Dayton hires Wittenberg’s Williams-Jeter as women’s basketball coach

“Dayton represents my family, my foundation, and my heart,” Williams-Jeter said in a press release. “The University of Dayton is a stellar academic institution immersed in a vibrant community where excellence is a standard. I am excited and honored to have the opportunity to lead this program full of phenomenal young women. I am grateful to President Spina, Neil Sullivan, and (Senior Associate A.D.) Angie Petrovic for giving me the opportunity to continue to guide UD women’s basketball to greatness. Lastly, I want to thank my husband, Richard Jeter, for allowing me to bring my sons back to the city that made me. Go Flyers!”

Wittenberg hired Williams-Jeter in May. The Dayton native was the nation’s top-ranked recruit as a senior at Chaminade Julienne in 1998. She scored 2,015 points in her high school career and then followed it up with a standout career at Connecticut, scoring 1,402 points while helping to lead the Huskies to national championships in 2000 and 2002.

Williams-Jeter started her coaching career at Ohio State in 2002 and stayed with the program until 2008. She later spent time at Kansas, Kentucky and Penn State before returning to Ohio State before the start of the 2019-20 season. Williams-Jeter also played in the WNBA from 2002-08. The Minnesota Lynx selected her with the sixth overall pick in the 2002 draft.

Williams-Jeter led Wittenberg to an 18-8 record. The team won its last seven regular-season games and then three games in the North Coast Athletic Conference tournament, upsetting No. 10 DePauw in the semifinals, to reach the NCAA tournament. Wittenberg then lost 65-50 to Marietta in the first round.

Wittenberg overcame a 7-7 start and avenged two lopsided regular-season victories in the NCAC tournament by beating DePauw and Ohio Wesleyan.

“We all had to buy into each other and just kind of build that connection,” Williams-Jeter said before the NCAA tournament, “and obviously with a new coach, it is going to take a little bit of time. So we all had to buy in to Tamika. Just going through all that adversity together, it’s paying off.”

Williams-Jeter is the 10th coach in UD women’s basketball history. Prior to Green’s tenure, Jim Jabir spent 15 seasons as the head coach, compiling a record of 210-133 with five NCAA tournament appearances.

Green had a record of 127-50 in six seasons and led the program to four NCAA tournament bids and five Atlantic 10 Conference regular-season championships.

Dayton has earned 10 NCAA bids in the last 13 seasons. The Flyers finished 26-6 this season and beat DePaul 88-57 in the opening round of the NCAA tournament before losing 70-54 to Georgia.

This is the second women’s basketball coaching change during Neil Sullivan’s tenure as athletic director. He hired Green four days after Jabir resigned in 2016.

“I am delighted to welcome Tamika Williams-Jeter and her family to the University of Dayton,” Sullivan said in a press release. “She is a proven winner and teacher of the game who has a distinctive personal impact on those around her. She has successful experience coaching, recruiting and playing basketball at every level, and has done it with integrity. Her core values, combined with her basketball acumen, led us to this decision. Our staff looks forward to partnering with her on advancing not only women’s basketball, but the University of Dayton’s impact on the community.”