FLORENCE, Ala. (March 26, 2026) – University of North Alabama Director of Athletics Dr. Josh Looney officially announced the hiring of Anna Nimz as the 10th head coach of the UNA women's basketball program Thursday.
Nimz comes to UNA after leading a remarkable six-year turnaround at Division I program Northwestern State. She took over the Demons in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic and rebuilt a one-win team into a Southland Conference contender.
This past season, her team finished 18-14 overall and 14-8 in league play and appeared in the conference quarterfinal round. This was also the first time Northwestern State had consecutive winning seasons in the last decade. Her 2024-25 team finished with 16 wins and took the school to its first WNIT since 1999.
Under her leadership, Northwestern State matched or increased its win total all six seasons. The 18 wins this past season were the program's most in 10 years, while the 14 conference wins were the most in 22 years.
Beyond the court, Nimz and her program won the Northwestern State University Community Outreach Award in both 2023-24 and 2024-25.
"The UNA community is going to love Anna," said Looney. "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."
Prior to Northwestern State, Nimz was the Associate Head Coach at UTRGV from 2018-20 and helped the program achieve the most Western Athletic Conference wins in school history with a 10-6 record. She also helped UTRGV clinch a berth in the WBI Tournament.
Nimz has 192 wins as a head coach, leading the programs at Kilgore College and Labette Community College prior to Northwestern State.
She took over at Labette in 2010 and led the team to 65 wins over five seasons.
She then moved to Texas and led Kilgore College to a 58-36 record over three seasons. Prior to her arrival, Kilgore had just seven wins. She won 16 games her first season then led consecutive 21-win seasons in 2016-17 and 2017-18. This marked the first time Kilgore had consecutive 20+ win seasons in over 20 years. She was also Kilgore College's Employee of the Year in 2016-17.
As a student-athlete, Nimz was a standout at Division II powerhouse Pittsburg State from 2005-07. She was the team captain and averaged 10.9 points per game with 3.1 assists per game. She also played one year each at Washburn University and Dodge City Community College prior to Pittsburg State.
Nimz takes over a UNA program that went 17-14 last season and 11-7 in Atlantic Sun Conference play, the most wins in both categories since 2019-20. UNA advanced to the ASUN Quarterfinal Round with a win over Queens in the first round, marking the program's first postseason win 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."
A formal press conference will take place as early as next week to introduce Nimz to the Shoals community and will be available for streaming on ESPN+ and on-demand via Roar Lions Productions. More details will be announced in the coming days.
Elevate assisted the University with its head coaching search.
For more information on North Alabama Athletics, visit www.roarlions.com and follow UNA Athletics on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
