The dean of the Big East and Big 5 coaches , Harry Perretta has brought the Wildcats national respect and success during his tenure at Villanova which began in 1978 at the age of 22 . Coach Perretta reached a coaching milestone on November 12 , 2011 with a win over Iona , representing the 600th win of his career . He is the 35th coach in the history of women 's basketball at any level to reach the 600 win plateau , including the 22nd to accomplish the feat at the Division I level . Perretta is only the seventh NCAA Division I coaches to have 600 victories all at one school . On February 8 , 2012 , Perretta reached another milestone as he became the seventh coach across all NCAA divisions to coach 1,000 games at the same institution . Perretta was named the 2009 Big East Conference Co-Coach of the Year . That was the third time in his career that he has garnered Big East Coach of the Year distinction . He has led the Wildcats to fourteen seasons of 20 wins or more . Since joining the Big East in 1982 , Perretta has compiled a 200-175 conference record through 2010
Big East
Big East Conference (1979–2013)
Villanova Wildcats