It's offical. After spending a year on the sideline as the right-hand woman and full-time assistant to head coach Sue Fiero, Rachael Otto was given the nod to remain in that capacity at the University of Minnesota Duluth. Otto was an emergency hire after Fiero was named the head coach last July, and she helped lead the Bulldogs to the the best start in Bulldog basketball history when UMD charged out to a 14-2 record this past season.

Otto joined the Bulldog staff a year prior to becoming the assistant last August. She spent a year in the graduate intern assistant coaching role after spending the previous two seasons as an assistant coach at her alma mater, North Dakota State University. Before that, she served a four-year stint (1998-2002) in that same capacity at West Fargo High School.

Borned and raised in New Rockford, N.D., Otto was a member of three NCAA Division II national championship teams (1993-94, 1994-95 and 1995-96) as a standout guard at NDSU. She started in the Bison backcourt for three seasons and attained All-North Central Conference first team acclaim in 1997-98. Otto, a NDSU team co-captain during her senior year, still ranks among the top ten Bison in three career categories: three-point field goals, three-point field goals attempts, and assists. She also lettered for one season with the Bison track team while throwing the javelin.

Otto, a North Dakota “Miss Basketball” Award finalist in 1992-93, earned a bachelor's degree in human performance and fitness in 1998 and second undergraduate degree in physical education two years later from NDSU. She is currently working on her Master's degree in education at UMD.