Featured Testimonial About Creighton University
By Jon Nyatawa
Creighton’s women’s golf coach was the kid who, every Friday in the summer, somehow figured out ways to load herself, her cousin and their clubs on a single bicycle to ride a few blocks to the golf course. Nothing was going to stand in her way of playing.
All these years later, when you hear Debbie Conry talk about the game she loves, she still sounds like she’s channeling her younger self.
There’s enthusiasm. And joy. And determination.
Now in her role for 32 years, Conry is the longest-tenured active coach at Creighton. And while she’s not balancing golf bags on bikes anymore, she has spent three decades creatively embracing any and all challenges – so she can live out a dream.
“I love the game, and I love, love, love coaching,” Conry said. “Creighton’s been such a great place to be, interacting with incredible young women and having a chance to make a positive impact in their lives.”
Conry will be honored on Friday, May 2, at the 20th Anniversary of the Leaders for Life Luncheon, an annual event celebrating achievements in Bluejay women’s athletics. Jane Alseth, JD’72, will also be recognized for her generous support of Creighton as the recipient of the Believe & Achieve Award.
Conry has coached dozens of all-conference performers over the years — she also doubled as the men’s team head coach for 20-plus seasons. She was the BIG EAST Women’s Golf Coach of the Year in 2022. [UPDATE: The Jays just finished XXX at the BIG EAST Championships last weekend.]
Her women’s teams, renowned for being exemplary representations of Creighton’s mission and values, have ranked among the top 10 nationally in GPA four times in the last 10 years. And when Conry has not been on campus, she’s been teaching and coaching in grade schools (she taught at Bellevue Public Schools for nearly 40 years, and she still serves at St. Vincent de Paul).
“The support I’ve received, from my family, from Creighton, from people in the community — I wouldn’t be here without it,” Conry said. “But it has been challenging. We’re playing a warm-weather Olympic sport in the Midwest. Sometimes, you just have to improvise.”
There was one cold, winter day where Conry and the team received permission to try a training session inside the Kitty Gaughan Pavilion, the practice facility for the baseball and softball teams. But they realized pretty quickly that the batting cages’ nets were too wide for golf balls.
“It took us about three swings with a wedge, and we hit the window up top,” Conry said. “And I looked at everyone. I said, ‘Oh my gosh. OK, no more wedges.’”
Conry has dozens of stories with a similar theme.
About finding places to practice. About traveling, and recruiting, and budgeting.
“You just find a way to make it all work,” she said.
Conry did not initially aspire to be a college coach — even though she grew up around the game and figured she’d always stay involved. She was a seven-time letter winner in basketball and golf as a student-athlete at Creighton. Her mom, Betty Marchese, was one of Omaha’s best amateur players and a Nebraska Golf Hall of Famer. Her sister Susan Marchese is a nine-time city champion and a hall of fame honoree.
But when former athletic director Bruce Rasmussen reached out to Conry to offer her the job in 1993, Conry didn’t exactly have the best sales pitch for herself.
“I said, ‘Are you crazy?’” Conry said, laughing. “I'm like, “What are you thinking?’”
Looking back now, Conry can see it. She was — and still is — so energized about golf, and about the ways she could use the game to help young people grow.
She had the thrill of coaching her daughter, Betsy Conry, BA’10, who was on Creighton’s team from 2007 to 2010. She coached Scott Gutschewski, who’s competed on the PGA tour during his professional career. She’s built relationships with so many student-athletes that’ll last a lifetime.
She’s met countless supporters around town – finding a place to practice is a lot easier now that she has contacts at courses and training centers across Omaha. Plus, there’s the new McGraw Family Indoor Golf Facility on campus that just opened last winter.
“It does seem probably like a long time to be in one place, but at the end of the day, if I didn't love it, I wouldn't be doing it,” Conry said. “I get to be around people that I really enjoy, and that makes a difference.”
