Trying to give Julie Heisey her due credit for 400 college basketball coaching victories might seem simple enough ...
... except she'll just give that credit right back to everyone who helped her get there.
Heisey got that milestone 400th win on Dec. 16, 2016, when her Seattle Pacific team beat Concordia Irvine in the SPU Classic, 76-64. While she's not one to talk about her own accomplishments, those accomplishments -- wherever she has been -- speak loud and clear for themselves.
During 12 years on the Falcons' bench, Heisey has built a 248-97 record . Her 21-year overall mark, which includes nine years at Trevecca Nazarene in Nashville prior to arriving at SPU, is 410-216.
In seven of her 12 years at Seattle Pacific, the Falcons have qualified for the NCAA West Regional tournament, and the 2009-10 squad went all the way to the Elite Eight in St. Joseph, Mo.
Heisey guided her last six teams at Trevecca Nazarene to an average of 21 wins a year, reaching NAIA Division I postseason play in each of those years. That included a spot in the tournament quarterfinals in 2005.
In November 2014, Heisey was inducted into the Trevecca Hall of Fame.
She is no stranger to the Pacific Northwest or to many of the GNAC schools. A native of Nampa, Idaho, she starred at Northwest Nazarene from 1986-89, was the team’s leading rebounder three times and remains among that program’s top all-time scorers, rebounders and shot blockers. That helped her earn a spot in the Cascade Collegiate Conference Hall of Fame. (NNU was a member of that conference at that time.)
Heisey was an assistant for Oklahoma's Southern Nazarene from 1992-96 when that program won three NAIA titles. After graduating from Nampa Christian High School in Idaho, she earned her B.A. in education from Northwest Nazarene in 1989, and her master's in education from Southern Nazarene in 1994.
At Seattle Pacific, Heisey took charge of a team that already had become NCAA Division II power under the guidance of Gordy Presnell for 18 seasons before he left to accept the head coaching job at Boise State. During Heisey's nine-year tenure, the Falcons have won or shared the Great Northwest Athletic Conference title in 2007, 2008, 2009 and 2010. The Falcons have played in three West Regional title games under her guidance.
Heisey was honored by Northwest Nazarene as the 2004 winner of the school's Leon Doane Young Alumnus Award, which recognizes Christian character, demonstrated leadership, professional endeavors and support of their alma mater.
Heisey and her husband, Randy, live in Seattle.