Theresa McDermott: Basketball Wife Balances Life

Attend any Creighton men’s basketball game and you will no doubt see proud wife and mother Theresa McDermott, 46 in the stands cheering on the hometown Bluejays. Her connection to the CU team, currently ranked in the NCAA Top 25 and drawing attention from national sports writers? Father-son basketball combo Greg and Doug McDermott, Creighton’s head coach and player extraordinaire.
But Theresa’s life doesn’t consist of just showing up to basketball games to root for the Jays—she also has a household to maintain, a marriage to support, kids to raise, a community to help, all the while looking fantastic, staying healthy and setting a good example. No pressure there….
Even with all these demands, McDermott manages to balance it all with grace and a sense of humor. But then again, she’s had lots of practice.
Theresa met husband and Creighton head basketball coach Greg at the University of Northern Iowa in the ‘80s during the summer of their sophomore year when they both worked at a family-housing department as recreational assistants. She describes her dynamic with Greg today as “really good friends trying to raise a family.” That family consists of their three kids: Nick, Doug, and Sydney. Nick, 22, is an outgoing senior at UNI and is a very good golfer. Theresa jokes, “He didn’t get the basketball genes. He got my height and Greg’s speed.” Doug, 20, is a laid-back sophomore at Creighton and is a forward on the basketball team. “He got Greg’s height and my speed,” she laughs. Sydney, 11, attends a small Catholic school in Omaha and is a good mix of both her brothers’ personalities. “[With Sydney] it’s sort of like raising an only child because of the age difference, and she’s the caboose…Sydney is Greg’s princess.”
Before they came to Creighton, Greg was head basketball coach at Iowa State University. Theresa said the transition to Nebraska was easy since they had previously lived in Nebraska when Greg coached at Wayne State College; and it helped that it was still the Midwest with “good Midwest people.” The family has moved a few times for Greg’s coaching career, with which Theresa has had no problem. “I’m a person that loves change,” she says. “It’s a very positive thing for me. We move every four to five years, but hopefully not anymore. We love Omaha, and we’d love to stay for the rest of our lives.” The only thing that was hard about moving each time was leaving the schools behind. “It’s always hard when you move to a new school. You leave them, and you feel like you’re betraying them, but it’s a business. It’s the best option for Greg’s career, but it is sad that you’re leaving the school colors you wore for how long…”
Creighton fans know exactly what she means. The last head basketball coach, Dana Altman, was well respected and supported by the community, so it came as no shock that many were upset to hear of his leave. However, fans were very welcoming to Theresa and her family. “We had big shoes to fill,” she says. “With that in mind, the Creighton family and community—and Omaha—had accepted us exceptionally well.”
When it comes time for basketball season, Theresa does notice more tension in her home than usual, but she and Greg have been doing it for 22 years, so they have a good routine down. “I know when he needs to go to his man-cave,” she says with a laugh. And with son Doug on the basketball team, there are times when Theresa says he confides in her after a hard day at practice. “He sometimes wants to get my opinion instead of his dad’s, since his dad is his coach.” But for the most part, she doesn’t have to put out fires between them. “When they’re on the court, they’re coach and player. At home, they’re father and son.”
The most difficult time of being a coach’s wife, Theresa says, was when her boys were little. “I worked full time, and [Greg] was on the road a lot…Once he became head coach, it became much easier.” Theresa believes it’s all about routine, claiming it’s “what you have to know going into marrying a coach.” That’s why she is perfectly happy being the glue that holds her family together. She balances a home, raises her children, supports her husband, and still gets in some much needed “me time” by running and doing yoga.
Theresa’s passion is her family and friends. “My life revolves around my husband and kids, and my friends,” she says. “I do everything I can to make things easy for Greg during the season, and I’ve supported the kids’ functions while Greg is busy…and my friendships are extremely important to me.” But she also shares the basketball passion with her husband and son. “I would much rather watch a college basketball game on TV than Modern Family.”
And on top of everything, Theresa gets involved in giving back to the community. In 2005, Theresa was diagnosed with breast cancer and went through aggressive treatments and surgery. In fact, she just celebrated her five-year cancer-free anniversary this last May. “Most of my charity work started after my diagnosis with breast cancer. I raised money for Coaches vs. Cancer by hosting a gala and golf tourney…we’ve been involved in a pink-out game for cancer awareness, which has grown to be more of a fundraiser than just awareness…and the basketball staff’s wives and children help out with a Christmas fundraiser for the Lydia House.”
To say Theresa McDermott does it all would be an understatement.