Kristy Lynn Curry (née Sims; born October 30, 1966) is the head coach of the

University of Alabama The University of Alabama (informally known as Alabama, UA, or Bama) is a Public university, public research university in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. Established in 1820 and opened to students in 1831, the University of Alabama is the oldest and la ...

's women's

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

team, the Crimson Tide. She took the job in 2013.

Coaching career

Curry graduated from

Northeast Louisiana University The University of Louisiana Monroe (ULM) is a public university in Monroe, Louisiana. It is part of the University of Louisiana System. History ULM opened in 1931 as Ouachita Parish Junior College. Three years later it became the Northeast Cen ...

in 1988. Her career started with coaching jobs at Weston and Mansfield High Schools in her home state of

Louisiana Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-smallest by area and the 25th most populous of the 50 U.S. states. Louisiana is borde ...

. She held several college assistant coaching jobs, including

Tulane Tulane University, officially the Tulane University of Louisiana, is a private university, private research university in New Orleans, Louisiana. Founded as the Medical College of Louisiana in 1834 by seven young medical doctors, it turned into ...

Texas A&M Texas A&M University (Texas A&M, A&M, or TAMU) is a public, land-grant, research university in College Station, Texas. It was founded in 1876 and became the flagship institution of the Texas A&M University System in 1948. As of late 2021, T ...

, and

Louisiana Tech Louisiana Tech University (Louisiana Tech, La. Tech, or simply Tech) is a public research university in Ruston, Louisiana. It is part of the University of Louisiana System and classified among "R2: Doctoral Universities – High research activi ...

. Immediately prior to taking her position with the Lady Raiders on March 30, 2006, she was the head coach of Purdue's women's basketball team. In addition to two Big Ten championships, she led the Boilermakers to seven consecutive appearances in the NCAA tournament, including four appearances in the Sweet Sixteen, two appearances in the Elite Eight, one appearance in the Final Four, and one appearance in the national championship game (2001). As head coach of the Texas Tech Lady Raiders, following the retirement of Hall of Fame coach

Marsha Sharp Marsha Sharp (born August 31, 1952) is the former head coach of Texas Tech University's women's basketball team, the Lady Raiders. She retired after 24 years at the conclusion of the 2005–06 season. Sharp was inducted into the Women's Basketba ...

, Curry embarked upon a rebuilding program as her tenure began in 2006, facing the challenges of new-era recruiting and the increased talent prevalent in the Big 12 Conference, especially Big 12 South opponents Baylor, Oklahoma, Texas, and Texas A&M, all of whom were frequently ranked in the Top 25 and contending for the national championship. In her first six years at Texas Tech, Curry led the Lady Raiders to three appearances in the Women's National Invitational Tournament. In January 2011, the Lady Raiders ascended to #26 in the AP national rankings (#25 in the Coaches' Poll), and on February 19, 2011, in the United Spirit Arena, the Lady Raiders upset the #1-ranked Baylor Bears. In the regular-season finale on March 5, 2011, Texas Tech defeated the #18 Oklahoma Sooners for the Lady Raiders' third victory over a ranked opponent in seventeen days. Texas Tech accepted an invitation to the NCAA Tournament. In March 2011, Curry signed a five-year contract extension with Texas Tech. Under Curry's leadership, the Lady Raiders began the 2011–12 season with 14 straight victories and were ranked #10 in the AP poll in early January 2012. On January 9, 2013, Curry reached her 300th career victory, with a win over the Kansas State Wildcats with a score of 59–50 on her home court in Lubbock, Texas, with a career record of 300–141 (.680) at the time. Curry guided the Texas Tech Lady Raiders to the 2013 NCAA Tournament, their second appearance in three years in the tournament. Curry accepted the same position at The University of Alabama on May 11, 2013, and replaced former Crimson Tide basketball star

Wendell Hudson Wendell Hudson (born April 16, 1951) is a retired American basketball player and former Associate Athletics Director for Alumni Relations and the former women's basketball program head coach of Alabama Crimson Tide women's basketball. In 1969, Hu ...

as head coach.

Head coaching record

References

External links

Alabama biography
{{DEFAULTSORT:Curry, Kristy 1966 births Living people Alabama Crimson Tide women's basketball coaches American women's basketball coaches Basketball coaches from Louisiana High school basketball coaches in Louisiana People from LaSalle Parish, Louisiana Purdue Boilermakers women's basketball coaches Texas A&M Aggies women's basketball coaches Texas Tech Lady Raiders basketball coaches Tulane Green Wave women's basketball coaches University of Louisiana at Monroe alumni