Misty Opat enters her 9th year as the Head Women's Basketball Coach at Rock Valley College. Opat has established her program as one of the best in the history of the NJCAA. Her program has won four NJCAA DIII National Championships (2012, 2013, 2015, 2017) in the past six seasons and finished in National Runner-Up in 2014.
In eight seasons, Opat has compiled an overall record of 207-57 (.784). She was named Spalding NJCAA DIII National Coach of the Year in 2015 and 2017, has been named the Illinois Basketball Coaches Association Coach of the Year five times, the Region IV Coach of the Year six times, the District 2 Coach of the Year four times, and the Coach of the NJCAA DIII National Tournament four times.
Opat has been the Athletic Director at Rock Valley College since May of 2011 and is in charge of seven varsity sports offered at RVC. In her time leading the department, Opat has been instrumental in the expansion of a nationally recognized department. Under her watch, RVC has won 12 NJCAA National Championships and has grown from four full-time coaches to seven. Also, under Opat, men’s and women’s soccer have both been added. Opat chaired committees which hired every coach in the department. In addition to the success of her own program, under the guidance of Coach Opat, RVC Softball has compiled a 262-53 (.832) record with back-to-back-to-back-to-back national championships (2014, 2015, 2016, 2017). RVC Men's Basketball has been 117-21 (.848) over the last four years with two national championships (2014, 2016) and a national runner-up finish in 2015. Opat oversaw the expansion of athletic facilities including the new student athlete lounge, the ACE Center, which boasts a student-athlete computer lab, a lounge area and a big screen TV, as well as the new soccer fields, and assistant coach offices. Her vision and leadership also saw the hiring of a full-time trainer to the athletics and fitness, wellness, and sport department of Rock Valley College. Opat has expanded the number of events coming to Rock Valley College which include the “Rumble in the Rock” basketball event which has produced attendance in excess of 4,000 spectators, as well as countless regionally recognized tournaments and jamborees. The Rising Stars All-Star game, consisting of the best boys and girls high school prospects from the NIC-10 and surrounding Rockford areas has since returned to Rock Valley's Physical Eduaction Center. The IHSA, under the watch of Coach Opat and her coaches, hosts sectionals on campus. Additionally, Rock Valley College will be hosting the 2018 NJCAA DIII Women's Basketball National Tournament, as well as the 2018 NJCAA DIII Women's Soccer National Tournament.
Prior to RVC, Opat accumulated seven years of NCAA Division I coaching experience. From 1999-2002 she served as an assistant coach at the University of Illinois at Chicago where she also served as the Recruiting Coordinator. In 2000 her UIC recruiting class was ranked 19th in the country for NCAA Division I. Opat also held assistant coaching positions at Fresno State University (1998-99) and the University of Kansas (1995-1998) where in both cases she was also heavily involved in recruiting and scouting.
Opat earned an Associate of Science degree from Garden City Community College in Garden City, Kansas, where she was a two-year team captain in basketball and was named to the all-conference and all-region teams in both seasons. She earned her Bachelor of Arts degree from Bethany College in Lindsborg, Kansas, where she earned NAIA All-American honors as a player. Opat then went on to obtain a Master of Science in Sports Administration from Fort Hays State University in Hays, Kansas.
Opat lives in Rockford, IL with her three nieces, Makenzie, April, and Theresa, and her son, Davion.
Misty Opat Coaching Record at Rock Valley College
| Year |
W |
L |
PCT. |
Post Season |
| 2016-17 |
33 |
2 |
0.943 |
Region IV/District 2 Champions, N4C Champions, NJCAA DIII National Champions |
| 2015-16 |
23 |
8 |
0.742 |
N4C Champions |
| 2014-15 |
27 |
7 |
0.794 |
Region IV/District 2 Champions, N4C Champions, NJCAA DIII National Champions |
| 2013-14 |
28 |
6 |
0.824 |
Region IV/District 2 Champions, N4C Champions, NJCAA DIII National Runner-up |
| 2012-13 |
32 |
2 |
0.941 |
Region IV/District 2 Champions, N4C Champions, NJCAA DIII National Champions |
| 2011-12 |
28 |
6 |
0.824 |
Region IV/District 2 Champions, N4C Champions, NJCAA DIII National Champions |
| 2010-11 |
24 |
8 |
0.75 |
|
| 2009-10 |
12 |
18 |
0.4 |
|
| Totals |
207 |
57 |
0.784 |
|
