Maybe No One in RI Is Better at Their Job Than This Woman

Maybe No One in RI Is Better at Their Job Than This Woman

In many jobs, excellence is subjective. In athletics, excellence is objective.

You either win or lose.

And the woman who might objectively be the best in the state at what she does is at Rhode Island College (RIC).

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Jenna Cosgrove is the head coach of the women’s basketball team and has a two-year record of 57-5.

92%.

Clearly, a better record than most of the CEOs or government leaders.

For RIC’s Cosgrove, she has taken a Division III women’s basketball team to the height of success.

Last year, the team made it to the NCAA Final Four.

This season — the regular season was perfect, 25-0. The RIC women continued their winning streak to 29-0 before a heartbreaking loss to Washington and Lee in the third round of the NCAA tournament.

“RIC is my first head coaching job — I can’t say I envisioned it. I put my head down and was relentless. RIC is a different play — I have a different impact,” said Cosgrove in an interview with GoLocal. Before she was hired seven years ago at RIC, Cosgrove was an assistant coach at Division-I Fordham.

Jack Warner, the President of RIC, sees the macro-impact of the success of the women’s program and Cosgrove on the College and its reputation.

“Every game of the NCAA tournament was filled with people from all over the country. That is a result of the success of the team and coach Cosgrove,’ said Warner.

And Cosgrove said the support from the college has been remarkable.

“When I walk across campus, students and professors who I don’t even know come up to me and talk about our team's success. It is really great,” said Cosgrove.

 

Keeping Cosgrove and Growing the Program

For RIC, keeping Cosgrove is important. According to state records, Cosgrove makes about $100,000 and received a $5,000 bonus for her undefeated season, which pales in comparison to the pay level of men’s and women’s Division I level coaches. 

As GoLocal unveiled in March of this year, the University of Rhode Island men’s basketball coach, Ryan "Archie" Miller, is getting a major raise. Despite struggling the first two years leading the Rams, Miller’s five-year contract provides for major increases in year three and beyond.

Miller’s record as URI’s head coach is 21-42, and the Rams have lost in the opening round of the Atlantic-10 conference tournament in both years.

In March of 2022, URI women’s coach Tammi Reiss was rewarded with a contract that can extend up to ten years, pays $425,000 a year, and has a collection of minor incentives. 

Cosgrove is now a hot commodity, and Division I teams have begun to come knocking.

RIC Athletic Director Don Tencher said, “We are doing everything we can do to keep her at RIC.”

“The team is going on a trip to Puerto Rico this coming year and we are adding more resources,” added Tencher.

But, he admitted that there are limits. The budget for the entire athletic department, not including fundraising is resources, is $2.4 million. There are more than 400 athletes participating in sports at RIC.

Cosgrove says she is always looking for a challenge, but admits that RIC is an ideal spot for her right now.

“It is a great place to raise a family — I am married, we have a house, and now a baby,” said Cosgrove. She is the mother of a one-month-old baby boy.

The balance of D-III is much more manageable, Cosgrove said.

“Challenges don’t scare me, but leaving [would need] to be something special,” she said.

GoLocal confirmed that the University of New Hampshire asked Tencher to interview Cosgrove.

 

The Future

Cosgrove said she was wildly disappointed to have lost this past year, especially at home in the NCAA tournament. But she is optimistic about next year, when said that she loses a number of talented players but returns her star point guard and her starting center for the 2024-25 academic year.

For RIC, the college is perfect for her. There is unfinished business. "There are some challenges we want to overcome," said Cosgrove.

"We would love, love to have her build her program into the UConn women's program of Division-III basketball," added Warner.