Known as an excellent architect of golf programs, MaryJo McCloskey proved it once again by putting together a competitive and successful women's golf program at George Fox University in the space of three years. 

After initiating the program at George Fox in 2006-07, McCloskey completed her most successful season as the head coach of the Bruins in 2008-09 with a team that went 37-15 against all competition, including four multi-team tournaments wins and even a listing in the NCAA Division III national ratings.  Since starting the program three years ago, the team has already won eight tournament events.

McCloskey's George Fox program has already produced one academic all-star, as Mandy Cameron was named to the National Golf Coaches Association NCAA Division III Women's All-American Scholar Team each of the past two seasons and was named to the ESPN The Magazine / CoSIDA Academic All-District VIII College Division Women's At-Large First Team as a sophomore in 2008-09.

McCloskey joined the Bruin staff in the spring of 2006 after eight years building a strong women's team at Lewis & Clark College. Under her guidance, the Pioneers placed second in the Northwest Conference Championship for three consecutive seasons from 2003-05, missing the 2005 title by only seven strokes. The program produced one NWC individual champion, two NWC Fall Classic individual champions, one Academic All-American, and numerous All-Conference players. In 2002, she coached the NCAA Division III Freshman of the Year. She also has served for several years on the NCAA Division III Women's Golf Championship selection committee.

A graduate of St. Mary's Academy in Portland, Ore., where she played varsity golf for four years, McCloskey went on to play in the collegiate ranks at the University of Oregon. She joined Lewis & Clark as an assistant golf coach in 1996, becoming head coach the following year.

McCloskey maintains a single-digit handicap and is a three-time club champion.  She is a member at The Oregon Golf Club in West Linn, and has competed in several amateur tournaments in the Pacific Northwest, including the Oregon Amateur, the Oregon Coast Invitational, and the Pacific Northwest Amateur. She serves on the board of directors for the Children's Course, a non-profit golf course affiliated with the First Tee program, which is dedicated to providing golfing opportunities for youth. She also worked for Peter Jacobsen's Fred Meyer Challenge golfing event for 12 years.

McCloskey has a bachelor of arts in marketing from the University of Oregon, and a master's of business administration from the University of Portland. In addition to coaching, she works as a consultant in marketing, primarily helping small businesses with image development and printed materials for their customers, sales and advertising strategies, identifying target markets, and public relations. She and her husband Rick, also an avid golfer, reside in Tualatin, Ore.

"I'm very excited about the tremendous opportunity to build a women's golf program at George Fox," says McCloskey. "I believe golf teaches so many life skills, and it is rewarding to combine it with the values that George Fox upholds and provide women student-athletes with the chance to play and compete."