IPFW head women’s basketball coach Chris Paul has announced that former Air Force head coach and Fort Wayne native Andrea Williams has been added to the program’s coaching staff for the 2015-16 season.
"Joining this staff is a tremendous honor, and I look forward to working with Chris Paul to continuing to move IPFW women’s basketball forward. The University has grown so much from when I was younger, moving from a Division II power into NCAA Division I, and the current trajectory is limitless. Coach Paul has done a great job growing the program, and I’m excited to be a part of it. This staff is very energetic and knowledgeable – that is one of the things that stood out in my interview. As a professional, you always want to work with good people, and that is what I found here."
Most recently Williams spent five seasons as the head coach at the Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, Colorado. With the Academy she had an immediate impact on the program, winning more games in her first season then in the previous two seasons combined. That year the team won the program’s first Mountain West Conference (MWC) wins in four seasons, and just the second Mountain West Conference Tournament game in program history – the first time in MWC Tournament history a No. 9 seed won over a No. 4 seed.
"I’m very excited to be back in Fort Wayne with this opportunity," commented the new assistant coach. "I am also excited to his is my first opportunity to have my parents be able to see me coach on a regular basis."
Williams was at the helm of teams that set Air Force NCAA Division I records in points scored, rebounds, field goal percentage, three-point field goal percentage, assists, free throws made, and free throws attempted.,
"We are excited about having Coach Williams join our coaching staff," said Paul. "She brings a wealth of knowledge and experience, from being an assistant, to being a head coach at a major program. In addition, her being a Fort Wayne native allows us to continue to make progress recruiting the Fort Wayne area."
Prior to her time at the Academy, she was at the University of South Florida, where she served as an assistant coach from 2008-10, helping the Bulls to a pair of WNIT appearances, including a WNIT championship during the 2008-09 season. She was an assistant coach at Jacksonville University from 2004-2008, and an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator at the U.S. Naval Academy from 2002-2004. She helped lead the University of Tampa to three consecutive winning seasons, as the teams went 55-31 overall record, and a berth into the NCAA Division II National Tournament in 1999-2000.
Williams also served as head coach at Waynesburg State University in Pennsylvania for two seasons (1997-99), while also serving as head coach of the cross country and softball squads. A 1994 Edinboro (Pa.) graduate, she spent two seasons as an assistant coach at her alma mater, helping the program to the NCAA Division II Elite Eight in 1996-97. As a student-athlete, she helped lead Edinboro to two NCAA Tournament appearances during her two seasons.
She is currently a member of the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) and Black Coaches Association (BCA), and in the summer of 2006 was one of just 11 female coaches accepted into the Achieving Coaching Excellence Program by the BCA. She was also a member of the first graduation class at the Women’s Coaches Academy in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania in 2004.,
