Fighting Illini legend Renee Slone enters her 20th season as head coach of the Illinois women’s golf team in 2025-26. Slone was named the third women’s golf coach in school history on June 8, 2006, after replacing her former coach and mentor Paula Smith, who retired after 28 years directing the UI golf program. Formerly Renee Heiken, she played for the Illini from 1990-93 and is the most decorated golfer in Illinois history.

Illinois has achieved new heights under Slone, 2019 Big Ten Coach of the Year. In 2022-23, the Illini won their first-ever Big Ten Championship, giving Slone the distinction of being the only current Big Ten women’s golf coach to have won the conference both as a coach and individually as a player. 

Illinois reached the NCAA Championships for the first time ever in 2019 after finishing fifth at the East Lansing Regional, the highest regional finish in program history. The Illini’s second-place finishes at the Big Ten Tournament in 2018 and 2019 were their best conference showings since a second-place finish in 1976. Slone has led Illinois to nine of its 11 NCAA Regional appearances, including seven of the last eight tournaments.

At Illinois, Slone’s student-athletes have found individual success on the course, including 21 student-athletes awarded All-Big Ten, 25 Big Ten Golfers of the Week, and 13 individual golf tournament winners. Slone also garnered her own honors by being inducted into both the National Golf Coaches Association (now WGCA) Players Hall of Fame and the Greater Peoria Sports Hall of Fame. In 2017, she was an inaugural member of the Illinois Athletics Hall of Fame. Slone earned the 2018-19 Big Ten Coach of the Year award after leading the Illini to their best finish in program history.

While Slone’s teams have had success on the course, they also perform in the classroom, with 80 student-athletes placed on the Academic-All Big Ten Team, 47 earning WGCA All-Scholar recognition, 32 Big Ten Distinguished Scholars and former Illini Crystal Wang earning the program's first-ever CoSIDA Academic All-District accolade. The Illini also earned a top spot on the WGCA's academic top 25 list in 2021-22 with a 3.896 GPA, the seventh-best in the nation and No. 2 among Power-5 programs. 

Slone has coached Illinois to 86 top-five tournament finishes and 16 tournament wins in her first 19 seasons, including 20 top-five finishes and six wins in 25 tournaments in the 2017-18 and 2018-19 seasons combined. 

Records set during Slone’s tenure include lowest 72-hole tournament (+78, Big Ten Championship, 4/23-25/2010), lowest 54-hole tournament (-24, ICON Invitational, 2/21-22/2022), lowest 36-hole tournament (-2, Clemson Invitational, 4/7-8/2019), and lowest team round (-15, ICON Invitational, 2/22/2022). Seven of the eight Illini to post single-round record scores of -6 or better have done so during Slone’s coaching career, and each of the 10 lowest individual single-season stroke averages have been achieved during the last seven seasons.

Opened in January of Slone’s first season, the Demirjian Indoor Golf Practice Facility is a premiere facility that provides student-athletes the resources to be a successful golfer and student. The facility features large chipping and putting areas, heated hitting bays that open onto an outdoor practice area and full locker rooms, complete with a lounge and study areas for the players, all on the University of Illinois campus. 

“The Demirjian Facility is an incredible practice venue for our team,” Slone said.“The building has been a tremendous asset for both the men’s and women’s golf programs and has played a key role as we continue to move the program to new heights.”

The Hall of Famer started off her coaching career as an assistant coach for the men’s and women’s golf teams at Bradley University during the 1999-2000 season.

The following season, she returned to the University of Illinois and graduated with her bachelor’s degree in business administration-marketing, while serving as an assistant coach under Smith during the spring of 2001. In addition to her regular assistant coach duties, Slone was designated as the team’s head coach for two tournaments, the Illini Spring Classic and the Big Ten Championships.

Before being named as the head coach for the Orange and Blue, Slone served as an assistant golf professional at two different courses in the south. She has served as the manager and golf professional at Sherwood Forest Golf Club in Brevard, N.C. after serving as assistant professional at Connestee Falls Country Club in Brevard, N.C., where she established the “Clubs in the Classroom” campaign introducing hundreds of young children to the game of golf. Her responsibilities extended to overseeing clinic development and instruction and all daily golf operations and personnel.

Slone had an unparalleled career as a player while donning the Orange and Blue. During her senior season in 1993, she averaged a school-record 74.33 strokes per round, claimed a school-record eight medalist titles - including the Big Ten Championship, and was named the 1993 National College Player of the Year by both the National Golf Coaches Association (NGCA) and Golfweek Magazine. As an Illini she was a three-time All-American, claiming three straight top-10 finishes at the NCAA Championships, including a place on the podium in 1991, when she placed third. She also was a two-time Big Ten Player of the Year, two-time Big Ten Championship Medalist, and two-time UI Dike Eddleman Female Athlete of the Year. In the record books, Slone was Illinois’ career-stroke average leader for nearly 25 years with an average of 75.53.

Slone’s career stroke average has been passed 10 times by her own student-athletes. Stephanie Miller first passed Slone with a 75.32 average from 2013-17. Miller’s record was eclipsed by Jan Prapassarangkul’s 74.62 and Grace Park’s 74.59 one year later, Bing Singhsumalee then set a career mark of 73.78 when her career ended in 2019, before Tristyn Nowlin set a new record of 73.40 when she finished her career in 2021. Kornkamol Sukaree held the record of 73.18 when she wrapped up her career in 2022 before it was broken a year later by Crystal Wang at 72.37 when her career ended in 2023.

On the professional circuit, Slone earned notoriety when she tied the LPGA 9-hole record of 28 at the Jamie Farr Kroger Classic. After her stellar Illini career, Slone continued playing as a member of the LPGA Tour from 1995-97 and also spent time on the Futures Tour and Ladies Asian Tour.

A native of Metamora, Illinois, Slone had an outstanding junior career before coming to Illinois, finding success at the area, state and national levels. She won an unprecedented four consecutive Peoria Women’s City Titles (1987-90), was a two-time IHSA Individual State Champion, and was a three-time American Junior Golf Association (AJGA) All-American.

Updated June 2024