North’s class of 2010 alumna, Maureen Hirt led Denison University’s Women’s Basketball team to their first NCAA Division III title on March 21, against Scranton. After playing for several years, Hirt advanced her basketball career, at North under head coach at the time, Ms. Alana Harrington.
“Mo (Maureen), hard worker in the gym, was a kid that would give you 110% if possible, and just really smart, just one great kid.” said Harrington.
During Hirt’s high school career, she received All-Conference honors in the Conference Indiana league, and led her team as captain for her senior season. Hirt aspired to play college basketball, and after getting multiple offers from various out-of-state institutions, Hirt began playing for Kenyon College in the fall of 2010.
Throughout her time competing at the collegiate level, she received several awards including 2014 North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) Player of the Year, 2014 Kenyon Female Athlete of the year, D3 Women’s News Third-Team All-American, and eventually became Kenyon’s all-time leading scorer with a record 1,819 career points.
After her record-breaking senior season at Kenyon, Hirt worked in advertising , developed an independent training LLC and coached an eight-grade boys’ basketball team on the side.
“I think I kind of resisted [coaching] initially … You hear so much about that loss of identity when sports are over, when you graduate, and you’re trying to figure out what is my purpose in life,” said Hirt.
In 2019, she joined the coaching staff at Oberlin College with a fellow Kenyon alumni, and was officially promoted to head coach in 2021.
It was on Oberlin’s court that she found her passion for coaching.“I think I just fell in love with helping others and developing their passion for the sport… you’re a part of something that’s bigger than yourself in the way that you impact each other’s lives,” said Hirt. “I took the leap of faith, left the training business, sold that, sold the [LLC] ownership there, and then was at Oberlin.”
In 2023, Hirt took an offer from Denison University, her first direct head-coaching job. Her priority when she joined Denison was building a strong team culture with a foundation of support. Along with this goal, she introduced a new strategy for gameplay, changing the game for Denison’s athletes.
Harrington observed Hirt’s potential for leadership early in her career, stating: “I could just always see her in a space where she could lead, and she had that opportunity at Denison.”
Prior to Hirt’s appointment as head coach in 2022, Denison finished the 2021-22 season with a 9-14 record. In her first year, the team went 10-16. By the end of the 2025-26 season, the program recorded a 30-2 record, marking the most wins in school history and the first national title in program history.
“When we were 10 and 16 and had a losing season, people still believed in this vision. Some people were like, ‘Oh, well, national champs, that’s a pretty high ceiling’. But I think there’s a lot of people that said, ‘let’s put in the work for us to make that become a reality.’” said Hirt.
Before the 2025-26 season, Denison University was unranked in their conference following multiple injuries, however after an initial 17 game win-streak, the “Big Red” found an opportunity.
“I think there would have been a lot of instances where we could have folded or said, oh, you know, just isn’t our time… We really looked in the mirror and came together as a group and figured out what we needed to do better,” said Hirt. Hirt shared that the most crucial part of her coaching is the leadership and relationship you have as a team. She believes this is what took Denison University to the national victory.
“I think the biggest thing is that you have to love your team. It’s what we say at the end of every huddle,” Hirt said.
While the victory marked a historical milestone for Denison University, Hirt noted that the achievement was a reflection of her entire basketball trajectory, beginning in 2006.
Hirt once looked to the North sidelines for guidance from Coach Harrington, she now stands in her shoes, passing down those same lessons that she first heard in a North huddle.
“The teammates that I had at North, the coaches that I have had, had such an impact on my life and who I am as a person, and [they] really helped me build into the person that I am today,” said Hirt. “So you know, I think they share in this championship just as much as the team that was on the court that day.”
