Ohio State extended the contract of one of its most successful coaches on Monday.
Nadine Muzerall, a two-time national champion head coach for Ohio State women's hockey, has signed an extension with the Buckeyes through the 2028-29 season.
Coach Muzerall has signed a five-year contract extension #GoBucks | https://t.co/26ixIyi2Ed pic.twitter.com/5mQ7dMS5iF
— Ohio State Women's Hockey (@OhioStateWHKY) May 20, 2024
"We are thrilled to extend Nadine's contract and have her continue to lead our women's hockey program," Ohio State senior deputy athletic director Janine Oman said in a program press release. "She has set a new standard for women's hockey at Ohio State and in a short time shaped this program into a perennial national title contender. Not only has she developed great hockey players, but also excellent students and leaders off the ice. We are excited to see what's to come for this program and its student-athletes under her continued leadership."
Since Muzerall took over the program in 2016, Ohio State has an overall record of 195-73-19, making her the winningest head coach in program history. The Buckeyes have also won two national championships (2022 and 2024), two WCHA Final Faceoff titles (2020 and 2022) and two WCHA regular-season trophies (2023 and 2024) in her tenure. With those accomplishments, Muzerall has placed the Buckeyes in the same conversation as powerhouses like Clarkson, Minnesota, Minnesota-Duluth and Wisconsin.
"It's truly an honor to get to lead this program and I want to thank Janine Oman and Gene Smith for trusting me with that responsibility," Muzerall said. "I am proud of what we've built here over the last eight seasons but know that there is still much for us to achieve as a program. I look forward to continuing to develop our program into one of the nation's elite."
Muzerall is a five-time WCHA Coach of the Year recipient and five-time AHCA Coach of the Year finalist. In her tenure, she has guided nine skaters to All-American accolades and 33 skaters to All-WCHA honors. Muzerall has also coached three Patty Kazmaier Memorial Award finalists: Emma Maltais, Sophie Jaques and Jenn Gardiner. Jaques won the award in 2022-23.
Ohio State has also had tremendous success in the classroom under Muzerall. In each of the past four years, the school's athletic department has awarded her program the "Varsity O Cup" for the highest GPA among large roster teams. Since 2016, Muzerall has had 31 players combine for 58 ACHA All-American Scholar accolades and 42 players combine for 87 WCHA Scholar-Athlete awards.
