Joseph R. Ciampi (born September 25, 1946) is a retired American basketball coach. Starting off in boys basketball from 1968 to 1977, Ciampi was an assistant coach for a Nanticoke high school and the head coach for

Marlboro High School Marlboro High School is a four-year comprehensive high school, comprehensive state school, public Secondary education in the United States, high school located in Marlboro Township, New Jersey, Marlboro Township, in Monmouth County, New Jersey, ...

in New York. In women's basketball, Ciampi coached the

Army Black Knights women's basketball The Army West Point Black Knights women's basketball team is the women's basketball team that represents the United States Military Academy in West Point, New York. The team currently competes in the Patriot League. The Black Knights are current ...

team from 1977 to 1979 before joining the

Auburn Tigers women's basketball The Auburn Tigers women's basketball program is the intercollegiate women's basketball team that represents Auburn University. The school competes in the Southeastern Conference in Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCA ...

team in 1979. With the Tigers, Ciampi and his team reached the

NCAA Division I women's basketball tournament The NCAA Division I women's basketball tournament is a single-elimination tournament played each spring in the United States, currently featuring 68 Women's sports, women's college basketball teams from the NCAA Division I, Division I level of t ...

final consecutively from 1988 to 1990. After winning his 600th game as a Division I coach in January 2004, Ciampi retired from basketball in March 2004. With his stints with the Army Knights and Tigers, Ciampi retired with 607 wins and 213 losses. In the mid 2000s, Ciampi's record of 607 wins was in the top 15 overall wins by a Division I basketball coach during the late 2000s. After working as a women's basketball sports commentator for

Comcast Comcast Corporation (formerly known as American Cable Systems and Comcast Holdings),Before the AT&T merger in 2001, the parent company was Comcast Holdings Corporation. Comcast Holdings Corporation now refers to a subsidiary of Comcast Corpora ...

during the early 2010s, Ciampi briefly returned to basketball as an assistant coach for the

Atlanta Dream The Atlanta Dream are an American professional basketball team based in Atlanta, playing in the Eastern Conference in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). The team was founded for the 2008 WNBA season. The team is owned by real ...

from 2012 to 2013. Ciampi was inducted into the

Women's Basketball Hall of Fame The Women's Basketball Hall of Fame honors those who have contributed to the sport of women's basketball. The Hall of Fame opened in 1999 in Knoxville, Tennessee, USA. It is the only facility of its kind dedicated to all levels of women's bask ...

in 2005 and the

Alabama Sports Hall of Fame The Alabama Sports Hall of Fame (ASHOF) is a state museum located in Birmingham, Alabama, dedicated to communicating the state’s athletic history. The museum displays over 5,000 objects related to athletes who were born in Alabama or earned fame ...

in 2006.

Early life and education

On September 25, 1946, Ciampi was born in

Glen Lyon, Pennsylvania Glen Lyon is a census-designated place (CDP) in Newport Township, Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 1,873 at the 2010 census. History The town of Glen Lyon was founded after anthracite coal mining began in Newport Tow ...

. At Nanticoke Area High School in

Nanticoke, Pennsylvania Nanticoke is a city in Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 10,628, making it the third largest city in Luzerne County. It occupies 3.5 square miles of land. Nanticoke is part of Northeastern Penns ...

, Ciampi started playing basketball and baseball. Ciampi then attended Mansfield State College (now

Mansfield University of Pennsylvania Mansfield University of Pennsylvania is a campus of Commonwealth University of Pennsylvania and it is located it in Mansfield, Pennsylvania. Part of the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education (PASSHE), the campus' total enrollment is 1,6 ...

), graduating with a bachelor's degree in elementary education in 1968. At Mansfield State, Ciampi played varsity basketball in the 1966–67 season.

Coaching career

High school basketball (1968–1977)

After graduating from college, Ciampi began his career as a high school gym teacher. In boys' basketball, Ciampi was an assistant coach from 1968 to 1972 at Nanticoke Area High School, helping Nanticoke reach an 82–19 record in four years.Thomaselli 1989, p. 1D Continuing his boys basketball experience in

Marlboro, New York Marlboro is a hamlet (and census-designated place) in Ulster County, New York, United States. The population was 3,669 at the 2010 census. Marlboro is in the southeastern part of the town of Marlborough, located in the southeastern corner of the c ...

, Ciampi worked as the head coach for

between 1972 and 1977. With Marlboro, Ciampi had 73 wins and 23 losses.

Army (1977–1979)

In 1977, Ciampi joined the

United States Military Academy The United States Military Academy (USMA), also known metonymically as West Point or simply as Army, is a United States service academy in West Point, New York. It was originally established as a fort, since it sits on strategic high groun ...

to be head coach for Army Cadets women's basketball, the program's first head coach at the

NCAA Division I NCAA Division I (D-I) is the highest level of College athletics, intercollegiate athletics sanctioned by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in the United States, which accepts players globally. D-I schools include the major ...

level. With Army, Ciampi went 18–5 in 1977–78 and 21–5 in 1978–79 for a total of 39 wins and 10 losses.

Auburn (1979–2004)

In 1979, Ciampi joined

Auburn University Auburn University (AU or Auburn) is a public land-grant research university in Auburn, Alabama. With more than 24,600 undergraduate students and a total enrollment of more than 30,000 with 1,330 faculty members, Auburn is the second largest uni ...

as head coach of the

team. Inheriting a program that had won only 17 games in the past two seasons, Ciampi led Auburn to a 17–13 record in the 1979–80 season. Auburn would later reach the final of the

three consecutive times from 1988 to 1990. Apart from the NCAA tournament, Ciampi led Auburn to the

2003 Women's National Invitation Tournament The 2003 Women's National Invitation Tournament was a single-elimination tournament of 32 NCAA Division I teams that were not selected to participate in the 2003 Women's NCAA tournament. It was the sixth edition of the postseason Women's Nationa ...

title. While coaching the Tigers, Ciampi earned his 600th win as a Division I basketball coach in January 2004. That year, Ciampi ended his Auburn head coach position with 568 wins and 203 losses. Upon his retirement from basketball in March 2004, Ciampi had an overall college basketball record of 607 wins and 213 losses. With his 607 wins, Ciampi was in the top 15 for the most NCAA Division I basketball wins during the mid 2000s. By the end of the 2010s, Ciampi's 607 wins made him tied for 34th place alongside Mike Granel for the most basketball games won overall by a Division I coach.

Later career

After retiring from Auburn, Ciampi was a consultant to several NCAA Division I women's basketball teams. In the early 2010s, Ciampi was a sports commentator for

SportSouth Bally Sports Southeast (BSSE) (originally named SportSouth from its inception until October 4, 2015, and Fox Sports Southeast (FSSE) until March 31, 2021) is an American regional sports network owned by Diamond Sports Group, a joint venture betw ...

on women's basketball games played in the

Southeastern Conference The Southeastern Conference (SEC) is an American college athletic conference whose member institutions are located primarily in the South Central and Southeastern United States. Its fourteen members include the flagship public universities of ...

. In 2012, Ciampi came out of retirement to become an assistant coach for the

in the WNBA. He continued to coach for the Dream until 2013. The Dream went 19–15 in 2012 under head coaches

Marynell Meadors Marynell Meadors (born August 27, 1943) is an American women's basketball coach at the college and professional level. She most recently served as head coach and general manager of the Atlanta Dream of the Women's National Basketball Association a ...

and Fred Williams and 17–17 in 2013 under Williams, qualifying for the playoffs in both years, including as runners-up in the

2013 WNBA Finals The 2013 WNBA Finals was the playoff series for the 2013 season of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA), and the conclusion of the season's playoffs. The Minnesota Lynx, champions of the Western Conference, defeated the Atlanta ...

. Ciampi continues to be a women's basketball analyst for the Auburn Sports Network and

SEC Network The SEC Network is an American multinational sports network owned by ESPN Inc., a joint venture between The Walt Disney Company (which operates the network, through its 80% controlling ownership interest) and Hearst Communications (which holds ...

Awards and honors

In 2005, Ciampi was inducted into the

. The following year, Ciampi became a part of the

in 2006.

Personal life

Ciampi is married and has four children.

Head coaching record

College

Sources:

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ciampi, Joe 1946 births Living people American people of Italian descent American women's basketball coaches Army Black Knights women's basketball coaches Atlanta Dream coaches Auburn Tigers women's basketball coaches Basketball coaches from Pennsylvania High school basketball coaches in New York (state) High school basketball coaches in Pennsylvania Mansfield Mounties men's basketball players People from Nanticoke, Pennsylvania Sportspeople from Luzerne County, Pennsylvania Women's college basketball announcers in the United States