Debra Clark, a coaching veteran with more than 20 years’ experience and 269 career victories, is now in her seventh year as the Spartans’ head coach.
Clark has overseen the steady improvement of the program since taking over the reins prior to the 2009-10 season. Last season, the Spartans finished 14-16 overall and 11-5 in MEAC play, their best conference mark, first winning MEAC ledger and most overall wins since winning the league title in 2001-02. NSU also advanced to the MEAC tournament semifinals last season for the first time since 2005, with only an overtime loss to UMES standing in the way of a berth in the tourney championship game.
Clark has recruited and coached several of the standout players who have been instrumental in the program’s recent progression. Rachel Gordon (2010-14) became the school’s all-time leading rebounder, capped by a first-team All-MEAC season in 2013-14. She was the first Spartan player to earn All-MEAC first-team honors since Suawana Taylor in 2001-02.
Last year, guard Rae Corbo (20.8 points per game) had the highest single-season scoring average by an NSU player since 1995-96. She became the school’s all-time leading Division I-era scorer in the process and earned second-team all-conference honors. Also last season, forward Kayla Roberts won the school’s first-ever MEAC Rookie of the Year award while also earning a spot on the All-MEAC second team.
Thanks to a pair of wins in the 2015 MEAC tournament, NSU has now won four game in the league tourney over the last four seasons. Wins over Bethune-Cookman in the 2012 tourney and Florida A&M in 2013 gave the Spartans conference tournament wins in back-to-back years for the first time since 2004 and 2005.
The NSU program posted just one win in 2008-09, the year prior to Clark’s arrival, but after earning four victories in her first season, Clark saw her rebuilding project start to take shape in 2010-11. The Spartans concluded the year with a 9-19 overall record. NSU then finished 12-17 in 2011-12, tied for the most wins for the program in 10 years.
During Clark’s tenure, NSU has ended losing streaks against UMES (6), Bethune-Cookman (6), Morgan State (8), North Carolina A&T (10), Delaware State (11), Hampton (17) and Coppin State (18). The Spartans snapped the losing skids against the latter two programs during the 2014-15 season.
The coaching staff also put an end to a 40-game road conference losing streak in 2011-12, as well as a 28-game losing streak to CAA opponents. The latter came courtesy of a victory over George Mason which marked the first win over a CAA opponent since the 1999-2000 season.
Seven of NSU’s wins in 2010-11 came during the non-conference portion of its schedule, the most in nine seasons. Included in those victories were triumphs over Southland Conference champion and NCAA tournament participant McNeese State as well as the Southland runner-up Central Arkansas.
In her 20 years as a head coach between Winston-Salem State, Florida A&M and Norfolk State, Clark’s record stands at 269-307 overall.
Clark was originally named NSU’s interim head coach for the 2009-10 season in May 2009 before having the interim title removed in April 2010.
Clark is no stranger to Norfolk State. She served as an assistant women’s basketball coach under James Sweat from 1987-94, helping the Spartans win three Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association (CIAA) titles and make four consecutive appearances in the NCAA Division II Tournament in the early 1990s.
NSU won a combined seven games in the NCAA Tournament during Clark’s last four years as an assistant coach with the program, including a run to the 1991 NCAA Final Four.
Clark was also a health and physical education instructor at NSU during those years, a position she returned to for the 2008-09 school year prior to being named the interim head coach.
In between her two stints at Norfolk State, Clark spent time as the head coach at Florida A&M from 2001-08 and at Winston-Salem State from 1994-2001. She owned a combined mark of 211-194 (.521) at the two schools. Clark’s teams at FAMU made three MEAC tournament semifinal appearances in her seven seasons.
Clark was 115-83 at WSSU and advanced to the CIAA tournament semifinals on four occasions. She was named the CIAA Coach of the Year for the 1995-96 season. Only once in her seven years at Winston-Salem State – Clark’s first year leading the program – did the Rams fail to make it past the first round of the CIAA tournament.
While at Winston-Salem State, she served as the president of the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association for the CIAA for six years.
Clark was a four-year letterwinner at Hampton from 1980-84 under Sweat and a three-year captain as well. She earned her bachelor’s degree in health and physical education from Hampton in 1984 and her master’s in sports administration from Penn State in 1986.
While at Penn State, Clark also served as the assistant coordinator of minority graduate recruitment for the school’s College of Health, Physical Education and Recreation in addition to serving as a graduate assistant instructor of physical education.
A prep star at Malverne High School on Long Island, Clark finished her career at Hampton ranked second in scoring. She still ranks in the top 15 all-time at Hampton in career points.
Clark and her husband John have one son, Aaron, a former guard at Virginia Wesleyan College.
