The Coaches’ Collection: Classy Champions

**Remember to click on the photos to view them in a larger size!!**

Quite honestly, it is hard to believe the 2012-2013 NCAA Women’s Basketball season is over, and a big congratulations goes out to the UConn Huskies’ on claiming their eighth title. (I could write more about my thoughts surrounding that, but I will save that for a future blog!) But, while I did not attend quite as many games as I did during the 2011-2012 season (I was just three shy!), I was able to go to a variety of games and really made some lasting memories this season. For now, I will make one final entry into “The Coaches’ Collection” blog series. Oh!, trust me, I have many, many more photos to share, but I think I will take a hiatus and save some for next season, which I trust will be as exciting, if not better than this year! But, though I am taking a hiatus from “The Coaches’ Collection”, that does not mean I am not going to keep blogging. There is no telling what I may think of next! So, pay attention as you may learn some more random facts from Meredith’s House of Useless Knowledge and Information!

Since we are on the topic of championships, I figured I would close out the blog with the ultimate showdown between our reigning fashion champions. The previous blogs have pretty much already laid the foundation for who our top contenders are; so, now it is up to you to decide who wins the ultimate championship: Muffet McGraw from the University of Notre Dame or Chris Dailey from the University of Connecticut. The decision rests in your hands…Let’s Go!!


I honestly cannot think of another word to describe Muffet McGraw other than classy! She just absolutely epitomizes the word whether it is from her fashion or just her overall personality and coaching style – she is just plain classy! For the majority of the games that Muffet coaches, we find her in her prowess squat along the sideline, and it absolutely amazes me how she can just stay in “squat position” for most of the game rotating from side-to-side. My knees ache just thinking about it. With that being the case, Muffet has to dress quite conservatively, but yet she also makes her conservative outfits quite classy. She can wear a simple black skirt and dress it up with a nice shirt and colorful accessories; or as pictured here, she can wear a nicely colored dress with a belt and scarf to accessorize and she pulls it off quite nicely. It’s never really over the top; it is just simple yet classed up with accessories. We have already previously documented how she is probably one of the only coaches who can pull any type of animal print off and wear it in dramatic fashion, as well as being capable of wearing leather and not looking too tasteless. In “The Coaches’ Collection”, Muffet has probably been featured more than any other person for being the positive light in our mostly negative world of outfits. You can always count on Muffet McGraw to look very fashionable along the sideline of a game. I am going to award Muffet the nickname “The Classy Cat” because she is always classy no matter what she wears and she can wear the “big cat” animal prints and pull them off flawlessly. Props to Muffet McGraw for another great season at Notre Dame; looking forward to actually seeing her a lot more during the 2013-2014 season as Notre Dame joins my home-state conference, the Atlantic Coast (ACC)! And, we all know what that means…more photos for the blog!


So, if classy is my word to define Muffet McGraw, what can I possibly use to describe Chris Dailey, who I have self-proclaimed “The Coaches’ Collection’s” ultimate fashionista? Well, she can be described in so many flattering ways, but for now, I will settle on elegant. Okay, that’s not really a word you would associate with basketball, but it is what she is – absolutely graceful, well-put-together, super stylish, gorgeous and elegant. When I get to be her age, I only hope I can look half as good as she does. The times Chris (better known as CD) has been featured in the blog, it has always been in our positive class; as I have yet to find an outfit of hers that was absolutely distasteful – now, there have been a few that I have pondered whether she should have worn or I had some concern over the color choice washing her out, but she still manages to throw on some accessories somewhere and reclaim the lead in the fashion race. Whether it is pink or leather or heck, maybe even animal print, CD can literally pull off anything. Over the years that I have been following UConn Women’s Basketball, it has been a rare occasion that I have ever seen CD repeat an outfit – I would LOVE to take a tour of her closet one day! One could easily question whether some of these coaches have someone help them with their attire? Some may, but I have been told by a source that Chris Dailey picks out her own clothes and designs her own outfits with matching accessories. That is a top-notch, class-act of a person and one who can do it absolutely with perfection. From dresses to skirts to pants with cute shirts, no matter what CD throws together, it looks amazing on her perfectly trim and toned frame. And, of course, I absolutely love it when she wears her pink bracelet! These photos here are just a few of the collection of photos that I have of Chris Dailey – she seems to love wearing a lot of black and grey, which I think look great on her. I also think the royal blues look good with her skin tone, as well. If I were here, I would try to stay away from the beige that she likes to wear, as sometimes it does kind of make her look washed out. Stick with the black, grey and white; add in a little more blue and of course keep the pink!

So, just by the length of my write-up, you can probably easily figure that I would hand the championship trophy right on over to Chris Dailey. But, what about you – would you choose Chris Dailey or Muffet McGraw?

And, while we are on the subject of National Championships, let’s close the blog out with the coaching duo who always seems to just flow effortlessly on the sidelines of the basketball court – Geno Auriemma and Chris Dailey.


When it comes to National Championships, Geno and Chris are two of the best – claiming their eighth title together this year in New Orleans and that is absolutely unbelievable. During games, we do not always get to see Chris Dailey’s incredible fashion sense until Geno gets out of hand and she has to go chasing him down to court to keep him from getting a technical or getting tossed (her worst nightmare!). But, together, they not only make up one best coaching duos (aka “power couple”) of today’s basketball era, but together, they also combine for the best dressed coaching duo that exists. They are often referred to as the Donna Karan and Giorgio Armani of basketball – now that, in and of itself, is a huge compliment! Whether it is on the court or off the court at other functions, you can always count on Geno and CD to be there and be dressed to the nines. Props to them for winning eight and looking great while doing it!

So there you have it…the few samplings of my thoughts regarding fashion in Women’s Basketball. Not a lot of detail goes in to it because I just cannot keep on writing and writing, plus you probably don’t really want to keep reading it. Maybe someone, somewhere out there has enjoyed this series and shared a few laughs at times. As I said, for now I will take a temporary hiatus until basketball season resumes again, but keep on reading because you never know what might come up next.