Ron Arnett became the head coach of Kentucky Christian University Women’s Basketball Team in 1991. In the 21 years that have followed, Ron has developed champions both on and off the court. He has always taught his players to have an unapologetic desire to win. Coach Arnett knew that a winning program would create larger platforms and that people listen to winners in hopes of finding out what the secrets to success might be. His 557-160 record (.770 winning %) clearly confirms that KCU Women’s Basketball team members have had a big platform for a long time and that people can learn a lot about the secrets of success by watching Coach Arnett’s teams every year.
Ron and his teams have won fourteen NCCAA National Championships and he has been named NCCAA National Coach of the Year on seven occasions. He has coached twenty-five NCCAA 1st Team All-Americans and produced twenty-four NCCAA Scholar Athletes. Since the 1991-92 season, KCU Women’s Basketball Teams are an amazing 376-14 against NCCAA opponents and have won more than 58% of their games against scholarship granting NAIA opponents. These numbers are phenomenal when you consider that KCU has never offered athletic scholarships over this span of Ron’s tenure.
The amazing accomplishments of Ron’s teams create a great case for his induction into the NCCAA Hall of Fame. However, the most compelling rationale for this man’s inclusion into this elite group is not his coaching record. It is his mentoring record. It is the highlights he shares when asked what are the greatest moments in his KCU career. The story about a player accepting Christ literally minutes before stepping onto the floor for a National Championship contest. Or the one about a player accepting Christ just hours after a national semifinal win and then being baptized in the hotel pool after hours. He considers his relationships with NCCAA coaching peers as priceless and enjoys his current role as mentor and historian within NCCAA Women’s Basketball circles.
Former KCU President and current Chancellor, Dr. Keith Keeran, sums up Ron Arnett’s program when he states, “I have lived and breathed the same air with Ron Arnett for many years and know him to be the genuine article. Most importantly, his players realize that too. That is why they have bought into hard practices, playing smart and putting the team above self. One finds the results to be self-evident.”
Ron Arnett is simply a man who excels in life. He has successfully balanced his walk with Christ, his partnership with his wife, Linda, his role as a father, and his “job” as a coach.