Head Coach Tracee Fairbanks became the Tigers head women's basketball coach in 1999. A 1996 Doane graduate, she currently serves as an assistant professor of mathematics at Doane. She was a guard and captain for the Tigers when they made their first appearance in the Final Four at the NAIA national tournament. She earned a Master of Education degree from Doane College in 1998. During Fairbank's tenure, Doane has had four All-American, 20 Scholar-Athletes (1999-2007), including four in 2003 which are the most in Tiger women's basketball history, and a trip to the NAIA National Tournament in 2005 and 2006. The Tigers, as a whole, have also excelled in academic, placing 2nd in the nation with a cumulative GPA of 3.64 in the 2001-02 season and 6th in 2002-03.
Coach Fairbanks strives to install all of the things coaches want in a prominent basketball player: dedication, meeting challenges, teamwork, sportsmanship, and overall competitive spirit. She wants her student-athletes to be prepared on and off the court: not only in being prepared mentally and physically for game situations, but also that they have the overall capacities to prosper in the daily rigors of life off of the court. It is Coach Fairbanks' aspiration that all her players take something positive from the program and leave a better overall person than when they arrived at Doane.
Coach Fairbanks believes strongly in, and aims to live by the words she once heard from a motivational speaker, "Someday everything that you have (own) will someday be someone else's, but what you are, is yours." Her philosophy in basketball coincides with those words: the teaching and delivery of basketball fundamentals by coaches, and the desire to learn and work toward acquiring sound fundamentals by athletes are part of the person. The efforts one puts in, transpires into the end result: hard work, a passion to win while understanding that losing isn't fatal and the ability to respect one another are the intangibles that are bound to a person and no one can take that away without that person's permission.
Coach Fairbanks is also well known for using quotes. Two of her more popular quotes that hang in her office are: "I'm a great believer in luck, and I find the harder I work the more I have of it" - Thomas Jefferson & "Ability is what you're capable of doing. Motivation determines what you do. Attitude determines how well you do it." - Lou Holtz
In her spare time, Tracee enjoys spending time with her husband, Jeremy, and their daughters, Brynna and Gracey. Tracee also enjoys reading books and the occasional shopping.
Assistant Coach Rick Schmuecker joined the Tiger coaching staff in 2003, but is no stranger to the NAIA and the Great Plains Athletic Conference. A graduate of Midland Lutheran College, Schmuecker served as an undergraduate assistant for two years, which included a NAIA national tournament appearance. During that time, he was in charge of scouting opponents and assisted in player development. At Doane, he works with the guards and also works extensively on the fundamentals of shooting with the Tiger players throughout the year. Scouting opponents and recruiting also falls under his coaching duties. He also serves as Sports Information Director at Doane.
Assistant Coach Kate Reeson joined the Doane coaching staff in 2004 after a successful playing career as a Tiger. Kate graduated from Doane in May 2004 with a degree in Secondary Education. She was a two-time NAIA Scholar-Athlete for the Tigers as well as an All-GPAC member. Kate is a member of the 1,000-point club, ranking sixth all-time with 1,433 points. She is also the head coach for the Tiger junior varsity squad. Coach Reeson lives in Lincoln and serves as a substitute teacher in the Lincoln area.