On June 22, 2012, Chancellor Dugan became the sixth head coach in Bellarmine University women’s basketball history and ranks third on the program's all-time wins list.
Dugan will enter her 13th season in 2024-25.
Dugan steered Bellarmine to a berth in the ASUN Tournament in 2023-24 behind a sweep of Lipscomb and Austin Peay in the final week of the regular season. The Knights also had a notable 64-52 road win over eventual two-seed Stetson during the year. Guard Hayley Harrison was a third-team All-ASUN selection.
Under Dugan, Gracie Merkle in 2022-23 became the first Bellarmine athlete in any sport to be named ASUN Freshman of the Year. The 6-foot-6 center was a unanimous ASUN All-Freshman Team selection and was recognized as second-team All-ASUN.
Bellarmine's first season in Division I and the ASUN came in 2020-21, marking a return to both that NCAA level and that conference for Dugan, who had a long stint at Florida Atlantic University prior to her arrival with the Knights. Bellarmine's inaugural season was highlighted by a four-game winning streak in ASUN play and All-ASUN accolades for Tasia Jeffries.
Over eight years in Division II before Bellarmine transitioned to D1, Dugan built a record of 143-85 overall and 87-59 in the Great Lakes Valley Conference. She guided the Knights to their first-ever GLVC Tournament title in 2016, along with appearing in the conference tourney in all eight seasons. Sarah Galvin was an All-American in the 2016-17 campaign, and the Knights amassed 15 All-GLVC awards.
Bellarmine went 18-11 in 2019-20, its final season in D2. The Knights defeated archrival Southern Indiana 66-59 in the GLVC Tournament quarterfinals, marking the fourth time in five years the team captured at least one conference tourney victory.
In 2018-19, Bellarmine advanced to the GLVC Tournament finals for the second time under Dugan, notably defeating No. 15 Lewis 78-77 in the semifinals. The Knights earned a berth in the tournament after a late-season surge in which they won five of six games during a critical stretch just ahead of the postseason.
Despite a slew of injuries and an underclassmen-heavy rotation, Dugan led Bellarmine to a 16-12 overall record and 11-7 GLVC mark in 2017-18, including an 84-70 victory over No. 6 Drury that marked the Panthers' lone league loss.
In 2016-17, Dugan guided Bellarmine to a berth in the NCAA II Tournament for the second season in a row. At 22-8, the Knights completed their first back-to-back 20-win season in a dozen years. The Knights tied for second in the GLVC East and earned a first-round bye in the GLVC Tournament. Bellarmine was nationally ranked for the vast majority of the season, and Galvin earned All-America honors.
In 2015-16, Dugan's squad returned to the prominence not witnessed in the program since the 1990s, tying the program record for best win percentage in a season (85.7) after finishing 24-4. The Knights' 15-3 mark in the GLVC tied its best output among its 18-game conference seasons. Dugan guided Bellarmine to an unprecedented GLVC Tournament championship after her squad upset No. 10 Drury, 80-77, in the semifinals and claimed the title with an 89-78 victory over No. 22 Quincy in the finals. That set the stage for a Selection Sunday in which it was announced that Bellarmine earned its first NCAA II Tournament berth since 2008. The Knights entered the Big Dance ranked 20th in the nation.
Dugan made an immediate impact on the team in her first season. Inheriting a program coming off two losing seasons, she turned the Knights around in 2012-13 and led the team to a 19-11 record that included a 10-1 start to her tenure.
Dugan, a Sacred Heart Academy graduate, spent 13 seasons as head coach at Florida Atlantic before taking the helm at Bellarmine. At FAU, she led the Owls to their respective conference postseason tournament each year. In 2005-06, FAU captured the ASUN Championship title and earned the conference's automatic berth to the NCAA Tournament.
Prior to her stint at FAU, Dugan was head coach at GLVC rival Southern Indiana, where she coached the Screaming Eagles to four NCAA II Tournament appearances in eight seasons from 1991-99, including an appearance in the 1997 NCAA II Tournament national championship game. Dugan guided USI to a 30-2 record in 1997 that included 29 straight wins.
In 1997-98, Dugan picked up GLVC Coach of the Year honors for the second consecutive season, leading USI to another regular-season title and capturing the inaugural GLVC Tournament at Roberts Stadium in Evansville, Indiana.
Dugan's players have accumulated a combined four conference Player of the Year, one Defensive Player of the Year and two Freshman of the Year awards (GLVC, TAAC/Atlantic Sun, Sun Belt).
A four-year letter winner for Eastern Kentucky University (1978-82), Dugan was a three-year starter and finished her junior and senior seasons as the Lady Colonels' leading rebounder and second-leading scorer. She earned a bachelor of science in physical education from EKU and a master of arts in physical education from Morehead State University.
