On May 13, 2013, Ripon College officially announced the hiring of Lauren (Johnson) Busalacchi as the third women's basketball coach in program history.
The author of the most successful stretch in Ripon women’s basketball history, and a 2025 Ripon Athletic Hall of Fame inductee, Busalacchi has totaled 208 wins in 13 seasons as the head coach of the Red Hawks. Her 208 wins are eighth-most in the history of the Midwest Conference, while her 156 total Midwest Conference victories are also eighth-most in league history. Busalacchi and Ripon have won a MWC-record eight consecutive regular season conference championships, hosting the MWC Tournament the last eight full seasons. She and her staff are winners of the last seven MWC Coach/Coaching Staff of the Year awards. Ripon has been the premiere Midwest Conference women’s basketball team for nearly a decade — the Red Hawks have gone 182-65 in the last eight years, including a 145-15 record in MWC regular season games. Throughout the same stretch, Ripon is 92-20 inside Weiske Gymnasium. The 2025-26 team set school records with 26 wins and 21 consecutive victories. Busalacchi has led Ripon to five NCAA Tournament appearances in her tenure (2019, 2022, 2024, 2025, 2026), and stands atop the conference for single-season wins (26, 2026). Eight of the nine longest winning streaks in school history have come under Busalacchi’s direction, and she has coached 21 All-MWC players, two Academic All-Americans, two MWC Players of the Year, one MWC Newcomer of the Year, one MWC Defensive Player of the Year, and one D3hoops.com Central Region Rookie of the Year.
2026 saw the strongest season of Busalacchi's career so far, with the Red Hawks winning their 8th consecutive Midwest Conference championship and 3rd consecutive Midwest Conference Tournament title. Buslacchi then led the Red hawks to their best NCAA tournament performance in decades, beating UW-River Falls in the first round to give Ripon their first NCAA tournament victory since 2005. The Red Hawks also achieved their highest national ranking ever, holding top-20 positions on both major national polls. The team's 26-3 record stands as the best in school history, with the most single season wins of any MWC team all-time, and included Busalacchi's 200th career victory, Ripon's first undefeated women's basketball MWC season, a school-record 21 game winning streak, and the second best rebounding margin in Division III. Four players were named to the MWC All-Conference list, including a Defensive Player of the Year award for guard Laney Havlovitz.
In 2024, Ripon returned to the NCAA Tournament, winning the Midwest Conference outright with a 14-2 record while earning hosting duties for the MWC Tournament. Ella Ten Pas was named the MWC Player of the Year -- Ripon's first since 2006 -- and was also named a D3hoops.com second-team All-Region selection. In the process, Ten Pas set Ripon's single-season rebounding record (247) and was named the WBCA Division III Private School Women's Player of the Year. Ripon set a program record with 1,861 points scored and 411 free throws made while entering the program record books in single-season free throws made, single-season wins, single-season field goal percentage, single-season made three-pointers, single-season free throw percentage, single-season rebounds, single-season steals and single-season blocks.
The Red Hawks followed a historic 2022 campaign with an even better 2023 season, winning 20 games for the first time since 2020. The 14-game winning streak from January 3 to February 25 is tied for the longest winning streak in school history. Alison Leslie wrapped up her career with 214 made three-pointers in her career, setting a new school record.
In 2022, Busalacchi again led Ripon to the NCAA Division-III Tournament with an 18-10 overall record and a 15-1 mark in the MWC. The Red Hawks finished that season winning 14 of their final 16 games, including a 10-game winning streak, which is the third-longest winning streak in program history. That season, Ripon broke the school record for 3-pointers in a season with 143.
In her first season at the helm, Busalacchi led the Red Hawks to a 10-13 record (10-8 MWC), which was followed by a 2-21 (2-16 MWC) season in her second year. She then led Ripon to the greatest turnaround the MWC had seen in 10 years, as the team finished 14-10 (10-8 MWC) in 2015-16, including a berth in the four-team MWC Tournament for the first time in six years.
Busalacchi came to Ripon after spending one year as an assistant coach at Coe College in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, where her duties included recruiting, academic coordinator, film coordinator, fundraising coordinator, while also serving as an instructor of Exercise Physiology and the Director of Intramurals. Prior to her time at Coe, Busalacchi spent three years as an assistant coach at Loras College in Dubuque, Iowa and one year as an assistant at East Texas Baptist University in Marshall, Texas.
A native of Black River Falls, Wis., Busalacchi earned her B.S. in Athletic Training from Clarke College in 2008, before going on to earn a Doctor of Physical Therapy in 2010. As a member of the Crusader's women's basketball team, Johnson was named Honorable Mention All-Conference in 2006. As a junior during the 2006-07 season, Johnson earned a spot on the All-Tournament Team at the Ripon College Tournament. As a team captain that year, Busalacchi was named Team MVP, while also winning the Leadership Award. She finished her career at Clarke ranking in the school's top 10 for scoring, steals, assists, 3-point field goals, free throw percentage and minutes played.
Busalacchi and her husband Mark currently reside in Hartford. They have three children: Shea, Sophie and Jhett.
Busalacchi also holds the position of Assistant Athletic Director in addition to her coaching duties.
