Nikki Fargas

Yolanda Nicole Fargas (née Caldwell; born May 21, 1972)[1] is an American basketball coach and executive. She is the president of the Las Vegas Aces of the WNBA. Fargas was formerly the head coach for the women's basketball programs at UCLA and LSU.

Nikki Fargas
Fargas in 2011
Las Vegas Aces
PositionPresident
LeagueWNBA
Personal information
Born (1972-05-21) May 21, 1972
Oak Ridge, Tennessee, U.S.
Career information
High schoolOak Ridge (Oak Ridge, Tennessee)
CollegeTennessee (1990-1994)
PositionGuard
Coaching career1998–2021
Career history
As coach:
1998–1999Tennessee (assistant)
1999–2002Virginia (assistant)
2002–2008Tennessee (assistant)
2008–2011UCLA
2011–2021LSU
Career highlights and awards
As player:

As coach:

  • Pac-10 Coach of the Year (2010)
Career coaching record
NCAA248–154 (.617)
Medals
Women's basketball
Assistant coach for  United States
FIBA Americas U18 Championship
Gold medal – first place2012 Puerto Rico
FIBA U19 World Championship
Gold medal – first place2013 Lithuania

Early life

Born Yolanda Nicole Caldwell in Oak Ridge, Tennessee,[2] Fargas was raised by her mother[3] and attended public schools. She graduated from Oak Ridge High School in 1990. She was a member of the school basketball team that won the Tennessee state championship in 1988. As of 2009, Fargas still held the high school's single-season records for total points scored and for successful free throws.[4]

College and career

Fargas attended the University of Tennessee from 1990 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. Fargas 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 senior 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.[3][5]

Broadcasting

After receiving a bachelor's degree in public relations from the University of Tennessee in 1994, Fargas 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 host for sports segments on the Shop at Home Network.[5]

Tennessee

Fargas returned to basketball in 1998 as a member of Pat Summitt's coaching staff, serving as graduate assistant for administration.[6] The following season she joined the University of Virginia as an assistant coach, assuming responsibilities for recruiting, scouting, film exchange, player development, monitoring academic progress and camps.[5] 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.[5]

UCLA

Fargas was named the head coach at UCLA on April 17, 2008, with a five-year contract valued at nearly $1.5 million,[7] succeeding Kathy Olivier. In her first season, UCLA compiled a regular-season record of 18 wins and 11 losses.[8] During the 2009–2010 season, UCLA placed second in the Pac-10 (25–9) and was defeated by second-ranked Stanford in the Pac-10 tournament. She sought a large raise in her contract. Despite a reportedly generous offer by UCLA, the school could not match the $900,000 annually LSU offered, so she returned to coach in the SEC at LSU.

LSU

On April 2, 2011, Louisiana State University announced that Fargas would become the head coach for the LSU Lady Tigers team.[9] In seven seasons with the Lady Tigers, she posted a 131–90 record and advanced to the NCAA Tournament in her first seven seasons. She posted her first losing record in 2016 and missed the NCAA tournament for the first time. Fargas resigned from LSU in April 2021.[10]

WNBA

On May 11, 2021, Fargas was announced as the President of the Las Vegas Aces.[11] In her first season with the franchise they won their first WNBA Finals in team history.

Head coaching record
Statistics overview
Season Team Overall Conference Standing Postseason
UCLA Bruins (Pac-10 Conference) (2008–2011)
2008–09 UCLA 19–129–9T–4th
2009–10 UCLA 25–915–32ndNCAA Second Round
2010–11 UCLA 28–516–22ndNCAA Second Round
UCLA: 72–26 (.735)40–14 (.741)
LSU Lady Tigers (Southeastern Conference) (2011–2021)
2011–12 LSU 23–1110–64thNCAA Second Round
2012–13 LSU 22–1210–66thNCAA Sweet Sixteen
2013–14 LSU 21–137–9T–6thNCAA Sweet Sixteen
2014–15 LSU 17–1410–6T–4thNCAA First Round
2015–16 LSU 10–213–1313th
2016–17 LSU 20–128–87thNCAA First Round
2017–18 LSU 19–1011–54thNCAA First Round
2018–19 LSU 16–137–96th
2019–20 LSU 20–109–77thPostseason not held due to COVID-19
2020–21 LSU 9–136–88th
LSU: 177–129 (.578)81–77 (.513)
Total:249–155 (.616)

      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

NCAA tournament
Year School Record Winning % Notes Final RPI
2010UCLA1–1.500Eliminated by (Nebraska Cornhuskers) in NCAA Second Round18
2011UCLA1–1.500Eliminated by (Gonzaga Bulldogs) in NCAA Second Round11
2012LSU1–1.500Eliminated by (Penn State Lady Lions) in NCAA Second Round17
2013LSU2–1.667Eliminated by (California Golden Bears) in NCAA Sweet 1626
2014LSU2–1.667Eliminated by (Louisville Cardinals) in NCAA Sweet 1615
2015LSU0–1.000Eliminated by (South Florida Bulls) in NCAA First Round60
2017LSU0–1.000Eliminated by (California Golden Bears) in NCAA First Round40
2018LSU0–1.000Eliminated by (Central Michigan Chippewas) in NCAA First Round31
Totals7–8
(.467) 		8 NCAA First Round (Won 5)
5 NCAA Second Round (Won 2)
2 NCAA Sweet 16

Public service activities

In the company of Holly Warlick, a former assistant coach for University of Tennessee women's basketball, Fargas has conducted 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.[12] As of 2008, the two women's non-profit organization, Champions for a Cause, had raised nearly $100,000.[3] The 2010 road trip took them through Washington, DC and New York City to Niagara Falls and back.

Awards

In May 2009, Fargas 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.[13] Fargas 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.[14]

Family

Fargas' uncle, Mike Caldwell, played for the Philadelphia Eagles in the National Football League.[3] In March 2012, Fargas gave birth to a girl named Justice[15][16] with her husband, former Oakland Raiders player Justin Fargas (coincidentally, the Raiders ownership acquired the Aces when she joined the team).[16] Her father-in-law is Starsky and Hutch actor Antonio Fargas, who played Huggy Bear.

References
  1. "Women's Basketball Coaches Career". NCAA. Retrieved September 30, 2015.
  2. "Nikki Fargas Bio". Lsusports.net. January 28, 2015. Retrieved December 20, 2015.
  3. "Nikki Caldwell Profile". UCLA Bruins. Archived from the original on July 25, 2011.
  4. Leean Tupper, Caldwell: Responsibility key to successful life, The Oak Ridger, May 18, 2009
  5. Nikki Caldwell Archived July 17, 2011, at the Wayback Machine, University of Tennessee website, accessed June 10, 2009
  6. "Basketball Support Staff". University of Tennessee. Archived from the original on October 4, 1999. Retrieved November 13, 2017.
  7. "Nikki Caldwell story". 17 April 2008.
  8. "A team of her own / UCLA Today". Archived from the original on February 16, 2010. Retrieved June 10, 2009.
  9. Nikki Caldwell is new LSU women's basketball coach, Shreveport Times, April 3, 2011
  10. "Fargas Resigns to Pursue Another Opportunity". LSU. 2021-04-24. Retrieved 2022-04-10.
  11. "Las Vegas Hires Nikki Fargas As Team President". Las Vegas Aces. Retrieved 2022-04-10.
  12. "GoVolsXtra, University of Tennessee sports coverage".
  13. "Nikki Caldwell Honored by LadyLike Foundation - UCLA Official Athletic Site". Archived from the original on July 25, 2011. Retrieved June 10, 2009.
  14. Pac-10 Announces 2009–10 Individual Women's Basketball Honors, Pac-10.org, March 11, 2010
  15. "Coach expects March Madness baby". Theadvocate.com. November 13, 2011. Archived from the original on August 14, 2014. Retrieved April 28, 2012.
  16. "Former Lady Vol Nikki Caldwell has her baby". WBIR.com. March 6, 2012. Archived from the original on February 9, 2013. Retrieved April 28, 2012.
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