BYU Cougars women's basketball

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BYU Cougars women's basketball
Basketball current event.svg 2025–26 BYU Cougars women's basketball team
BYU Cougars logo.svg
University Brigham Young University
First season1972–1973
All-time record934–557 (.626)
Athletic director Brian Santiago
Head coach Lee Cummard (1st season)
Conference Big 12 Conference
Location Provo, Utah
Arena Marriott Center
(capacity: 17,978)
Nickname Cougars
Student section The ROC
ColorsBlue and white [1]
   
Uniforms
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Home
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Away
NCAA tournament Sweet Sixteen
2002, 2014
NCAA tournament appearances
1984, 1985, 1993, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2012, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2019, 2021, 2022
AIAW tournament Sweet Sixteen
1980
AIAW tournament appearances
1978, 1979, 1980
Conference tournament champions
1993, 2002, 2012, 2015, 2019
Conference regular-season champions
1978, 1979, 1980, 1981, 1982, 1984, 1985, 1993, 2006, 2007, 2011, 2016, 2022

The BYU Cougars women's basketball team is the women's college basketball program representing Brigham Young University (BYU) in Provo, Utah. The Cougars began female collegiate basketball competition in 1972 and have won 18 conference championships. They compete in the Big 12 Conference.

Contents

History

The BYU Cougars women's basketball team traces its roots to 1900, when a team was created at Brigham Young Academy, the precursor to BYU. [2] Its official inaugural season was in 1972. From 1972 to 1977, the team was coached by Elaine Michaelis, during which time she simultaneously coached women's volleyball, field hockey, and softball at one point. The program found early success under coach Courtney Leishman, who took over in 1977, with the team winning five straight regular-season championships in the Intermountain Athletic Conference (IAC) from 1977–78 to 1981–82. The Cougars also made three appearances in the AIAW Tournament (1978, 1979, 1980), reaching the Sweet Sixteen in 1980. BYU made the transition to NCAA Division I and earned its first NCAA Tournament bid in the 1983–84 season. The Cougars competed in the High Country Athletic Conference (HCAC), Western Athletic Conference (WAC), and Mountain West Conference (MWC) during the years that followed, securing several conference titles. The team made notable NCAA Tournament appearances in the 1980s and 1990s, including a WAC Tournament Championship in 1993. [3]

The most consistent period of success for the program came under head coach Jeff Judkins, who led the team from the 2001–02 season through 2021–22, becoming the winningest coach in program history. Judkins guided the Cougars to the NCAA Sweet Sixteen twice: 2002 and 2014. [4] [5] The team won multiple regular-season and tournament championships in both the Mountain West Conference and the West Coast Conference (WCC), which they joined in 2011. During their time in the WCC (2011–2023), BYU was a consistent contender, winning three WCC Tournament Championships (2012, 2015, 2019) and two WCC Regular Season Championships (2021, 2022). [3] The BYU Cougars made a significant move in 2023, joining the Big 12 Conference. [6]

As of 2025, the Cougars have been ranked in the AP poll a total of 38 times since 1977, with its highest rank at #15. [7]

Venue

The Cougars play home games at the Marriott Center. Marriott Center 1.JPG
The Cougars play home games at the Marriott Center.

The Cougars play their home games in the Marriott Center, which is the largest basketball arena in the Big 12 Conference, with a capacity of 17,978. [8]

Coaches

NameCareerRecordPct.
Elaine Michaelis1972–197748–28.632
Courtney Leishman1977–1989219–124.638
Jeanie Wilson1989–199479–63.556
Soni Adams1994–199728–55.337
Trent Shippen1997–200172–49.595
Jeff Judkins 2001–2022351–162.684
Amber Whiting 2022–202545–51.469
Lee Cummard 2025–present10–1.711

Players

The BYU women's basketball team has produced 16 All-Americans, including Tina Gunn Robison, who was the 1980 AWSF National Player of the Year. [9] Players who have gone on to play in the WNBA include Erin Thorn, Ambrosia Anderson, and Jennifer Hamson.

Results by season

Statistics overview
SeasonCoachOverallConferenceStandingPostseason
Elaine Michaelis (Intermountain Athletic Conference)(1972–1977)
1972–1973Elaine Michaelis 9–39–32nd—
1973–1974Elaine Michaelis 9–59–52nd—
1974–1975Elaine Michaelis 7–67–55th—
1975–1976Elaine Michaelis 11–610–32nd—
1976–1977Elaine Michaelis 12–810–32nd—
Elaine Michaelis:56–3245–19
Courtney Leishman (Intermountain Athletic Conference)(1977–1982)
1977–1978Courtney Leishman 22–613–01st AIAW First Round
1978–1979Courtney Leishman 21–711–21st AIAW First Round
1979–1980Courtney Leishman 24–98–2T-1st AIAW Second Round
1980–1981Courtney Leishman 21–89–1T-1st—
1981–1982Courtney Leishman 24–137–31st WNIT Third Round
Courtney Leishman:112–4348–8
Courtney Leishman (High Country Athletic Conference)(1982–1990)
1982–1983Courtney Leishman 17–88–22nd—
1983–1984Courtney Leishman 18–89–11st NCAA First Round
1984–1985Courtney Leishman 19–911–11st NCAA First Round
1985–1986Courtney Leishman 16–119–32nd—
1986–1987Courtney Leishman 16–119–32nd—
1987–1988Courtney Leishman 12–154–63rd—
1988–1989Courtney Leishman 8–193–74th—
Courtney Leishman:107–8155–23
Jeanie Wilson (High Country Athletic Conference)(1989–1990)
1989–1990Jeanie Wilson 10–172–85th—
Jeanie Wilson:10–172–8
Jeanie Wilson (Western Athletic Conference)(1990–1994)
1990–1991Jeanie Wilson 8–213–95th—
1991–1992Jeanie Wilson 21–812–22nd—
1992–1993Jeanie Wilson 24–513–11st NCAA First Round
1993–1994Jeanie Wilson 16–1210–42nd—
Jeanie Wilson:79–6340–24
Soni Adams (Western Athletic Conference)(1994–1997)
1994–1995Soni Adams 8–194–107th—
1995–1996Soni Adams 9–183–117th—
1996–1997Soni Adams 11–187–95th—
Soni Adams:28–5514–30
Trent Shippen (Western Athletic Conference)(1997–1999)
1997–1998Trent Shippen 15–146–85th—
1998–1999Trent Shippen 16–139–53rd WNIT First Round
Trent Shippen:31–2715–13
Trent Shippen (Mountain West Conference)(1999–2001)
1999–2000Trent Shippen 22–910–42nd NCAA First Round
2000–2001Trent Shippen 19–138–63rd WNIT Second Round
Trent Shippen:41–2218–10
Jeff Judkins (Mountain West Conference)(2001–2011)
2001–2002Jeff Judkins 24–910–43rd NCAA Sweet Sixteen
2002–2003Jeff Judkins 19–128–63rd NCAA First Round
2003–2004Jeff Judkins 15–145–96th—
2004–2005Jeff Judkins 19–119–53rd WNIT First Round
2005–2006Jeff Judkins 26–613–31st NCAA Second Round
2006–2007Jeff Judkins 23–1012–41st NCAA First Round
2007–2008Jeff Judkins 13–167–95th—
2008–2009Jeff Judkins 18–118–85th—
2009–2010Jeff Judkins 23–1011–52nd WNIT Elite Eight
2010–2011Jeff Judkins 25–915–11st WNIT Sweet Sixteen
Jeff Judkins:205–10898–54
Jeff Judkins (West Coast Conference)(2011–2022)
2011–2012Jeff Judkins 26–712–42nd NCAA First Round
2012–2013Jeff Judkins 23–1111–53rd WNIT Sweet Sixteen
2013–2014 Jeff Judkins 28–714–42nd NCAA Sweet Sixteen
2014–2015 Jeff Judkins 23–1012–65th NCAA First Round
2015–2016 Jeff Judkins 26–716–21st NCAA First Round
2016–2017 Jeff Judkins 20–1213–52nd WNIT First Round
2017–2018 Jeff Judkins 16–1411–73rd—
2018–2019 Jeff Judkins 26–715–32nd NCAA Second Round
2019–2020 Jeff Judkins 14–99–42ndCancelled (COVID)
2020–2021 Jeff Judkins 19–613–32nd NCAA Second Round
2021–2022 Jeff Judkins 26–415–11st NCAA Second Round
Jeff Judkins:251–96141–47
Amber Whiting (West Coast Conference)(2022–2023)
2022–2023 Amber Whiting 16–179–9T-4th WNIT First Round
Amber Whiting:16–179–9
Amber Whiting (Big 12 Conference)(2023–2025)
2023–2024 Amber Whiting 16–176–12T–9th WBIT First Round
2024–2025 Amber Whiting 13–174–14T–12th—
Amber Whiting:29–3410–26
Lee Cummard (Big 12 Conference)(2025–present)
2025–2026 Lee Cummard 10–10–0TBDTBD
Lee Cummard:10–10–0
Total:965–579

      National champion        Postseason invitational champion  
      Conference regular season champion        Conference regular season and conference tournament champion
      Division regular season champion      Division regular season and conference tournament champion
      Conference tournament champion

Postseason appearances

NCAA Division I

YearSeedRoundOpponentResult
1984 #8First Round#1 USCL 72–97
1985 #8First Round#1 Long Beach StateL 85–112
1993 #12First Round#5 UC Santa BarbaraL 79–88
2000 #12First Round#5 OklahomaL 81–86
2002 #11First Round
Second Round
Sweet Sixteen		#6 Florida
#3 Iowa State
#2 Tennessee		W 90–52
W 75–69
L 57–68
2003 #11First Round#6 ColoradoL 45–84
2006 #7First Round
Second Round		#10 Iowa
#2 Oklahoma		W 67–62
L 70–86
2007 #11First Round#6 LouisvilleL 54–80
2012 #10First Round#7 DePaulL 55–59
2014 #12First Round
Second Round
Sweet Sixteen		#5 NC State
#4 Nebraska
#1 Connecticut		W 72–57
W 80–76
L 51–70
2015 #14First Round#3 LouisvilleL 53–86
2016 #7First Round#10 MissouriL 69–78
2019 #7First Round
Second Round		#10 Auburn
#2 Stanford		W 73–64
L 63–72
2021 #11First Round
Second Round		#6 Rutgers
#3 Arizona		W 69–66
L 46–52
2022 #6First Round#11 VillanovaL 57–61

References

  1. ↑ "Colors". Brigham Young University Publications and Graphics. Retrieved October 11, 2021.
  2. ↑ "Then and Now". Y Magazine. Retrieved December 13, 2025.
  3. 1 2 "Year-by-Year and Coaching Records". BYU. Retrieved December 13, 2025.
  4. ↑ "BYU women make it to NCAA 'Sweet 16'". Church News. March 30, 2002. Retrieved May 31, 2021.
  5. ↑ "Cincinnati News, Sports and Things to Do | Cincinnati Enquirer". The Enquirer. Retrieved May 31, 2021.
  6. ↑ "Big 12 Conference Adds Four New Members". Big 12. Retrieved December 13, 2025.
  7. ↑ "Women's Basketball Total Appearances in the AP Poll". College Poll Archive. Retrieved December 13, 2025.
  8. ↑ "Re-ranking all 16 Big 12 basketball arenas from worst to first". USA Today. Retrieved December 13, 2025.
  9. ↑ Collett, Norma. "BYU basketball: Tina Gunn Robison to be inducted into the 2017 WCC Hall of Honor Class". Deseret News. Retrieved December 13, 2025.
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