Iowa State’s Bill Fennelly returns to bench after attending mother's funeral and missing game
AMES – As the Iowa State women’s basketball team took the court at Hilton Coliseum for its game against Oklahoma State on Wednesday, Cyclones coach Bill Fennelly was back in Davenport.
Fennelly was in his hometown for his mother Carol’s funeral earlier in the day. He watched from afar as the the 17th-ranked Cyclones notched a victory.
“There were a couple of moments that I probably said some things I shouldn’t have in front of my nieces and nephews that were all there,” Fennelly said with a smile.
After missing one game, Fennelly will be back on the bench with the Cyclones (12-4 overall and 4-2 in Big 12 play) when they play Kansas (13-4 overall, 3-3 in Big 12) on Saturday at 5 p.m. at Hilton Coliseum.
“It was a tough few days for everyone,” Fennelly said. “My situation, what’s hard is my life is my family and our team. That’s it. I’m a pretty boring person. When those two things bang into each other the way that they do, it puts everyone in a hard spot … but they handled it great.”
Fennelly hasn’t missed many games in 28 seasons at Iowa State. He sat out two games during the 2020 season when he had to self-quarantine after coming into contact with a person who had tested positive for COVID-19 pandemic.
Carol Fennelly died Sunday at age 85. Her funeral was held a few hours before the Cyclones tipped off against Oklahoma State. Associate head coach Jodi Steyer, a longtime member of Fennelly’s staff, filled in for her boss.
Steyer got help from other members of the staff, including Fennelly's son, Billy, an Iowa State assistant. Point guard Emily Ryan helped call plays on the floor. It led to an emotionally charged victory for the Cyclones, who used a second-half surge to pull away from Oklahoma State. Steyer and the players said after the game they were playing for Fennelly. Steyer fought back tears in the postgame press conference.
Fennelly called his staff while they were in the locker room afterward to congratulate them. And to thank them.
"I think the assistant coaches did a great job of filling his role and we kind of bought into the process of, we're going to win this game for him," said Iowa State forward Morgan Kane.
While it wasn't always easy to watch, Fennelly said he could sense something special in his team that night. The success of the Cyclones helped him through the difficult day.
"I thought Wednesday, when I woke up, it was going to be arguably the worst day I've had in a long time," Fennelly said. "But 10 o'clock Wednesday night, it ironically turned out to be one of the best. We had a great celebration for my mom and my team and my staff did an amazing job. It turned out to be a really good day."
Fans flooded Fennelly's social media page to offer their condolences. Oklahoma State coach Jacie Hoyt said following Wednesday's game that she was thinking about Fennelly. Fennelly said the support has helped during the grieving process.
"I really appreciate everyone, the fans, everyone that reached out, not just to our family but to our players and to my staff," Fennelly said. "That's the Iowa State way of doing things."
Fennelly's team was happy to see him return at practice this week.
"It's obviously nice to have him back," Kane said.
Tommy Birch, the Register's sports enterprise and features reporter, has been working at the newspaper since 2008. He's the 2018 and 2020 Iowa Sportswriter of the Year. Reach him at tbirch@dmreg.com or 515-284-8468. Follow him on Twitter @TommyBirch.
This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Iowa State coach Bill Fennelly will be back on the bench Saturday
