Loyal To Loyola: Former Buffalo Grove Standout Named Hoops Head Coach

CHICAGO — It's been more than 20 years, but the 2000 state champion Buffalo Grove High School girls basketball team still has a special place in the hearts of local hoops fans. Allison Guth was an integral part of that team. Fast-forward to the present, and the Arlington Heights native is set to lead the Loyola University Chicago program.

Guth, who has spent the last six seasons as head coach of the women's basketball team at Yale University, was recently named to the same position with the Ramblers. She is the 10th head coach in the program's history and returns to Rogers Park after previously serving as assistant coach at Loyola from 2005 to 2007.

"We are thrilled to welcome Allison Guth back to Loyola and back home to Chicago," said Steve Watson, director of athletics, at a Monday press conference introducing Guth. "Allison has a proven track record of success, having worked with multiple outstanding Division I programs, including right here at Loyola at the very beginning of her coaching career. She has a history of recruiting high character student-athletes who are successful on the court, in the classroom and in the community."

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Guth led Yale to 99 wins during her tenure with the Bulldogs. The 17-year coaching veteran also has previous stints as an assistant coach at Northwestern (2013-15) and DePaul (2008-10).

"It is hard to put into words the abundance of gratitude I have to come home and to lead our young women at Loyola University Chicago," Guth said. "This is the place I was blessed with my first collegiate opportunity and the place in which I fell in love with coaching. To say that this is surreal in the moment, is an understatement.

A three-year letter winner at the University of Illinois during her own playing days, Guth was a member of the 2003 Fighting Illini team that reached the NCAA Tournament. She earned induction into the Illinois Basketball Coaches Association Hall of Fame with the championship Buffalo Grove team in 2013.