Amy Michelle Williams ( née Gusso; born March 22, 1976) is the current head coach of the
Nebraska
Nebraska () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by South Dakota to the north; Iowa to the east and Missouri to the southeast, both across the Missouri River; Kansas to the south; Colorado to the sout ...
women's basketball team. She was previously the head coach at the
University of South Dakota
The University of South Dakota (USD) is a public research university in Vermillion, South Dakota. Established by the Dakota Territory legislature in 1862, 27 years before the establishment of the state of South Dakota, USD is the flagship uni ...
Spearfish, South Dakota
Spearfish ( Lakota: ''Hočhápȟe'') is a city in Lawrence County, South Dakota. The population was 12,193 at the time of the 2020 census.
History
Before the Black Hills Gold Rush of 1876, the area was used by Native Americans (primarily bands ...
, Williams graduated from Spearfish High School in 1993 and played 57 games as a reserve
guard
Guard or guards may refer to:
Professional occupations
* Bodyguard, who protects an individual from personal assault
* Crossing guard, who stops traffic so pedestrians can cross the street
* Lifeguard, who rescues people from drowning
* Prison ...
for the
Nebraska Cornhuskers women's basketball
The Nebraska Cornhuskers women's basketball team represents the University of Nebraska–Lincoln in the Big Ten Conference of NCAA Division I. The program became a varsity sport in 1975 and has since made fifteen appearances in the NCAA tournamen ...
team at the
University of Nebraska–Lincoln
The University of Nebraska–Lincoln (Nebraska, NU, or UNL) is a public land-grant research university in Lincoln, Nebraska. Chartered in 1869 by the Nebraska Legislature as part of the Morrill Act of 1862, the school was known as the Univers ...
from 1994 to 1998. Williams graduated from Nebraska in 1998 with a bachelor's degree in biology and mathematics.
Coaching career
From 1998 to 2000, Williams was a graduate assistant for the
University of Nebraska at Kearney
The University of Nebraska at Kearney (UNK) is a campus of the public University of Nebraska system and located in Kearney, Nebraska. It was founded in 1905 as the Nebraska State Normal School at Kearney.
History
In March 1903 the Nebraska Sta ...
women's basketball team while studying for her master's degree in sports administration, which she completed in 2002. Williams was an assistant coach at UTSA in the 2000–01 season then at
Oklahoma State
Oklahoma (; Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a state in the South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the north, Missouri on the northeast, Arkansas on the east, New ...
from 2001 to 2005. From 2005 to 2007, Williams was an assistant at
Tulsa
Tulsa () is the second-largest city in the state of Oklahoma and 47th-most populous city in the United States. The population was 413,066 as of the 2020 census. It is the principal municipality of the Tulsa Metropolitan Area, a region with ...
. Williams helped Tulsa win the program's first regular season and tournament titles in Conference USA and NCAA tournament appearance in 2006.
Williams got her first head coaching job as the first women's basketball head coach at
Rogers State University
Rogers State University (RSU) is a public university in Claremore, Oklahoma. It also has branch campuses in Bartlesville and Pryor Creek.
History
The institution that is now RSU has gone through several stages, from its foundation as a stat ...
Claremore, Oklahoma
Claremore is a city and the county seat of Rogers County in Green Country or northeastern Oklahoma, United States. The population was 19,580 at the 2020 census, a 5.4 percent increase over the figure of 18,581 recorded in 2010.
In 2012, Williams returned to the NCAA Division I level as head coach at
South Dakota
South Dakota (; Sioux: , ) is a U.S. state in the North Central region of the United States. It is also part of the Great Plains. South Dakota is named after the Lakota and Dakota Sioux Native American tribes, who comprise a large porti ...
. Williams went 96–44 in four seasons, all of which ended with postseason appearances, including the 2013 WBI semifinals, 2014 NCAA Tournament first round, and 2015 WNIT second round. The 2015–16 South Dakota team went 32–6 and won the 2016 WNIT.
On April 11, 2016, the University of Nebraska–Lincoln hired Williams as head women's basketball coach.