University of North Carolina Athletics
Photo by: Jeffrey A. Camarati
Tar Heels Welcome Bixby To Coaching Staff
September 2, 2024 | Women's Basketball
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. – Katherine Bixby has joined the UNC women's basketball staff as an assistant coach, head coach Courtney Banghart announced Monday.
"Throughout an extensive search process, Katherine's breadth of experience proved invaluable in an ever-changing landscape in college athletics," Banghart said. "A former head coach, Katherine brings value to so many key areas. She has served as a lead recruiter, she has developed players from all positional groups, and she's been a strategist on both sides of the ball. She is eager to be a teammate and to help further elevate this program and we are grateful to have her aboard."
Bixby, who brings more than 15 years of coaching experience to Chapel Hill, has spent the past season at Loyola of Maryland, where she helped engineer a program turnaround, with the Greyhounds going from 10-21 in 2022-23 to 16-15 last season. There she was part of the 2024 Patriot League Staff of the Year as Loyola registered its first winning season since 2010-11.
Prior to that, she spent six seasons as the head coach at Johns Hopkins, leading the Blue Jays to five-straight seasons of 17 or more wins, including back-to-back 20-win campaigns. Johns Hopkins won the regular-season conference title in 2023, and Bixby was the Centennial Conference Coach of the Year in 2019.
Throughout her time at JHU she maintained a standard of academic excellence, with her teams ranking in the WBCA National Academic Honor Roll four times.
She served as head coach at Dickinson College from 2014-17, including an 18-win season in 2017, and has been an assistant coach at Ithaca College. Her experience also includes a range of camps and clinics.
A graduate of Ithaca College, she will be inducted into the school's Athletic Hall of Fame Sept. 13 for her basketball and lacrosse performance. She earned a Master of Arts in Teaching from Ithaca in 2012.
"I am thrilled to be starting a new chapter in the women's basketball program at the University of North Carolina," Bixby said. "Thank you to Coach Banghart for this incredible opportunity to join the Tar Heel community. I look forward to bringing my experience to this vibrant culture and working alongside superb colleagues and student-athletes."
"Throughout an extensive search process, Katherine's breadth of experience proved invaluable in an ever-changing landscape in college athletics," Banghart said. "A former head coach, Katherine brings value to so many key areas. She has served as a lead recruiter, she has developed players from all positional groups, and she's been a strategist on both sides of the ball. She is eager to be a teammate and to help further elevate this program and we are grateful to have her aboard."
Bixby, who brings more than 15 years of coaching experience to Chapel Hill, has spent the past season at Loyola of Maryland, where she helped engineer a program turnaround, with the Greyhounds going from 10-21 in 2022-23 to 16-15 last season. There she was part of the 2024 Patriot League Staff of the Year as Loyola registered its first winning season since 2010-11.
Prior to that, she spent six seasons as the head coach at Johns Hopkins, leading the Blue Jays to five-straight seasons of 17 or more wins, including back-to-back 20-win campaigns. Johns Hopkins won the regular-season conference title in 2023, and Bixby was the Centennial Conference Coach of the Year in 2019.
Throughout her time at JHU she maintained a standard of academic excellence, with her teams ranking in the WBCA National Academic Honor Roll four times.
She served as head coach at Dickinson College from 2014-17, including an 18-win season in 2017, and has been an assistant coach at Ithaca College. Her experience also includes a range of camps and clinics.
A graduate of Ithaca College, she will be inducted into the school's Athletic Hall of Fame Sept. 13 for her basketball and lacrosse performance. She earned a Master of Arts in Teaching from Ithaca in 2012.
"I am thrilled to be starting a new chapter in the women's basketball program at the University of North Carolina," Bixby said. "Thank you to Coach Banghart for this incredible opportunity to join the Tar Heel community. I look forward to bringing my experience to this vibrant culture and working alongside superb colleagues and student-athletes."
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