the Golden Flash compiled an excellent overall record of 37 wins and 18 losses.

While at Kent State, Oldfield worked closely with standout guard Amy Sherry who was named the Mid-American Conference’s Player of the Year after the 1994 campaign.

It was right after her two seasons at Kent State that she was united with Fennelly at ISU.

“Brenda is one of the rising stars in the coaching profession,” Fennelly said.

The current ISU head coach also feels that Oldfield’s new home will suit her well. During his own coaching stint at Toledo, Fennelly competed frequently with the BSU Cardinals.

“Having coached in the Mid-American Conference, I have a great deal of respect for Ball State,” Fennelly said. “Brenda was an excellent choice for the Cardinals and will be a great fit for a fine university.”

During their four-year ISU tenure together, Oldfield and Fennelly compiled an astounding 84-38 record and saw local interest in Cyclone women’s basketball accumulate as quickly as the wins.

She has worked closely with a number of ISU’s top athletes, including standout perimeter players Megan Taylor and Stacy Frese, the latter of whom is Oldfield’s younger sister.

Oldfield admits that it will be hard to leave ISU and Frese behind, but she is thrilled with the opportunity she’s earned.

“From the administration, the academics, the support services, the facilities and the Muncie community, I knew that Ball State was the perfect place to be,” Oldfield said. “Everything is in place to have a successful program.”

The Ball State community seems every bit as excited about her arrival as Oldfield is herself.

Andrea Seger, Ball State’s director of intercollegiate athletics, is one of many at BSU eager to see Oldfield in action.

“We are very excited to be able to attract a coach who has had the success that Brenda has had at Iowa State,” Seger said. “She was very impressive in her interview, and all of the people we spoke with about her were very positive about her coaching abilities.”

Additionally, Seger feels that Oldfield is the coach BSU needs to take its program to the next level.

“She has helped build programs at Kent and Iowa State and is very focused on becoming a head coach,” Seger said. “Our program has made great strides, and the Ball State and Muncie communities are excited about the future.”