North Alabama has found its next leader for women’s basketball. Anna Nimz is the tenth women’s basketball head coach at the university, Director of Athletics Josh Looney announces.
“The UNA community is going to love Anna,” Looney said. “Her engaging personality and authentic connections with players and fans are hallmarks of her coaching style. She brings energy, optimism and resiliency every day and is exactly the program builder we were seeking to continue the momentum of UNA women’s basketball.”
Nimz arrives in Florence following a six-year run at Northwestern State, where she engineered one of the most notable turnarounds in recent program history. She turned a one game winning team during the pandemic-shortened 2020 season into a competitive force in the Southland Conference.
This past season, Northwestern finished 18-14 overall and 14-8 in conference play, advancing to the league’s quarterfinal. The season marked the program’s best record in a decade and capped back-to-back winning seasons, which the school hadn’t achieved in ten years. The previous year, Nimz led the team to 16 wins and a trip to the Women’s National Invitational Tournament, being their last appearance in 1999.
Off the court and under the coach, the program also won back-to-back Community Outreach Awards. Before Northwestern, she helped guide UT Rio Grande Valley to a school-record 10 conference wins as associate head coach and a postseason spot in the WBI Tournament.
Now, she takes over a rising UNA squad that finished 17-14 last season, including an 11-7 mark in the Atlantic Sun Conference and the first postseason play since 2020.
“I am incredibly excited to have the opportunity to be YOUR new head women’s basketball coach at the University of North Alabama,” said Nimz. “We are ready to continue the momentum the program has already seen and strive to elevate it to new heights. I look forward to meeting everyone, building relationships on campus and in the community, along with sharing the philosophy and standard of Lion basketball.”
