Tamika LaShun Louis (born June 17, 1975) is an American basketball coach who was most recently head women's basketball coach at Delaware State.

Early life and education

Louis was born in

Flint, Michigan Flint is the largest city and seat of Genesee County, Michigan, United States. Located along the Flint River, northwest of Detroit, it is a principal city within the region known as Mid Michigan. At the 2020 census, Flint had a population of 8 ...

and was the second of five children to Robert and Joyce Louis. She attended and graduated from Flint Northern High School, where she lettered in basketball and track. As a freshman at

West Virginia University West Virginia University (WVU) is a public land-grant research university with its main campus in Morgantown, West Virginia. Its other campuses are those of the West Virginia University Institute of Technology in Beckley, Potomac State College ...

, Louis played 19 games and averaged 3.9 points and 1.5 assists in the 1993–94 season. She then transferred to Fresno State, where she played from 1995 to 1998 and became a captain and starting point guard. As a senior in 1997–98, Louis averaged 5.4 assists per game to rank fourth in the

Western Athletic Conference The Western Athletic Conference (WAC) is an NCAA Division I conference. The WAC covers a broad expanse of the western United States with member institutions located in Arizona, California, New Mexico, Utah, Washington (state), Washington, and Texa ...

in that statistic. Louis also was a member of the Fresno State Student-Athlete Advisory Board and had an internship with U.S. Senator

Dianne Feinstein Dianne Goldman Berman Feinstein ( ; born Dianne Emiel Goldman; June 22, 1933) is an American politician who serves as the senior United States senator from California, a seat she has held since 1992. A member of the Democratic Party, she was ...

of California. Louis completed her bachelor's degree in communications in 1997 at Fresno State, enrolled in the master's in communication program by the start of her senior basketball season, and completed her master's degree in 1999.

Coaching career

Louis started her coaching career as an assistant coach at Central High School in

Fresno, California Fresno () is a major city in the San Joaquin Valley of California, United States. It is the county seat of Fresno County and the largest city in the greater Central Valley region. It covers about and had a population of 542,107 in 2020, makin ...

in the 1998–99 season. She moved to

Cleveland Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U.S. ...

and was associate head coach at Cuyahoga Community College in 2000–01 and

James Ford Rhodes High School James Ford Rhodes High School is located in Cleveland, Ohio, United States, in the west-side neighborhood known as Old Brooklyn. It is part of the Cleveland Metropolitan School District and is commonly referred to as "Rhodes High School." The sch ...

in 2001–02.

Mott CC

From 2002 to 2005, Louis was the head women's basketball coach at Mott Community College in

, where she led her squad to a 59–35 overall record during her tenure, including a 28–9 record in 2004–05 that included a 16–0 MCCAA Eastern Conference record, NJCAA Region 12 title, and NJCAA Tournament berth. Louis earned

Michigan Community College Athletic Association The Michigan Community College Athletic Association (MCCAA) is a junior college conference throughout Michigan and northern Indiana in Region 12 of the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA). The men's sports organized by the MCCAA ...

and NJCAA Region XII Coach of the Year honors.

Division I assistant (2007–2012)

From 2007 to 2009, Louis served as an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator for the

University of Illinois The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (U of I, Illinois, University of Illinois, or UIUC) is a public land-grant research university in Illinois in the twin cities of Champaign and Urbana. It is the flagship institution of the University ...

. During her time at U of I, she recruited two top-20 ranked recruits Destiny Williams and Karisma Penn. From 2009 to 2011, Louis was an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator for St. John's.St. John's Coaching Profile - Tamika Louis
/ref> Among her players was Second Team All-Big East and Freshman All-American Shennieka Smith. In the 2011–12 season, Louis served as an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator during the 2011–2012 season at

George Washington George Washington (February 22, 1732, 1799) was an American military officer, statesman, and Founding Father who served as the first president of the United States from 1789 to 1797. Appointed by the Continental Congress as commander of th ...

Delaware State

On May 31, 2012,

Delaware State University Delaware State University (DSU or Del State) is a public historically black land-grant research university in Dover, Delaware. DSU also has two satellite campuses: one in Wilmington and one in Georgetown. The university encompasses four col ...

hired Louis as women's basketball head coach. In three seasons, Louis had a 23–67 record. In her final season in 2014–15, multiple players' parents accused Louis of abusive behavior. One letter to the university president alleged that Louis used "harassment, intimidation, and threats to keep the players quiet about her dehumanizing behavior"; that letter led to the university formally investigating Louis and temporarily reassigning her within the athletic department in September 2014. Delaware State reinstated Louis on October 15, 2014; Louis's attorney said the investigation found no wrongdoing on Louis's part. On March 21, 2015, Delaware State decided not to renew Louis's contract. Delaware State finished the 2014–15 season with a 5–25 record.

Business career

In addition to coaching, Louis has also worked at

General Motors The General Motors Company (GM) is an American Multinational corporation, multinational Automotive industry, automotive manufacturing company headquartered in Detroit, Michigan, United States. It is the largest automaker in the United States and ...

from 1999 to 2007, including as a Service Development Manager for the Northeast Region. In 2003, she won the company's Corporate Woman of the Year Achievement Award for representing the Accessory Department. In 2015, Louis became communications manager at

Fiat Chrysler Automobiles Fiat Chrysler Automobiles N.V. (FCA) was an Italian-American multinational corporation primarily known as a manufacturer of automobiles, commercial vehicles, auto parts and production systems. The Italian holding company Exor was the largest ...

.https://www.linkedin.com/in/tamika-louis-06975232

Head coaching record

Junior college

College

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Louis, Tamika 1975 births Living people American women's basketball coaches Delaware State Hornets women's basketball coaches Fresno State Bulldogs women's basketball players George Washington Revolutionaries women's basketball coaches Junior college women's basketball coaches in the United States Illinois Fighting Illini women's basketball coaches Sportspeople from Flint, Michigan St. John's Red Storm women's basketball coaches West Virginia Mountaineers women's basketball players High school basketball coaches in the United States Basketball players from Flint, Michigan