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IOWA CITY, Iowa – Ugo Nwaigwe has been named the director of women’s basketball operations, head coach Lisa Bluder announced Tuesday.
Nwaigwe joins the Hawkeyes after spending the last year as an assistant women’s basketball coach at Graceland University. There she helped the Jackets to a 13-17 overall record, marking the most wins for the program since the 2011-12 season. The Jackets opened the season with a 9-1 record – the best start to a season in program history.
While at Graceland, Nwaigwe assisted in all aspects of the women’s basketball program, including recruiting, skill development, scouting, student-athlete development, and travel coordination.
Prior to her coaching stint at Graceland, Nwaigwe played professionally overseas in Nigeria, Spain, Angola, Portugal, and Argentina. She played for the Nigerian National team in 2016 and 2017.
She was a 2018 AfroCup Bronze Medalist with the First Bank Club of Nigeria, a 2017 African National Champion with the Nigerian Women’s Senior National Team, and a member of the 2016 Nigerian Women’s Senior National Team.
Nwaigwe is a 2016 Temple University master’s graduate with a degree in globalization and development communications; as well as a 2015 Wagner College graduate with a degree in sociology, government and politics. She played basketball at both institutions.
In college, she helped guide her team to the WNIT Elite Eight (2016) and the American Athletic Conference semifinals (2016). In 2014, she was named to the Northeast Conference Defensive Player of the Year. In high school, Nwaigwe was a McDonald All-American nominee.
