Carl Graves enters his second season as the head coach of the Madonna women’s basketball team after being named to the post on May 3, 2006.

In his first year at the helm, Graves led the Crusaders to a 15-18 overall mark and fell just one game shy of reaching the NAIA National Tournament after falling to Cornerstone in the WHAC Tournament championship.  At the end of the season, Graves was honored by his league coaching peers by being named the WHAC Coach of Character after representing the NAIA's five core values of respect, responsibility, integrity, servant leadership and sportsmanship within the Champions of Character program.

With his 15 wins in 2006-07, Graves surpassed former MU head coach Marylou Jansen as the winningest first year head coach at Madonna.  Graves picked up his 15th win of the season after knocking off 18th-ranked Davenport in the semifinals of the WHAC Tournament (February 24, 2007).

Graves comes to Madonna from Airport High School (Carleton, Michigan) where he has served as girls’ varsity coach for the past six seasons.  In his time at Airport, Graves guided his teams to a 88-39 record, including a school record for wins with 19 in 2005.

No stranger to the Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference, Graves played collegiately at Concordia University under then head coach Chip Wilde.  While with the Cardinals, Graves was named a 1996 NAIA Academic All-American and Academic All-Conference honoree.

"We are very excited to bring Coach Graves on board as part of the Madonna Family," stated MU athletic director Bryan Rizzo.  "I think his experience, work ethic and personality are going to make him an excellent addition to our staff.  I believe he is the right person to continue building on the success of our women's basketball program.  The future of Madonna Women's basketball is in good hands."

Graves, who holds a master's degree in Social Work and is a school Social Worker in the Monroe County Intermediate School district, is also excited about his new opportunity.

"I am very excited at the opportunity that Mr. Rizzo and Madonna University has given me," Graves told players in their first team meeting. "I believe there are a lot of positive attributes to build on, and a lot of things to improve on.  I am ready for the challenge."

In addition to his time at Airport, Graves has also worked several collegiate coaching camps including; Concordia University, Eastern Michigan University, University of Cincinnati, University of Kentucky and Rutgers University.

His lone collegiate coaching experience was as an assistant under Wilde at Concordia from 1996-98 where he was responsible for post-play, practice planning, game strategies and camp direction.

Graves' mentor and former coach Chip Wilde called the appointment, "a great day for Carl Graves and even better day for Madonna University."

Graves currently resides in Belleville, with his wife Karen, a former standout volleyball player at Concordia University.

Graves' Coaching Accomplishments at Madonna
- Became the winningest first year head coach at MU with 15 wins during the 2006-07 season
- Led the Crusaders to a conference tournament runner-up finish in his first season
- Named WHAC Coach of Character by his coaching peers

Graves' Year-by-Year Head Coaching Record at Madonna

Year W  L  PCT  CW  CL  PCT  Postseason  2006-07  15  18  .455  8  6  .571  WHAC Tournament Runner-up   TOTALS  15  18  .455  8  6  .571