Jeffrey Jacob Walz (born October 27, 1971) is the head coach of the women's basketball team at the

University of Louisville The University of Louisville (UofL) is a public research university in Louisville, Kentucky. It is part of the Kentucky state university system. When founded in 1798, it was the first city-owned public university in the United States and one o ...

. In his second year as a head coach, he guided his team to a national championship appearance at the

2009 NCAA Division I women's basketball tournament The 2009 NCAA Division I women's basketball tournament commenced 21 March 2009 and concluded 7 April 2009 when the University of Connecticut Huskies defeated the Louisville Cardinals 76–54. As of 2022, this tournament remains the last time th ...

, and led the Cardinals to a second championship game appearance in

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High school

Walz attended Highlands High School in

Fort Thomas, Kentucky Fort Thomas is a home rule-class city in Campbell County, Kentucky, United States, on the southern bank of the Ohio River and the site of an 1890 US Army post. The population was 16,325 at the 2010 census, making it the largest city in Campb ...

College

Walz completed his undergraduate studies at

Northern Kentucky Northern Kentucky is the third-largest metropolitan area in the U.S. Commonwealth of Kentucky after Louisville and Lexington, and its cities and towns serve as the de facto "south side" communities of Cincinnati, Ohio. The three main counties ...

, attending on a basketball scholarship. He graduated in 1995, earning a bachelor of science in secondary education, and went on to complete a master's degree at

Western Kentucky Western Kentucky is the western portion of the U.S. state of Kentucky. It generally includes part or all of several more widely recognized regions of the state. ;Always included * The Jackson Purchase, the state's westernmost generally recogniz ...

in 1997 while serving as a women's basketball graduate assistant coach under Paul Sanderford.

Coaching

Walz began coaching middle school and high school teams before finishing college. His first college position was assistant to Paul Sanderford at

, where he coached his sister Jaime Walz, who earned Kentucky "Miss Basketball" honors in 1996. When Sanderford moved to take the head coach position at the

University of Nebraska A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, ...

, Walz followed him as an assistant. While at Nebraska, he helped the program go to a school record three consecutive NCAA appearances. In 2002, Walz accepted a position as assistant to Brenda Frese (then Brenda Oldfield) at Minnesota. Frese won AP Coach of the Year honors after improving Minnesota from 8–20 to 22–8. The

University of Maryland The University of Maryland, College Park (University of Maryland, UMD, or simply Maryland) is a public land-grant research university in College Park, Maryland. Founded in 1856, UMD is the flagship institution of the University System of M ...

persuaded her to accept the head coaching position and Walz also made the move. He spent five seasons at Maryland, helping them to become a national power, including a national championship at the 2006 NCAA Division I women's basketball tournament. Walz made the transition to head coach in 2007, accepting an offer from the

. The school moved into the top 15 in attendance in his first year, averaging 6,456 fans per game, and attracting a total of 77,480 people that season. When the women's team (along with the U of L men's team) moved to the KFC Yum! Center in 2010, attendance took another major jump. In both of the first two seasons that the Cardinals women spent at the KFC Yum! Center (2010–11 and 2011–12), the team ranked second in national attendance behind

Tennessee Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th-largest by area and the 15th-most populous of the 50 states. It is bordered by Kentucky to th ...

. Walz received a pay increase from his athletic director Tom Jurich, prior to the 2012–2013 season. Walz took the 2012–2013 team to the national championship game, falling to UConn 93–60.

Awards and honors

*2008— Maggie Dixon Award

Head coaching record

Notes

External links

Official Biography, Louisville Cardinals
{{DEFAULTSORT:Walz, Jeff 1971 births Living people American men's basketball players American women's basketball coaches Basketball coaches from Kentucky Basketball players from Kentucky High school basketball coaches in the United States Highlands High School (Fort Thomas, Kentucky) alumni Louisville Cardinals women's basketball coaches Maryland Terrapins women's basketball coaches Minnesota Golden Gophers women's basketball coaches Nebraska Cornhuskers women's basketball coaches Northern Kentucky Norse men's basketball players Western Kentucky Lady Toppers basketball coaches