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Haave, Tanya

Written by Linda Kirkpatrick on .

 

 

 

Tanya Haave

(1963 - )

Tanya graduated from Evergreen High School in 1980, having played basketball and volleyball for Coach Lo Hunter, a multiple Hall of Famer.  Tanya played a part in Hunter's achievement of winning 183 consecutive games. It was Hunter who inspired Tanya to earn the right to be identified as one of the most decorated high school athletes in Colorado history.  Among her honors for high school athletics:

  • named the first woman to earn the Colorado Sports Hall of Fame HS Athlete of the Year award (1981)
  • in 1983 named Sportswoman of the Year by the Sportswomen of Colorado
  • National HS Sports Hall of Fame (2001) – an elite group with the likes of Arnold Palmer and Jack Nicklaus
  • prestigious Fred Steinmark Award from the Rocky Mountain News for overall high school achievement
  • appeared on the High School All-America lists of Parade Magazine and the National High School Coaches Assn.
  • selected for the 1980 All-American Prep Girls and All-America Academic teams
  • University of TN Lady Vol Hall of Fame (2005 for basketball)

She attended the University of Tennessee for five years, earning a degree in journalism and maintaining a 4.0 GPA while excelling at two sports. She played basketball each year and volleyball for two years. Hall of Fame coach Pat Summitt proved to be another inspiration. Some of Tanya's accomplishments included:

  • Kodak All-American
  • All-SEC First Team
  • All-SEC Tournament Team
  • Academic All-SEC
  • MVP of the 1982-83 squad
  • Chancellor's Citation for Academic Excellence and Leadership at the university (1984)
  • Woman of Achievment Award from the UT Commission for Women (1984)
  • participated in the 1984 Olympic Trials
  • finalist for the 1983 Pan American Team
  • member of the USA Basketball's 1982 Jones Cup National Team
  • Junior Naitonal Team member
  • won a gold medal playing in the National Sports Festival

After graduation, she played professional basketball in Europe and Australia from 1985 to 1999, a year of that coaching in Sweden.

  • In Europe she was a 6-time All-Star and two-time scoring champion.
  • In Australia she was named MVP of the Canberra Capitals in 1997.
  • She earned all-star status 12 times during her pro career.

She coached 2 years at Regis University and served as an assistant at CU under Ceal Barry, another well-known coach.  The Buffaloes had three straight NCAA Tournament appearances, including an Elite Eight showing in 2002 and a Sweet 16 appearance in 2003.

She was inducted into the Colorado Sports Hall of Fame in 2004.  She coached at the University of Denver for the 2005-06 season and then spent 4 seasons at the University of San Francisco (2006 2010).

Tanya was named Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Coach of the Year in 2011 ending her first season at Metro State.  She took over coaching Women's Basketball in Denver in July of 2010 and accomplished a 27-2 win record, the best season on record for the sport at Metro, and the longest home winning streak (18).

In 2015 Tanya was honored for having achieved 100 wins at Metro – in less time than any other basketball coach at Metro.