Hofstra Head Women’s Basketball Coach Krista Kilburn-Steveskey announced today that Linda Cimino will be joining the Pride staff as an assistant coach. Cimino was previously the head coach at Caldwell College.
Cimino comes to Hofstra after spending the previous seven years leading the Division II-Caldwell program. She compiled a 110-88 record and led the Cougars to the conference tournament semifinals three times, including an appearance in the Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference championship game in 2013 to cap a 19-12 campaign and a regular season title. She ranked second in program history in wins, leaving two shy of the record set by Bob Costello.
“We’re excited to add Linda to our staff,” Kilburn-Steveskey said. “She is a proven winner and has had great success as a head coach and helping young people develop on and off the court. Her enthusiasm and work ethic are what set her apart and make her a perfect addition for our staff. She is an extremely passionate and determined recruiter and these traits will be beneficial towards taking our program to the next level.”
In 2010-11, Cimino guided Caldwell to a school record in victories with a 21-6 season that saw the Cougars advance to the CACC Tournament semifinals for the first time since 2003. That season, Caldwell also tied for the league’s North Division title with a 16-3 conference record. A victory over Felician in the quarterfinals of the CACC Tournament was the school’s first conference tournament victory since 2003, resulting in Caldwell finishing in the East Region rankings for the first time in program history. Caldwell followed that up with a double-overtime semifinal victory over Goldey-Beacom College in March 2013.
In her last season at Caldwell, Cimino led the Cougars to a 15-game winning streak that obliterated the previous school record of eight straight wins.
After taking over a program that won just eight games in the season prior to her arrival, Caldwell won 15-or-more games on five occasions. In her last four seasons, her teams went 72-41 for a .637 winning percentage. She also filled a valuable off-the-court role, serving as Caldwell’s associate director of athletics and senior woman’s administrator.
Cimino, who played four seasons at Adelphi from 1997-00, started her coaching career as Queensborough Community College’s head coach from 2001-02, where she led her team to the CUNY championship game. She then served as head coach of Calhoun High School’s varsity girls’ team before returning to her alma mater as the head assistant coach at Adelphi from 2005-06, where she was responsible for coordinating, recruiting, scouting and directing alumni relations and fundraising efforts.
Cimino graduated from Adelphi in 2001 with a Bachelor’s degree in health and physical education and holds a master’s degree in health education from Adelphi. In 2006, she also earned a master’s degree in administration from Touro College.
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