According to the NCAA, athletes only have four years of eligibility.

So, when you see a familiar face on the sidelines during the NIU women’s basketball season, don’t expect her to be wearing No. 12.

Expect to see former NIU guard Stephanie Raymond in something a little more formal.

Raymond is back, but not as a player. She’s the women’s basketball student coach.

“At first, coming into it, I didn’t think I would get the respect,” Raymond said. “I just finished playing and now I’m their coach.”

The student coach couldn’t have been more happy when her worries turned out to be wasted energy.

“[The players] completely respect me. They treat me just like I’m another coach. They listen to me,” Raymond said. “I am loving it right now.”

The student coach also brings professional experience. Over the summer, Raymond completed her first season in the WNBA.

While the experience has been a great benefit to coaching, Carol Owens, NIU women’s basketball coach, knew Raymond would always be great for the profession.

During Raymond’s senior season, Owens pushed the guard to attend a workshop. It was titled “So You Want to Be a Coach,” and was presented by the Women’s Basketball Coaching Association.

The feedback about Raymond was no surprise to Owens. Everyone said the senior was a coach in the making.

“She’s going to have a future in coaching if she wants to,” Owens said. “She’s a natural. When she says something, everyone listens, including me.”

While everyone has been listening to Raymond, it has been a change for some players.

Senior Whitney Lowe spent three years as a teammate with Raymond. The guard still sees the former teammate as part of the gang.

“It’s hard for me because I played with her for three years. I still see her as a teammate,” Lowe said. “But, I respect her. She’s the coach now.”

While Raymond is a coach for now, she doesn’t plan on entering the field right after graduation.

If everything works to plan, Raymond would like to play in the WNBA for another 10 years. Only after that does she plan on entering the coaching profession.

But according to Owens, there will be plenty of coaching staffs wanting to add Raymond to their crew — including her own staff.

“When you have such a reputation, like Stephanie has, and the network of people who know who you are, they are going to want you on their staff,” Owens said. “I’m just going to have to beat them to the punch.”

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