KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Kansas State women’s basketball head coach Deb Patterson has been inducted into the inaugural class of the Kansas Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA) Coaches Hall of Fame, in an announcement by the FCA on Friday morning. Joining Patterson in the class are Jerald Hadley (Larned HS), Ted Schmitz (Cloud County CC) and Garrett Wheaton (Lewis HS).

The hall of fame class of 2008 was inducted during the Kansas FCA Fall Conference. The inductees were presented with an award and recognized for being a Christian role model and active champion for FCA through the years. The Kansas FCA Coaches Hall of Fame Class of 2008 was selected by the Kansas FCA Leadership Council and FCA South Central Regional Director Ralph Stewart.

Patterson, entering her 13th season at the helm of the Wildcats, is the winningest women’s basketball coach in school history with 240 victories. During the 2007-08 season, Patterson guided the Wildcats to the second Big 12 regular season title in school history and the 10th NCAA Tournament appearance in the program’s history.

For her efforts during the season, Patterson was named the Big 12 Coach of the Year by the league’s coaches and a number of the conference’s media outlets. She was also a finalist for National Coach of the Year honors by the Associated Press and the Women’s Basketball Coaches’ Association.

Patterson is a very active member of the Manhattan community as a spokesperson and speaker for the FCA and YoungLife.

The FCA is the largest Christian sports ministry in the world and focuses on serving local communities by equipping, empowering and encouraging people to make a difference for Christ.

Kansas State will open its 2008-09 season on Friday, October 17 with Madness in Manhattan at Bramlage Coliseum. The Wildcats begin action on the court on Sunday, November 2 with an exhibition game against Washburn.