University of Minnesota Athletics
Alumni Spotlight: Mikki Denney Wright
9/1/2023 9:55:00 AM | Soccer
Mikki Denney Wright transferred to Minnesota from North Carolina in 1994. Under Sue Montagne, Denney Wright was a captain, won the Big Ten and made two NCAA Tournament appearances. After graduating, Denney Wright returned in 2004 and led the Golden Gophers to a Big Ten Championship and two NCAA Sweet Sixteen appearances. Gopher Sports sat down with the former coach and alumni to reflect on her time.
"I will forever be grateful to Gopher soccer because it prepared me, not just for soccer, but for life. And not the easy life, but the good life. As a coach and a player, the Gopher soccer culture taught me how to lead, how to believe, how to battle and how to overcome. It forced me to dig in and become the best version of myself. I feel very blessed I had the opportunity to coach and play with so many amazing Gopher soccer players over the years. Those women continue to inspire me. The Gopher Soccer Family has had an incredible impact." - Mikki Denney Wright
Gopher Sports: Why Minnesota?
Mikki Denney Wright: "One of the reasons I selected Minnesota after transferring from North Carolina, was my recruiting host, Erin Chastain (Hussey), she took me around. I selected Minnesota because I liked the quality of the players, they stood out. They had this compassion and love for the program, but were so humble and hardworking. I could tell it was an underdog program that was going to rise up, just by who they were. When we won the Big Ten and had success, it was because of the people. Sue Montagne gave us a lot of leeway for leadership, there was so much female leadership and it taught me so much. Minnesota gave me great freedom to lead, along with Erin and being a captain of the team with her. She (Sue Montagne) let us go with it, let us feel empowered, really let us have our own voice. As a player, Gopher soccer played a huge role in developing my leadership skills."
GS: As a coach, what did it take to turn around the program?
MDW: "When I came back to the program, I was only 28. I think I was one of the youngest Division I coaches in the country, so it was a huge task. I had such a passion for what it could be and I felt so accountable to how we had built it before. The biggest thing for me was getting the right people in the program, because I knew that if I had strong women who were talented and I gave them freedom for leadership, they would take off. I wanted to get the top Minnesotans back in the program. I think that's what is so unique, is that the people who built this program are Minnesotans."
MDW: "The pride of the best kids coming from Minnesota was huge. We had to get the right people on the bus and raise the standards. I think I was probably naive and young enough that I didn't care what anyone else thought. I was going to raise those standards as high as I could even if it hurt a little bit, even if there was pushback. It took a while to do that and put the right culture in. One of my mentors told me, 'the moment you step in the door you have to set the standards where you want them to be, because you can't raise them back up.' Setting culture and getting the right character were the two biggest things."
GS: While playing for the Gophers, you picked up All-Big Ten and All-Region honors, including being named a team captain in 1996. When you decided to attend Minnesota, did you ever think you would have such a decorated career?
MDW: "That stuff doesn't mean a lot to me. My favorite part was bringing my best to the field everyday. I had, and wanted to, overachieve. I wasn't as skillful as Jennifer McElmury, I couldn't score goals like Erin Chastain so I had to fit my role and bring it everyday. I was super consistent, would outwork people, and had a competitive edge and tried to bring that to practice too. I think people I played with would say that. Minnesota was a great fit for me, because it fit my character and they valued those things. My proudest accomplishment is starting every game I played there. I took care of my body, I didn't get injured so that stat means the most to me."
GS: What made the teams you coached so special?
MDW: "You know you have a great team as a coach when you have to pull them back rather than lead from behind. I wasn't yanking or pulling them from the standards, I was bringing them back. They were so hard working and they had this competitive bite. If you saw our training sessions, sometimes I'd have to stop them and tell them to settle down. Something I instituted when I came was we started playing against the boys club team. Our girls would get so competitive with them. What I learned from Anson (Dorrance) at North Carolina was that it's okay to be a competitive woman, you didn't have to hide. We tried to make things competitive, and be strong women. To have that on the field and they're not apologizing for that, I think that's really special."
MDW: "When we went to play Notre Dame, it was snowing.They were the number one seed in the NCAA Tournament. I was scouting and had one of my mentors ask me, 'you're going to sit back right? You're not going to play your press? Mikki, don't do that to your team.' I was offended, of course, because I thought 'you don't think we're going to play our way?' Those girls worked so hard to get there, if I went into the locker room and told them 'we're going to sit back,' they wouldn't have listened to me, they would have told me to get out of there. So, when we went to Notre Dame we decided to press harder, they believed every second that we were going to win that game. We came out and played our way and I was so proud of that, we didn't sit in against that team. Most people would have."
GS: Is there a moment, as a Golden Gopher, that sticks out to you the most?
MDW: "The two Sweet Sixteens and winning the Big Ten Championship at Iowa. I remember every moment of that game, every second, how it felt. I remember that I couldn't believe we were going to win the Big Ten, it all came full circle. Both of those Sweet Sixteens, playing in the snow at Notre Dame and playing Texas A&M when it snowed again. The Gopher wrestling team showed up and shoveled all of the bleachers for us, it was incredible. I remember our kids refused to wear sleeves and then looked at Texas A&M and they were like 'we're gonna play in this?' I knew we had them."
GS: You played alongside current head coach Erin Chastain, do you have any memories of the two of you from when you played together?
MDW: "She was a forward and I was a defender. I always thought she had that great competitiveness and edge. She was a leader from the get-go. She has so much passion for the program and I have so much respect for her because I've seen her in the trenches. When times got tough, Erin always stepped up her game. She has great character, comes from a wonderful family and has always cared about Gopher soccer. She's from here, she's an 'OG.' She recruited me and left me a really cool note in my bag when I left, it meant so much to me. She is who sold me on Minnesota. I think it's great she's back, no one else has a higher standard for soccer and that program than Erin. It's in great hands."
GS: Lastly, what makes being a part of this program so special?
MDW: "Gopher soccer culture, and it has been for years, is really special. It's family based, geographically based, very true to Minnesota. Having kids come play for their home school is so neat and doesn't happen everywhere. This program has also been a developer of some really tremendous, competitive women. Women that lead, women that live with really high standards. It's been just a developmental culture for strong women. We come in, you develop your voice, your competitive spirit, this belief in yourself and Gopher soccer has done that for so many women. That's always your goal. It's cool that that's been their edge."