 | Women's Basketball |
Athletics Women's Basketball | |
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 Amanda Levens High-Resolution Photo |
April 24, 2008 SIUE Women's Basketball Names Amanda Levens New Head Coach EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. - Southern Illinois University Edwardsville has selected Amanda Levens, the current assistant coach at the University of Nevada-Reno, to be the next head coach of Cougar women's basketball. Levens, 29, will be one of the youngest head coaches at the NCAA Division I level when the Cougars lace up their shoes for play this fall. Only two other current coaches at the NCAA Division I level are younger. "It is my pleasure to announce Amanda as our new head coach," said SIUE Director of Athletics Dr. Brad Hewitt. "She possesses the qualities we believe SIUE needs to make the Cougars highly-successful at the NCAA Division I level. Amanda has a great work ethic, demonstrated success in recruiting and coaching, a great value system, a commitment to academic success, and is a fierce competitor. She will need all of those traits to embrace the challenge of this transition." Levens said she was attracted to the women's basketball position at SIUE after noting the widespread success of the athletics program. It shows that SIUE is committed to all sports and not just a precious few, she noted. "I am extremely excited at the opportunity to be the head coach at SIU Edwardsville," said Levens. "And I am very appreciative to Dr. Hewitt and Sandy (Montgomery)." SIUE Assistant Director of Athletics and softball coach Sandy Montgomery was the chairperson for the search committee. As the Cougars continue the reclassification process to NCAA Division I, Levens will be charged with developing a women's basketball program that reflects SIUE's commitment to excellence, academic integrity, service to the community and commitment to all students. Hewitt said that during the interview process, Levens stood out as a coach eager to make those challenges a reality. Every constituency group represented during the interview process recognized Amanda for her confidence and sincerity. "I think SIU Edwardsville has a number of attractive qualities that make this appealing for recruits and ultimately a competitive Division I basketball program," said Levens. Regarded as one of the top young assistant coaches in the Western Athletic Conference (WAC) for the past five seasons, Levens was part of Nevada's coaching staff just one year after completing her Bachelor of Arts degree in history at Arizona State University in 2002. Levens also completed her Master's in higher education administration from Nevada-Reno in 2007. Hewitt said Levens has been outstanding at every level she has progressed, whether as a coach or as a player. As a coach, she recruited a WAC Newcomer of the Year, a junior college All-American and four members of the WAC All-Freshmen team. In five seasons, she has overseen the development of 16 players who have earned All-WAC Academic Honors. In 2007, Nevada made its first-ever postseason appearance at the Women's National Invitational Tournament. The Wolfpack have noticed a marked improvement while Levens has been with the program. Levens was a part of every facet of the Nevada basketball staff under Head Coach Kim Gervasoni. Her duties were varied, including recruiting, scouting, game preparation, fundraising, player development, and community outreach. As a player, Levens was marked as "one of the best players in the Arizona State women's basketball history," according to the Sun Devils' Web site. She spent two seasons at Arizona State, where she was twice named first team All-PAC -10 and led the Sun Devils to a spot in the NCAA Tournament. She was an Associated Press honorable mention All-American in 2002. She also spent her first two collegiate seasons at Old Dominion, where she twice helped the Monarchs to an NCAA Tournament Sweet Sixteen appearance. Her ties to the Midwest date back only a few years. She was a three-time All-State selection at Belvidere High School in northern Illinois. In the fall of 2000, she was named to the All-Century Girls' team by the Rockford Register-Star. The only other coaches in Division I younger than Levens are Candace White-Whitaker, of Missouri-Kansas City, and Kendra Faustin, of Niagara. Hewitt said there will be a media and booster reception for Levens next week. -siue- |
