- Nikki Caldwell
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Nikki Caldwell 
Sport(s) Women's basketball Current position Team LSU Conference SEC Record 27–4 (16–2 Pac-10) Biographical details Born May 21, 1972 [1] Place of birth Oak Ridge, Tennessee Playing career 1991-1994 University of Tennessee Position(s) Guard Coaching career (HC unless noted) 1998-1999
1999-2002
2002-2008
2008-2011
2011 -Tennessee (Asst.)
Virginia (Asst.)
Tennessee (Asst.)
UCLA
LSUAccomplishments and honors Awards Pac-10 Coach of the Year (2009-10) Nikki Caldwell (born May 21, 1972) is an American women's basketball coach, who was the head coach for UCLA Bruins women's basketball at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) and is currently head coach for the Lady Tigers at Louisiana State University.
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Early life
Caldwell is a native of Oak Ridge, Tennessee, where she was raised by her mother[2] and attended public schools. She graduated from Oak Ridge High School in 1990. She was a member of the school basketball team, coached by Jill Prudden, that won the Tennessee state championship in 1988. As of 2009, she still held the high school's single-season records for total points scored and for successful free throws.[3]
College and career
She attended the University of Tennessee from 1991 to 1994, playing as a guard under coach Pat Summitt on the university's Lady Vols basketball team, which compiled a 118-13 won-loss record during her playing years. Caldwell was known for her strong defensive play and her three-point shooting. Her defensive play in the 1991 NCAA tournament final game, in which the Lady Vols defeated the University of Virginia in overtime, was considered a key factor in her team's victory. She was named to Southeastern Conference (SEC) All-Freshman team that same year, and in both her junior and years she received the university's Gloria Ray Leadership Award. Although she missed portions of two seasons due to injuries, her four-year statistics as a three-point shooter, with 128 three-point field goals made out of 364 attempts, place her in the all-time top 10 at Tennessee.[2][4]
Broadcasting
After receiving a bachelor's degree in public relations from the University of Tennessee in 1994, she became a color analyst for Fox Sports Net South broadcasts of Lady Vol basketball games. In 1995 she added the position of color analyst for Fox broadcasts of the SEC Game of the Week, which she continued until 1997, when she became hostess for sports segments on the Shop at Home Network.[4]
Coaching
Caldwell returned to basketball in 1998 as a member of Pat Summitt's coaching staff, serving as graduate assistant for administration, in which position she served the coaching staff in all aspects of basketball operations during the 1998-1999 season.[4] The following season she joined the University Virginia as an assistant coach, assuming responsibilities for recruiting, scouting, film exchange, player development, monitoring academic progress and camps.[4] In 2002 she left Virginia to return to the University of Tennessee as an assistant coach for the 2002-03 season and recruiting director beginning in the spring of 2003.[4]
She was appointed head coach for UCLA on April 17, 2008, with a five-year contract valued at nearly $1.5 million,[5] succeeding Kathy Olivier. In her first season as coach, the UCLA team compiled a regular season record of 18 wins and 11 losses.[6] During the 2009-2010 season, her team placed second in the Pac-10 (25-9) and was defeated by second ranked Stanford in the Pac-10 tournament.
On April 2, 2011, Louisiana State University announced that Caldwell would become the head coach for the LSU Lady Tigers team.[7]
Head Coaching Record
Season Team Overall Conference Standing Postseason UCLA Bruins (Pac-10 Conference) (2008–2011) 2008–2009 UCLA 19–12 9–9 T–4th 2009–2010 UCLA 25–9 15–3 2nd NCAA 2nd Round 2010–2011 UCLA 27–4 16–2 2nd NCAA 2nd Round UCLA: 71–25 40–14 LSU Tigers (Southeastern Conference) (2011–Present) 2011–2012 LSU 2–0 0–0 LSU: 2–0 0–0 Total: 73–25 National Champion Conference Regular Season Champion Conference Tournament Champion
Conference Regular Season & Conference Tournament Champion Conference Division ChampionPublic service activities
In the company of Holly Warlick, an assistant coach for University of Tennessee women's basketball, Caldwell has conducted a series of three long-distance motorcycle road trips, called "Cruisin' for a Cause", to promote awareness of breast cancer and to raise money for research on this disease. In their first trip, in 2007, they rode their Harley-Davidson motorcycles from Berkeley, California to Knoxville, Tennessee.[8] As of 2008, the two women's non-profit organization, Champions for a Cause, had raised nearly $100,000.[2] The 2010 road trip took them through Washington, DC and New York City to Niagara Falls and back.
Awards
In May 2009 she received the Woman of Excellence Award from the LadyLike Foundation for her excellence as a coach and for fund-raising activities for breast cancer awareness.[9] Caldwell was named 2010 Pac-10 Coach of the Year by the conference coaches and by the media in her second year of coaching at UCLA.[10]
Family
An uncle, Mike Caldwell, played for the Carolina Panthers in the National Football League.[2]
References
- ^ http://www.lsusports.net/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=28701&SPID=2167&ATCLID=205128989&DB_OEM_ID=5200
- ^ a b c d Nikki Caldwell Profile, UCLA Bruins Women's Basketball website, accessed June 10, 2009
- ^ Leean Tupper, Caldwell: Responsibility key to successful life, The Oak Ridger, May 18, 2009
- ^ a b c d e Nikki Caldwell, University of Tennessee website, accessed June 10, 2009
- ^ http://www.insidesocal.com/ucla/2008/04/nikki-caldwell-story.html
- ^ http://www.today.ucla.edu/portal/ut/a-team-of-her-own-85059.aspx
- ^ Nikki Caldwell is new LSU women's basketball coach, Shreveport Times, April 3, 2011
- ^ http://www.govolsxtra.com/news/2007/jul/27/california-knoxville-warlick-caldwell-lady-vols-as/
- ^ http://www.uclabruins.com/sports/w-baskbl/spec-rel/051909aab.html
- ^ Pac-10 Announces 2009-10 Individual Women's Basketball Honors, Pac-10.org, March 11, 2010
External links
LSU Lady Tigers basketball head coaches Jinks Coleman (1975–1979) • Barbara Swanner (1979–1982) • Sue Gunter (1982–2004) • Pokey Chatman (2004–2007) • Bob Starkey # (2007) • Van Chancellor (2007–2011) • Nikki Caldwell (2011– )
Pound sign (#) denotes interim head coach.
Current women's basketball head coaches of the Southeastern Conference Wendell Hudson (Alabama) • Tom Collen (Arkansas) • Nell Fortner (Auburn) • Amanda Butler (Florida • Andy Landers (Georgia) • Matthew Mitchell (Kentucky) • Nikki Caldwell (LSU) • Renee Ladner (Ole Miss) • Sharon Fanning (Mississippi State) • Dawn Staley (South Carolina) • Pat Summitt (Tennessee) • Melanie Balcomb (Vanderbilt)
Tennessee Lady Volunteers Basketball 1990–91 NCAA Champions 3 Jody Adams | 5 Regina Clark | 11 Dena Head | 15 Marlene Jeter | 20 Peggy Evans | 21 Lisa Harrison | 32 Daedra Charles | 33 Nikki Caldwell | 34 Kelli Casteel | 50 Tamara Carver | 52 Debbie Hawhee
Coach Pat SummittCategories:- African American basketball coaches
- American color commentators
- Living people
- LSU Lady Tigers basketball coaches
- People from Oak Ridge, Tennessee
- Tennessee Lady Vols basketball coaches
- Tennessee Lady Vols basketball players
- UCLA Bruins women's basketball coaches
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