Honors & Awards
- Head Coach, Nebraska (2016-Present)
- NCAA Tournament (Nebraska, 2018, 2022, 2024)
- Naismith National Coach of the Year (Semifinalist, 1 of 10, 2018)
- Big Ten Coach of the Year (2018)
- Summit League Coach of the Year (2015, 2016)
- WNIT Champions (South Dakota, 2016)
- Summit League Regular-Season Champions (South Dakota, 2015, 2016)
- NCAA Tournament (South Dakota, 2014)
- Summit League Tournament Champions (2014)
- Four Summit League Championship Game Appearances
- Head Coach, South Dakota (2013-16) - 96-44 Record (4 Seasons)
- Head Coach, Rogers State (2008-12) - 97-65 (5 Seasons)
- Assistant Coach, Tulsa (2007)
- Assistant Coach, Oklahoma State (2002-05)
- Assistant Coach, Texas-San Antonio (2001)
- Graduate Assistant, Nebraska-Kearney (1999-2000)
- Four-Year Letterwinner Nebraska (1995-98)
A proven program builder, Amy Williams completed her eighth season at Nebraska by guiding the Huskers to their most successful season in a decade. The Big Red captured a first-round NCAA Tournament victory over Texas A&M after claiming a No. 6 seed in March Madness. The victory followed Nebraska's run to its first Big Ten Championship Game appearance since 2014.
The tough Huskers secured a win over Purdue before notching double-digit wins over NCAA Tournament-bound Michigan State and Maryland to set up a third showdown with No. 3 Iowa in the title game. The Huskers controlled the action in much of the contest and took the Hawkeyes to overtime before falling 94-89 in the championship. Despite the setback, the Huskers booked their second NCAA Tournament ticket in the past three seasons while making their fourth consecutive postseason tournament appearance.
Nebraska finished with a 23-12 overall record that included an 11-7 Big Ten mark to take fifth in the final conference regular-season standings. Nebraska's regular season was highlighted by an 82-79 win over then-No. 2 Iowa in front of a sellout crowd of more than 15,000 at Pinnacle Bank Arena (Feb. 11). The victory over the Hawkeyes matched the highest-ranked team the Huskers have ever defeated. It was one of five wins over NCAA Tournament teams the Huskers notched from Feb. 6 through the end of the season, as Nebraska went 9-4 down the stretch with road losses to No. 2 Ohio State and No. 12 Oregon State, along with a loss to No. 3 Iowa in Minneapolis. Nebraska's only other setback was a one-point loss at Illinois, which advanced to the WBIT Championship Game.
During Nebraska's late-season surge, the Huskers completed a season sweep of NCAA Tournament-bound Michigan (Feb. 6) and their first-ever sweep of NCAA-bound Maryland (March 9) in the Big Ten Tournament. The Huskers also locked up a season sweep of NCAA Tournament-bound Michigan State (March 8), and a three-game season sweep of WNIT Great Eight participant Purdue (Feb. 17, March 7). The Big Red added a 19-point home win over WNIT semifinalist Minnesota (Feb. 24).
The Huskers finished No. 25 in the regular-season NET rankings with 17 of their 23 victories coming against postseason tournament qualifiers, including eight wins over NCAA Tournament teams, three over WBIT qualifiers and six over WNIT teams.
Nebraska's success in 2023-24 came despite losing projected starting guard Allison Weidner to a season-ending injury in mid-October, and an injury to returning starter and graduate guard Maddie Krull prior to the start of the season. Krull's injury not only kept her out of the first three games, it limited her contributions throughout the season. The Huskers also were hindered by an injury to reserve post Annika Stewart that limited her training and kept her out of the lineup for eight games early in the season.
Despite the challenges, Nebraska continued to improve throughout the season in large part to the consistency of first-team All-Big Ten center Alexis Markowski and the leadership of second-team All-Big Ten guard Jaz Shelley. Two of the top players at their positions in the country, Markowski and Shelley both claimed All-Big Ten honors for the third consecutive seasons before earning spots on the Big Ten All-Tournament Team.
Nebraska's most experienced players also got help from a pair of award-winning freshmen. Natalie Potts emerged as the Big Ten Freshman of the Year after capturing eight Big Ten Freshman-of-the-Week awards during the season. She added honorable-mention All-Big Ten accolades from the conference media while being joined on the Big Ten All-Freshman Team by Logan Nissley.
In addition to the individual awards won by the Huskers, Nebraska's success also came out in the record book, including a school-record 292 made three-pointers while ranking second in school history with a plus-7.8 rebound margin. The 2023-24 Huskers also ranked fifth in school history with 2,533 points, fourth in total rebounds (1,431) and third in assists (580).
Nebraska also continued to be one of the biggest draws in all of women's college basketball with an average home attendance of 6,088 to rank 15th in NCAA Division I. It marked the 14th consecutive season the Huskers have ranked in the top 25 nationally in average home attendance. Every game in the 2024 Big Ten Tournament drew more than 18,000 fans at the Target Center in Minneapolis, while NU's Big Ten Tournament Championship Game appearance attracted 4.77 million viewers on CBS - the highest TV ratings for a women's basketball game on the network in well over two decades.
Williams, who earned a contract extension through the 2028-29 season, also led Nebraska to the Big Dance in 2022, after the Huskers ran to a 24-9 record that included a final No. 23 NET ranking and a trip to the 2022 Big Ten Tournament semifinals. In 2022-23, the Huskers overcame multiple season-ending injuries to starting guards to advance to the WNIT Super 16 and finish with an 18-15 overall record.
Shelley earned first-team All-Big Ten honors, while Markowski captured second-team All-Big Ten accolades for the second straight year in 2023. Three-time honorable-mention All-Big Ten forward Isabelle Bourne also helped Nebraska meet its challenges head on before embarking on her professional career in Australia.
In 2021-22, the Huskers put one of the most complete teams in school history on the floor, ranking 10th nationally in scoring (77.8 ppg), 13th in assists (17.4 apg), 18th in scoring margin (+13.5 ppg), while leading the Big Ten, setting a school record and ranking 21st nationally in three-pointers made per game (8.5). NU also led the Big Ten and ranked 23rd in the nation in rebounding (41.8 rpg), while leading the Big Ten in field goal percentage defense (.385).
Nebraska fans also showed up in droves to watch their beloved Big Red despite continued challenges caused by the COVID pandemic, as the Huskers ranked 14th nationally in total home attendance (76,317) and 18th nationally in average home attendance (4,489) in 2021-22.
The Husker faithful went home happy night after night from Pinnacle Bank Arena, as Nebraska tied a school record with 16 home victories, including a trio of home wins over 2022 NCAA Sweet Sixteen qualifiers (Indiana, Michigan, Creighton). Overall, Nebraska notched four wins on the year against Sweet Sixteen teams, including a victory over Michigan in the Big Ten Tournament quarterfinals.
Nebraska's three wins over top-10 teams (No. 8 Michigan, 79-58, Jan. 4; No. 5 Indiana, 72-55, Feb. 14; No. 10 Michigan, 76-73, March 4) marked just the second time in school history the Big Red posted multiple wins over top-10 teams in the same season. Nebraska's 21-point home win over the Wolverines matched the largest victory margin in NU history over a top-10 foe, while the 17-point win over the Hoosiers marked Nebraska's largest margin ever against a top-five opponent.
Four Huskers earned All-Big Ten honors in 2021-22, led by newcomers Shelley (Second Team/All-Defensive) and Markowski (Second Team/Big Ten Freshman of the Year) and captains Sam Haiby and Isabelle Bourne, who both claimed honorable-mention accolades.
Nebraska, which continues to feature a 100 percent Graduation Success Rate in women's basketball, also set a program record with nine Academic All-Big Ten selections in 2021-22. They added eight Academic All-Big Ten picks in both 2022-23 and 2023-24.
Williams, who proved herself as a winner and a program builder in her first nine seasons as a collegiate head coach, returned to her alma mater to lead a new stage in the Husker program when she was hired as Nebraska's head coach on April 11, 2016.
In her second season with the Big Red, Williams showed she could get a program moving forward in a hurry. Williams captured 2018 Big Ten Coach-of-the-Year honors after leading the nation's biggest turnaround. The Huskers earned a bid into the 2018 NCAA Tournament and finished with a 21-11 record - a nation-leading 14-game turnaround in the win column over 2016-17.
Nebraska was plus-eight in the win column in Big Ten play, finishing with an 11-5 mark and claiming the No. 3 seed in the Big Ten Tournament. The Huskers then knocked off No. 24 Michigan in the league tournament quarterfinals to advance to the conference semifinals for the first time since 2014.
Defensively, Nebraska led the Big Ten with a school-record field goal percentage defense (.371) while also leading the conference in three-point field goal percentage defense (.299). The Huskers improved 12.7 points per game defensively over the 2016-17 campaign and were six points per game better on the offensive end.
In 2019-20, Williams led the Huskers back to postseason eligibility with a 17-13 overall record before the season abruptly ended because of the COVID-19 outbreak. Nebraska's 17 wins represented a three-game improvement in the win column, despite facing a Big Ten Conference that produced its strongest collection of teams in a decade. The Big Ten was poised to send eight teams to the NCAA Tournament and several more to the WNIT, as 11 teams finished in the top 64 in the Massey Ratings.
Nebraska revamped its roster and continued to battle the best teams in the Big Ten, notching five victories over top-25 Big Ten teams in an abbreviated 2020-21 season. The Huskers were anchored inside by Kate Cain. The 6-5 center was an honorable-mention All-Big Ten performer as a senior in 2020-21. Nebraska's career leader in blocked shots (352), Cain also claimed her third appearance on the Big Ten All-Defensive Team. She was a three-time Lisa Leslie Award candidate and one of 15 finalists for the Naismith National Defensive Player of the Year award.
Cain, who completed her fourth season on the court at Nebraska following her early graduation in the summer of 2020, signed a free agent training camp contract with the WNBA's Las Vegas Aces in 2021 before starting her professional career overseas in 2021-22.
Haiby and Bourne joined Cain in collecting All-Big Ten honors in 2020-21. Nebraska's MVP, Haiby captured second-team All-Big Ten accolades as the only player to rank among the conference's top 15 in scoring (11th, 16.8 ppg), rebounding (15th, 6.8 rpg) and assists (8th, 4.4 apg). Haiby's game-winning putback at the buzzer against Northwestern was named ESPN SportsCenter's Top Play on New Year's Eve, giving Nebraska one of its five wins on the year against top-25 opponents.
Bourne, a 6-2 forward from Canberra, Australia, also produced a breakout season for the Big Red by earning honorable-mention All-Big Ten recognition. Bourne averaged 13.6 points, 7.5 rebounds and 2.5 assists while proving herself as one of the most versatile players in the Big Ten.
Williams was a four-year letterwinner (Amy Gusso, 1995-96-97-98) at Nebraska, playing for coaches Angela Beck and Paul Sanderford before embarking on a career in coaching. The academic All-Big 12 honoree earned her bachelor’s degree from Nebraska as a biology and mathematics major in 1998, before earning her master’s degree in sports administration from Nebraska-Kearney in 2002.
Williams spent four successful seasons (2013-16) as the head coach at South Dakota, where she led the Coyotes to four straight postseason appearances. She led USD to a 32-6 record that culminated with a WNIT Championship in 2015-16. The Coyotes won the Summit League regular-season title with a 15-1 mark, and she was named the Summit League Coach of the Year for the second consecutive season.
Her gritty pack of Coyotes posted a Division I school-record 32 wins (32-3), surpassing the 26 her Yotes totaled in 2014-15, when she won her first Summit League Coach-of-the-Year award. Over Williams’ final two seasons at USD, her teams went 58-14 (.806), including 28-4 in the Summit League with a pair of regular-season conference crowns.
She led USD to a school-record 16 straight wins before falling to South Dakota State in the Summit League Tournament title game. The Coyotes defeated the same SDSU team that advanced to the NCAA Tournament second round twice during the season. Five of USD’s six losses in 2015-16 came to teams that advanced to postseason play, including a loss to NCAA Women’s Final Four qualifier Washington.
Williams’ team rolled to a WNIT title with six straight wins, including wins over Creighton, Minnesota, Northern Iowa, Western Kentucky and a whopping 34-point victory over Oregon before beating Florida Gulf Coast.
She finished her four-year stint in Vermillion with the second-most victories in program history (96), averaging 24 victories per year in her first stop as an NCAA Division I head coach. She led the Coyotes to four straight Summit League championship games.
In 2014-15, Williams guided USD to a 26-8 mark that included a trip to the second round of the WNIT. The Coyotes went 13-3 on their way to a Summit League regular-season title. Their 2014-15 success represented a seven-game improvement in the win column over 2013-14 (19-14), when they won the Summit League Tournament title. That team earned an automatic bid to the 2014 NCAA Tournament before falling to Stanford in the first round.
In her first season at South Dakota, Williams finished with a 19-16 record and earned a trip to the Women’s Basketball Invitational semifinals.
Williams, began her head coaching career with a unique opportunity at Rogers State in Oklahoma. She was named the first-ever head women’s basketball coach for the fledgling program in 2007-08 and built the program from the ground up. Her stay at the Claremore, Okla., school culminated with a trip to the NAIA Elite Eight in 2011-12. In five years with the Hillcats, Williams went 97-65, including the school’s first trip to the NAIA Tournament in 2010-11.
Williams started her coaching career as a graduate assistant at Nebraska-Kearney (1998-99 to 1999-2000), before earning a full-time assistant coaching role at the University of Texas San Antonio in 2000-01. She spent four seasons as an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator at Oklahoma State (2001-02 to 2004-05), before working in a similar role at Tulsa (2005-06 to 2006-07).
Williams helped the Golden Hurricane claim its first Conference USA regular-season and tournament championships in 2006. The Hurricane also earned its first trip to the NCAA Tournament and won its first tournament game on its way to a 26-6 record.
Williams served as the top assistant and recruiting coordinator at Oklahoma State, and brought the 2003 Big 12 Newcomer of the Year to Stillwater in a class that was ranked No. 19 by All-Star Girls Report. A native of Spearfish, S.D., Williams and her husband, Lloyd, have two daughters Kennadi and Bentli. Kennadi is expected to be a freshman women's basketball and softball student-athlete at Nebraska beginning in 2024-25.
Education
- University of Nebraska, 1998 (Bachelor's Degree, Biology/Mathematics)
- University of Nebraska-Kearney, 2002 (Master's Degree, Sports Administration)
Amy Williams' Year-by-Year Head Coaching Record
| Year | School | Record | Pct. | Conf. | Pct. | Postseason |
| 2007-08 | Rogers State (NAIA) | 13-18 | .419 | 9-13 | .409 | -- |
| 2008-09 | Rogers State | 18-14 | .563 | 11-11 | .500 | -- |
| 2009-10 | Rogers State | 21-11 | .656 | 12-10 | .545 | -- |
| 2010-11 | Rogers State | 23-10 | .697 | 15-7 | .682 | NAIA 1st Round |
| 2011-12 | Rogers State | 22-12 | .647 | 14-8 | .636 | NAIA Elite Eight |
| 2012-13 | South Dakota | 19-16 | .543 | 10-6 | .625 | WBI Semifinals |
| 2013-14 | South Dakota | 19-14 | .576 | 7-7 | .500 | NCAA 1st Round |
| 2014-15 | South Dakota | 26-8 | .765 | 13-3 | .813 | WNIT 2nd Round |
| 2015-16 | South Dakota | 32-6 | .842 | 15-1 | .938 | WNIT Champion |
| 2016-17 | Nebraska | 7-22 | .241 | 3-13 | .188 | -- |
| 2017-18 | Nebraska | 21-11 | .656 | 11-5 | .688 | NCAA 1st Round |
| 2018-19 | Nebraska | 14-16 | .467 | 9-9 | .500 | -- |
| 2019-20 | Nebraska | 17-13 | .567 | 7-11 | .389 | -- (COVID) |
| 2020-21 | Nebraska | 13-13 | .500 | 9-10 | .474 | WNIT Super 16 |
| 2021-22 | Nebraska | 24-9 | .727 | 11-7 | .611 | NCAA 1st Round |
| 2022-23 | Nebraska | 18-15 | .545 | 8-10 | .444 | WNIT Super 16 |
| 2023-24 | Nebraska | 23-12 | .657 | 11-7 | .611 | NCAA 2nd Round |
| Totals | 17 Seasons | 330-220 | .600 | 175-138 | .559 | 11 Postseasons |
| Div. I | 12 Seasons | 233-155 | .601 | 114-89 | .562 | 9 Postseasons |