The most prominent name in Seton Hall women's basketball history, Phyllis Mangina has been a mainstay in the Pirate program for over 25 years, first as a star point guard and then later as an assistant before assuming her current role as head coach in 1985.  Now in her 25th season as head coach, Mangina carries a 343-347 career record into the year as the Pirates seek their sixth postseason berth under her watch.  During her tenure, the Seton Hall program has risen to prominence within the BIG EAST Conference and has consistently produced quality student-athletes who excel both on the court and in the classroom.

In the past seven seasons, Mangina has led SHU to three WNIT appearances and this year she will look to lead the Pirates back to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 1994-95.  The Hall most recently made the post-season in 2006-07 when the team reached the WNIT Second Round and finished the season with a 19-12 record.

The 2003-04 campaign saw Mangina lead the Pirates back to the postseason and continue the recent resurgence of the program.  After opening the year with a 10-3 mark and earning votes in the Associated Press Top 25 poll, Seton Hall earned its second consecutive WNIT bid.  The Pirates won an overtime thriller against George Mason at Walsh Gymnasium and advanced to the WNIT Second Round before falling to Saint Joseph's in overtime and finishing the year with a 15-15 mark.

The success of 2003-04 came on the heels of a WNIT bid in 2002-03 and back-to-back winning seasons in 2000-01 and 2001-02.  The 2000-01 squad finished sixth in the BIG EAST and 16-12 overall, and was at one point 16-6 and receiving Top 25 votes.  The 2001-02 team finished at 15-14 despite some key injuries. 

Mangina became Seton Hall women's basketball's winningest coach during the 1997-98 season.  She has coached three Honorable Mention All-Americans and 17 All-BIG EAST performers.  She has also seen two of her former players, Texlin Quinney and Dana Wynne, play professionally in the WNBA.

The Pirates' 72-62 win over Pittsburgh on January 17, 1998, gave Mangina 192 career victories, breaking the mark of 191 previously held by former Senior Associate Athletic Director Sue Regan. 

Seton Hall's 1995-96 team went 16-13, and claimed a share of the BIG EAST 7 regular season championship, Seton Hall's first-ever conference title.   The 1994-95 Pirates compiled a 24-9 record to give Mangina her second consecutive 20-win season, while earning their second straight bid to the NCAA Tournament. Seton Hall advanced to the NCAA Second Round for the second time, losing to defending champion North Carolina. Ranked 22nd in the AP Preseason Poll for the first time ever, the 1994-95 team spent 10 weeks in the Top 25. For her efforts, Mangina was named the New Jersey Coach of the Year and the Metropolitan Coach of the Year, winning both awards for the second straight season.

In 1993-94, the Pirates achieved national prominence for the first time and posted the finest season in school history. Seton Hall garnered a best ever 27-5 record and attained its first-ever national ranking, ending the year ranked 14th by Associated Press and USA Today, the highest of the season. The Pirates earned the program's first bid to the NCAA Tournament, and won their first two games against Vermont and Texas to reach the NCAA "Sweet 16", where the season ended with a 64-60 loss to top-seeded Penn State in the Midwest Regional Semifinals. Mangina also led the team to a best-ever second-place finish in the BIG EAST Conference with a 16-2 record. She was honored as the 1994 BIG EAST Coach of the Year, for the second time in her career, and earned a sweep of the regional coaching honors as she was named the 1994 Coach of the Year in Converse District 2, New Jersey and the Metropolitan Women's Basketball Association (MWBA).

After taking over for former coach Sue (Dilley) Regan in 1985, Mangina struggled through a 5-23 season but rebounded in 1986-87 to post a 12-17 mark, more than doubling the team's win total. The Pirate program took great strides in 1988-89 with an 18-10 record and finishing for the first time above the .500 mark in BIG EAST competition with a 9-7 record. For her accomplishments, Mangina was named the New Jersey College Basketball Coaches Association Coach of the Year. In 1989-90, Mangina's squad went on to post a 21-7 record and an 11-5 BIG EAST mark, earning her the BIG EAST Coach of the Year award. Mangina did a masterful job in guiding the 1990-91 Pirates to an 18-11 record and their first BIG EAST Tournament semifinal appearance despite the loss of three key players to injury. The following season, 1991-92, the Pirates were again plagued by serious injuries, and finished 14-15. In 1992-93, Mangina led the Pirates to a 14-13 record, their first winning season since 1990-91 with Seton Hall making its sixth straight appearance in the BIG EAST Quarterfinals. Among the highlights of the season was a six-game winning streak at the start of the year and a 73-59 win over then-#22 Miami, Seton Hall's first victory over a ranked team since 1988-89. Mangina also earned her 100th career victory at the beginning of the season when the Pirates defeated Rider on December 4, 1992.

Mangina has guided teams in overseas competition on three occasions. Most recently, she served as the head coach of the BIG EAST/Nike All-Star team that toured France and Italy in June 1996. Mangina guided the squad to a 3-2 record, with both losses at the hands of the French National Team. It marked the first time in the seven years of the tour that the BIG EAST team compiled a winning record. In 1993, her Seton Hall squad toured Belgium and France and posted a 5-3 record in competition versus professional teams.  Mangina's Pirates traveled to Holland in 1988, the first time the Seton Hall team had gone overseas. That squad went 5-2 during the two-week tour, highlighted by a win over Denhelgar, the Dutch National Champions.

A standout point guard from 1977 to 1981, Mangina led Seton Hall to a 93-28 mark during her four seasons. Each year the team advanced to post-season play, highlighted by a trip to the 1978 AIAW National Final. Mangina was team captain in both her junior and senior seasons and at the time of graduation, held Pirate records in career assists (441), assists in a season (151) and career steals (269). Mangina is currently 11th on the all-time scoring list with 1,195 points. She was one of 13 former Pirate student-athletes inducted into the Seton Hall Athletic Hall of Fame in November 1991.

Following graduation from Seton Hall in 1981 with a bachelor of science degree, Mangina served as an assistant coach at Wagner College for the 1981-82 season.  She then returned to South Orange and took the same position with her former coach Sue Regan.  From 1982-85, Mangina was Seton Hall's top recruiter and then became Seton Hall's second coach in September 1985, when Regan was promoted to the position of Associate Athletic Director.

Mangina, who resides in Verona, N.J., has served as the District 2 representative on the Board of Directors of the Women's Basketball Coaches Association. She was a member of the Kodak All-America Committee for five years and during 1993-94 served as a voter for the Associated Press Top 25 and as the president of the New Jersey Basketball Coaches Association.  Mangina, who was the president of the BIG EAST coaches in 2004,  has also served as the BIG EAST conference captain for the WBCA since 2006.