Joi Williams, who has led the UCF women’s basketball program to two NCAA Tournaments and a pair of Conference USA Championship titles in the last three years, has agreed to a five-year contract extension that will keep her as the Knights’ head coach through at least the 2015-16 season, director of athletics and executive vice president Keith Tribble announced Thursday.
In 2010-11, Williams guided UCF to one of the finest campaigns in program history. The Knights won 22 games, posted a 12-4 mark in C-USA play and earned the league’s automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament after winning the C-USA Championship in El Paso, Texas. Williams also led the Knights to the 2009 NCAA Tournament after her squad won the league championship crown. She was recognized as the 2008-09 C-USA Coach of the Year.
“Coach Williams has clearly created a culture of winning and success both on the court and in the classroom,” Tribble said. “She has taken our women’s basketball program to new levels and we are thrilled that she will continue to lead our program in the coming years.”
Williams is in her fifth season as UCF’s head coach. She guided the Knights to the 2011 C-USA Championship crown on the strength of an 11-game winning streak. UCF closed out the season on an eight-game run that was followed by three-straight wins in the conference tournament to claim the championship. The 11-game streak and the 20-plus win season were the first by the program in 27 years.
“I have been fortunate and blessed during my time as UCF’s head coach,” Williams said. “I am excited about the future of our program and I’m extremely grateful to President John Hitt and Keith Tribble for their continued support. With the dedicated commitment of our student-athletes and staff, we have developed a program that each year can compete for conference championships and beyond. It remains our mission to reach even greater heights on the national stage in all facets of our program.”
In 2010-11, six of Williams’ players were named to the C-USA Commissioner’s Academic Honor Roll with a 3.0 or higher grade-point-average.
This past summer, Williams served as an assistant coach for the United States U19 World Championship team, and helped the U.S. claim the gold medal in Chile. In 2010, she worked with the U.S. squad that took the gold medal at the FIBA Americas U18 Championship in Colorado Springs, Colo.
Williams’ Knights will open the 2011-12 regular season on Nov. 12. UCF’s first of 18 regular-season games at the UCF Arena is set for Nov. 18 against Florida A&M. The home schedule also includes non-conference games against Florida State, Virginia Tech, Hartford and Florida Gulf Coast.