BOWLING GREEN — Fred Chmiel will have to make a few adjustments when his Bowling Green State University women’s basketball team faces Dawn Staley and perennial power South Carolina on Dec. 19 at the Stroh Center.
The former South Carolina assistant, who was hired as BGSU’s coach in April, will be on the other bench instead of a seat next to his longtime friend.
“I’ll probably tell her to call a timeout when I’m not supposed to or something,” Chmiel said with a laugh before BGSU’s practice on Thursday. “It’ll be something that I haven’t experienced before, but it’ll be fun.
“She’s extremely competitive, so, once that ball is tipped, she won’t know who I am. That’s for sure.”
A home game with one of the top programs in the country highlights a challenging nonconference portion of BGSU’s 2023-24 schedule that the Falcons are embracing. Along with South Carolina — the top-ranked team in the final Associated Press poll that finished 36-1 and reached the NCAA Final Four last season — BGSU will travel to national runner-up Iowa (31-7 record, No. 3 in final AP poll) on Dec. 2, and Big Ten regular-season champion Indiana (28-4, No. 2) on Dec. 22.
Toughening up the schedule by adding high-caliber teams was something Chmiel wanted to do at BGSU.
“I want to make sure that when the committee opens up that folder that they see quality opponents that we have, being competitive with the best in the country, and that we deserve to be in the NCAA tournament if we do our due diligence prior to,” Chmiel said.
The opportunity to host South Carolina, where Chmiel spent the past eight seasons on the coaching staff, will be special for the Falcons and BGSU community. The Gamecocks went 247-32 with two national championships and four Final Four appearances during that span.
“I’m happy for him,” Staley told The Blade on Thursday night. “Obviously, we’re both going to be fairly competitive. That’s the thing that kept us [together] as long [as it did], to compete at the very highest level.
“He’s not afraid. He’s not afraid to play a tough schedule, that’s what we’re used to playing, and he took it to Bowling Green. I look forward to it being a competitive match no matter what the circumstances are, no matter what the rankings are. He’s going to coach them up and he’s going to put them in a position to win the game. That’s what he’s good at. That’s what we’re good at too. We’ll battle it out.”
Chmiel and Staley’s relationship stretches back to 2005 when the current BGSU coach was an assistant for the WNBA’s Charlotte Sting, which Staley starred for as a player. Chmiel was also an assistant under Staley at Temple from 2006-08.
Staley said South Carolina needed a game to help fill out its schedule, and Chmiel was “kind enough to play us.” She is looking forward to coming to Bowling Green to reconnect with Chmiel.
“I think it’ll be a great opportunity for us to just meet up again and see each other and for us to see where he lives and where he coaches and where there seems to be great fans that follow their program,” Staley said.
Added Chmiel: “I’m thankful for the opportunity she’s given me, I’m thankful for the position she’s put me in. I’m thankful for her coming up here and playing us. She’s been there for me most of my entire career basketball-wise, so it’s nothing that I didn’t expect she would help us.”
Meanwhile, adding Iowa to the schedule means the Falcons will go up against Caitlin Clark. The Hawkeyes’ star point guard won the Naismith, Wooden, and AP women’s college basketball player of the year awards after averaging 27.8 points, 7.1 rebounds, and 8.6 assists per game last season.
“We know it’s going to be challenging, but you have to step in the arena,” BGSU athletic director Derek van der Merwe said. “You have to be willing to put yourself out there and step in the arena, and I think it’s something that Fred’s really philosophically committed to, and it’s a great opportunity for our program.”
The Falcons will be facing Indiana for the second consecutive year. The Hoosiers won 96-61 early last season at Assembly Hall.
Despite the loss, the experience to play against a Big Ten team was significant for the Falcons. It was the lone loss in nonleague play as BGSU posted a 31-7 record and reached the Women’s National Invitation Tournament semifinals for the first time.
“Indiana was just such a cool game. The gym is such an awesome environment, they have so many fans,” BGSU senior forward Olivia Hill said. “It was so cool to see people supporting women’s basketball and, after that game, I think we all really wanted that to also become the Stroh, and it totally did during the WNIT tournament.
“Our fans were unbelievable. The community was just great the way that they surrounded us.”
During BGSU’s WNIT run, the Falcons posted two of the top seven home crowds in program history. BGSU’s 69-52 win over Florida in the quarterfinals drew 3,788 fans, which is fourth in Stroh Center history and seventh overall. The Falcons’ 77-70 semifinal loss to Columbia brought in 4,155 fans — the largest in Stroh Center history and second-biggest overall. Only the NCAA tournament game against Florida on March 17, 1993, had more fans (4,408).
Filling up the Stroh Center — especially with BGSU students — is something Chmiel and Van der Merwe hope becomes the norm when the Falcons start their season in early November.
The mid-December matchup with South Carolina should be a pretty good measuring stick.
“The Stroh will be sold out. We all know that,” Van der Merwe said. “The thing that we are committed to as a department is the investment in our students on campus as well. They’re such an important part of it.
“We’re trying to build this with our students on campus, engaging, participating, and being part of celebrating and raising banners in the Stroh.”
First Published August 24, 2023, 11:26 p.m.
