Janet Malouf

Janet Malouf enters her 29th season as head women’s basketball coach at Kutztown University in 2023-24.

Malouf, a four-time PSAC East Coach of the Year, is the program's all-time winningest coach with a 430-357 (.546) career record. Under her leadership, 23 Golden Bears have combined to earn 44 All-PSAC East honors. Malouf has coached one PSAC Athlete of the Year, three PSAC Defensive Athletes of the Year and five PSAC Freshmen of the Year.

The Golden Bears have reached the postseason in 12 of the last 14 seasons, including the 2021-22 season when KU won a program record 26 games (26-7), captured its third PSAC East title and qualified for the NCAA Division II Championship tournament for the second time in school history. Malouf's team also captured a program record 18 conference victories (18-3), tied for the ninth most league wins in a season in PSAC history.

Kutztown shared the PSAC East championship with Bloomsburg in 2018-19 --its first division crown since 1995-96. The Maroon and Gold went on to host the PSAC Final Four, where they defeated 21st-ranked California (Pa.), 67-62, in the semifinals to advance to the PSAC championship game for the first time in program history. KU finished runner-up to nationally-ranked Indiana (Pa.) and finished the year with a 19-12 record.

Malouf currently ranks 26th in career wins among active NCAA Division II coaches. She captured her 400th victory Jan. 5, 2022, when the Golden Bears defeated West Chester, 64-53. She is one of four PSAC coaches in the 400-win club.

In 2009-10, Malouf's Golden Bears went 19-9 overall and 9-5 in the PSAC East and advanced to the PSAC semifinals. KU was the No. 2 seed in the PSAC East quarterfinals, beating Bloomsburg in overtime and falling to Gannon, who was the top-ranked team in Division II, in the 2010 semifinals.

Malouf owns the four winningest seasons in school history.The 1995-96 season saw Malouf’s squad reach the 20-win plateau and the NCAA Tournament for the first time in program history. The Bears' 9-3 mark in the PSAC East that season earned them a share of the regular season division title. In 1999-2000, the Golden Bears set a then-school record with 21 victories as Malouf became the first coach in team history to win 100 career games.

Malouf's 2008-09 team also won 20 games, but the 21 triumphs in 1999-2000 stood as the program benchmark for 20 seasons before the 2021-22 team surpassed it with 26 wins.

During the 1997-98, 1998-99, 2005-06, and 2009-10 seasons, KU advanced to the semifinals of the PSAC playoffs.

Before arriving at Kutztown, Malouf was the assistant women’s basketball coach at Lafayette College for four seasons. The Leopards had winning campaigns three of the four seasons during her tenure. Malouf received her master’s degree in sports management from Purdue University in 1990, where she served as a volunteer basketball assistant.

In addition to her Division I coaching experience, Malouf also played at Division I powerhouse Rutgers University, where she received her bachelor’s degree in sports management in 1989. She was a four-year starter under head coach Theresa Grentz, who also coached the 1992 U.S. Olympic women’s basketball team.

Malouf helped the Scarlet Knights to the NCAA tournament four straight years, finishing in the Elite Eight in 1986 and 1987 and in the Sweet 16 in 1988. She held the university’s assist record for men and women (718 career, 209 season) until 2001. In 2003, Malouf was inducted into the Rutgers Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame.