Toledo's Tricia Cullop named new coach for Miami women's basketball, has big shoes to fill

The first new Miami women’s basketball coach in 19 years will be Toledo’s Tricia Cullop. Cullop fills the big shoes left behind by longtime coach Katie Meier’s retirement after leading Miami to 11 20-win seasons and 10 NCAA Tournament berths in her almost two decades coaching at UM.

Cullop arrives after cementing her place as Toledo’s winningest coach in the program’s history. Her teams there made 11 trips to the postseason and won eight championships, including a postseason WNIT title in 2011, MAC Tournament Championships in 2017 and 2023, and a school-record five MAC regular-season championships (2010-11, 2012-13, 2021-22, 2022-23 and 2023-24). The Rockets’ 2011 WNIT Championship was the first major postseason tournament title won by a Mid-American Conference team.

“We are excited to welcome Tricia to the University of Miami family,” Miami AD Dan Radakovich said. “Tricia is a proven winner who understands what it takes to build a championship culture, develop talent, mentor student-athletes, and generate excitement around a program.”

Cullop has been named MAC Coach of the Year six times (2009, 2011, 2013, 2022, 2023, 2024), tied with BGSU’s Curt Miller for the most by any MAC coach. She has coached the Rockets for the last 16 years and only suffered one losing season (14-17 in 2019-20). Cullop would end her tenure there with a 67.6 pecent winning percentage (353-169).

Prior to her time with the Rockets, Cullop was head coach at Evansville from 2000-2008. She had eight winning sesaons there and won the conference her final year, with a WNIT appearance. She also was named the Missouri Valley Coach of the Year in 2008.

Prior to that she was an assistant women’s basketball coach at Radford, Long Beach State and Xavier.

Cullop received a bachelor’s degree in communications from Purdue. She was team captain for the Boilermakers and a three-time academic All-Big Ten selection, and was named the Purdue Mortar Board Female Student-Athlete of the Year in 1993.

“This opportunity is a dream come true,” Cullop said. “Miami has a world-class education, winning tradition, competes in the one of top conferences in the country, and is in a beautiful location. While I will be eternally grateful for the opportunity given to me by the University of Toledo 16 years ago, I am also extremely excited for the challenge of what lies ahead.”

Cullop takes over a Miami team that finished 19-12 this past season with an 8-10 ACC record and was snubbed by the NCAA Tournament committee. The team turned down an opportunity to be a No. 1 seed in the WNIT Tournament.

The Canes lose one starter to graduation – Jaida Patrick (7.6 PPG, 4.5 RPG). The top scorers this past season were juniors Shayeann Day-Wilson (11.9 PPG, 3.5 assists, 36.8 three-point percentage) and Jasmyne Roberts (11.1 PPG, 4.9 RPG, 46.5 percent shooting from the field).

Miami is one year removed from a program-first Elite Eight appearance.

THE TRICIA CULLOP FILE

• Career Record: 476-279 (24 seasons)
• 10 20-win seasons
• 12 postseason appearances (11 Toledo, 1 Evansville)
• Winningest coach in Toledo history
• Six-time MAC Coach of the Year
• 2008 Missouri Valley Coach of the Year
• Five MAC regular season titles
• Two MAC Tournament titles
• Two-Time WBCA President
• 2022 WBCA Carol Eckman Integrity in Coaching Award
• Assistant coach at Radford, Long Beach State and Xavier
• Team captain and three-time Academic All-Big Ten selection at Purdue
• 2018 Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame inductee