'I'm living my dream': Sue Guevara here to stay with Central Michigan


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Head coach Sue Guevara poses with her championship ring on Oct. 20 at McGuirk Arena.

Sue Guevara once described herself as a "recycled coach."

In her 28 years of coaching before coming to Mount Pleasant, Guevara bounced from program to program. She started in 1979 at Saginaw Valley State and earned an assistant coaching position with Michigan State in 1995. At one point, Guevara coached softball for two years with SVSU.

She kept improving and in 1996 landed a head coaching position with the University of Michigan. 

Now, Guevara looks back on her time in Ann Arbor and thought it was her dream job. 

“My ‘dream job’ wasn’t really my ‘dream job,'” Guevara said. “It was my training job and I didn’t realize it at the time. Now, I’m living my dream. I don’t know how many people can say that.”

Guevara’s time with the Wolverines came to an end after the 2003-04 season. She went to Auburn for for three years, then the Chippewas came with an offer.

“I will forever be thankful for (CMU),” Guevara said. “I had a chance to come back home and I wanted to help restore this program.”

Guevara’s led CMU women’s basketball to heights it has never seen before.

Making a legacy

Going into her 12th season with the Chippewas, Guevara has four MAC West Division titles, a MAC tournament championship in 2018 and a trip the NCAA Tournament’s Sweet 16.

She’s won the MAC Coach of the Year award twice. The program has nine total seasons of 20 wins or more, and Guevara owns seven of them, all of which in the past eight years.

Central Michigan women's basketball head coach Sue Guevara yells during the game against Oregon on March 24 at Spokane Arena.

Her rise to glory at McGuirk Arena wasn’t an easy task, however. Her early days with the Chippewas had their share of rebuilding phases.

Guevara’s first season with CMU resulted in a 6-23 overall finish. Those days were not easy, but she had to trust the process.

“Winning is what we've done, but by no means is it easy,” Guevara said.

She started to build that culture by going 20-11 in the 2010-11 season. The consistency was capped off with a 30-5 season last year which was undoubtedly the best season in program history. For all of the credit Guevara gives to her players, senior forward Reyna Frost said Guevara deserves some of her own.

Fellow senior guard Presley Hudson agreed. 

“We wouldn’t be here without coach G,” Hudson said. “She puts in just as much work as we do. Whether it’s playing basketball or just with life she cares about you and you can’t replace it.”

Thanks to coaching success, Guevara has led players like Frost, Hudson and Tinara Moore to hold records of their own at CMU.

Guevara has coached two MAC Players of the Year, three Freshman of the Year, four Sixth Players of the Year, two Defensive Players of the Year and three who have captured the MAC Tournament Most Valuable Player awards.

Continuing success

Many fans ask how Guevara's team will respond after its record-breaking season. 

The Chippewas journey through March Madness made the community proud. For many, it is something they will never forget.  

However, celebration time for Guevara is over. 

“It’s time to move on,” she said. 

The team received its MAC Championship rings on Oct. 20 before the Maroon and Gold scrimmage. Now, the focus is on Team 51.

CMU is Guevara's final destination. 

Everyday when Guevara drives to work she thinks about where she is at. This program means everything to her.  Until that feeling stops, Guevara doesn't plan to retire.

“I always tell people when they grab my hand before a game they are ice cold,” Guevara said. “When they are done being ice cold, I might be done.”

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