Jeff Walz

Jeffrey Jacob Walz (born October 27, 1971)[1] is the head coach of the women's basketball team at the University of Louisville. In his second year as a head coach, he guided his team to a national championship appearance at the 2009 NCAA Division I women's basketball tournament, and led the Cardinals to a second championship game appearance in 2013.

Jeff Walz
Current position
TitleHead coach
TeamLouisville
ConferenceACC
Record440–125 (.779)
Biographical details
Born (1971-10-27) October 27, 1971
Fort Thomas, Kentucky
Coaching career (HC unless noted)
1996–1997Western Kentucky (asst.)
1997–2001Nebraska (asst.)
2001–2002Minnesota (asst.)
2002–2007Maryland (asst.)
2007–presentLouisville
Accomplishments and honors
Championships

High school

Walz attended Highlands High School in Fort Thomas, Kentucky.[2]

College

Walz completed his undergraduate studies at Northern Kentucky, attending on a basketball scholarship. He graduated in 1995, earning a Bachelor of Science in secondary education, and went on to complete a master's degree at Western Kentucky in 1997 while serving as a women's basketball graduate assistant coach under Paul Sanderford.[2]

Coaching

Walz began coaching middle school and high school teams before finishing college.[2] His first college position was assistant to Paul Sanderford at Western Kentucky,[3] where he coached his sister Jaime Walz, who earned Kentucky "Miss Basketball" honors in 1996.[2]

When Sanderford moved to take the head coach position at the University of Nebraska, Walz followed him as an assistant.[3] While at Nebraska, he helped the program go to a school record three consecutive NCAA appearances.[2]

In 2002, Walz accepted a position as assistant to Brenda Frese (then Brenda Oldfield) at Minnesota. Frese won AP Coach of the Year honors after improving Minnesota from 8–20 to 22–8. The University of Maryland persuaded her to accept the head coaching position and Walz also made the move. He spent five seasons at Maryland, helping them to become a national power, including a national championship at the 2006 NCAA Division I women's basketball tournament.

Walz made the transition to head coach in 2007, accepting an offer from the University of Louisville.[4] The school moved into the top 15 in attendance in his first year, averaging 6,456 fans per game, and attracting a total of 77,480 people that season.[5][6]

When the women's team (along with the U of L men's team) moved to the KFC Yum! Center in 2010, attendance took another major jump. In both of the first two seasons that the Cardinals women spent at the KFC Yum! Center (2010–11 and 2011–12), the team ranked second in national attendance behind Tennessee.[7][8]

Walz received a pay increase from his athletic director Tom Jurich, prior to the 2012–2013 season.

Walz took the 2012–2013 team to the national championship game, falling to UConn 93–60.

Awards and honors

Head coaching record
Statistics overview
Season Team Overall Conference Standing Postseason
Louisville Cardinals (Big East) (2007–2013)
2007–08 Louisville 26–1010–6T-5thNCAA Sweet Sixteen
2008–09 Louisville 34–514–22ndNCAA Runner-Up
2009–10 Louisville 14–185–11T-12thWBI First Round
2010–11 Louisville 22–1310–6T-5thNCAA Sweet Sixteen
2011–12 Louisville 23–1010–6T-6thNCAA Second Round
2012–13 Louisville 29–911–5T-3rdNCAA Runner-Up
Louisville Cardinals (The American) (2013–2014)
2013–14 Louisville 33–516–22ndNCAA Elite Eight
Louisville Cardinals (ACC) (2014–present)
2014–15 Louisville 27–712–43rdNCAA Sweet Sixteen
2015–16 Louisville 26–815–12ndNCAA Second Round
2016–17 Louisville 29–812–4T-4thNCAA Sweet Sixteen
2017–18 Louisville 36–315–1T-1stNCAA Final Four
2018–19 Louisville 32–414–2T-1stNCAA Elite Eight
2019–20 Louisville 28–416–21stTournament Cancelled
2020–21 Louisville 26–414–21stNCAA Elite Eight
2021–22 Louisville 29–516–22ndNCAA Final Four
2022–23 Louisville 26–1212–6T-4thNCAA Elite Eight
Louisville: 440–125 (.779)202–62 (.765)
Total:440–125 (.779)

      National champion         Postseason invitational champion  
      Conference regular season champion         Conference regular season and conference tournament champion
      Division regular season champion       Division regular season and conference tournament champion
      Conference tournament champion

Notes
  1. "University of Louisville 2011–12 Women's Basketball Media Guide". University of Louisville Sports Information. p. 88. Retrieved November 8, 2012.
  2. "Jeff Walz". CBS Interactive. Archived from the original on February 21, 2011. Retrieved June 5, 2010.
  3. Frakes, Jason (July 11, 1997). "Coach Walz to leave Western for Nebraska". The Daily News. Retrieved November 10, 2018 – via Google News.
  4. "Louisville Names Kentucky Native Jeff Walz as Women's Basketball Coach". CSTV Networks. March 27, 2007. Archived from the original on June 22, 2011. Retrieved November 10, 2018.
  5. Hays, Graham (March 21, 2008). "Stutter or not, Louisville coach Walz a real statement maker". ESPN.com. ESPN. Retrieved November 10, 2018.
  6. "2007-08 NCAA Women's Basketball Attendance" (PDF). NCAA. Retrieved November 10, 2018.
  7. "2011 NCAA Women's Basketball Attendance" (PDF). NCAA. Retrieved November 8, 2012.
  8. "2012 NCAA Women's Basketball Attendance" (PDF). NCAA. Retrieved November 8, 2012.
  9. "Spalding Maggie Dixon NCAA Division I Rookie Coach of the Year". Women's Basketball Coaches Association. Retrieved November 10, 2018.

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