The University of Texas at Tyler Athletic Director Dr. Howard Patterson has announced Rebecca Alvidrez as the athletic program’s sixth head women’s basketball coach in program history.
Alvidrez recently finished up her fourth season as the associate head women’s basketball coach at Stephen F. Austin University, assisting in the rise of the Ladyjacks program that culminated in a 47-9 overall record in the last two seasons in Nacogdoches and a trip to the NCAA Division I Women’s Basketball National Tournament just a few weeks ago. Alvidrez will bring over 20 years of coaching experience to the sidelines for the Patriots and will lead UT Tyler into their first year as a potential full-fledged Division II institution.
“The moment I stepped foot on the beautiful campus of UT Tyler and met their great people, it was obvious this is a special place,” Alvidrez said. “I am thrilled to lead this program and young ladies back to the tradition of success. I am confident that our women’s basketball program will work hard to be amongst those ranks in the future! I would like to thank Dr. Patterson, coach Wilson, and the entire UT Tyler Athletic department for giving me this incredible opportunity.”
Alvidrez was a key part to Stephen F. Austin’s rise to the top in the Southland Conference as she was directly involved with all program operations including scouting, film analysis and game/practice planning. Alvidrez and the Lumberjacks became just one of 15 NCAA Division I programs to post back-to-back seasons of 25 or more wins in 2018-19 and 2019-20, and one of 20 teams that posted four consecutive seasons of 23 or more wins during her time on the sidelines for the Ladyjacks.
“I am extremely pleased Coach Rebecca Alvidrez has decided to join UT Tyler and lead our women’s basketball program as the athletic department hopefully enters full NCAA DII membership status this coming September and begins our quest for national championships,” Dr. Patterson said. “Coach Alvidrez’s experiences and accomplishments make her a perfect fit for UT Tyler. She will immediately bring a level of respect to the women’s basketball program and I have no doubt she will make the program nationally competitive in short order.”
Stephen F. Austin received bids into the 2018 and 2019 Women’s National Invitation Tournament prior to this past year’s automatic qualification into the 2020-21 Division I National Tournament after going a perfect 14-0 in Southland Conference play and winning the Southland Conference Tournament with a 56-45 win over Sam Houston State in the finals.
Alvidrez arrived at Stephen F. Austin in 2017 after serving for three seasons as the assistant women’s basketball coach at Colorado State University in Fort Collins, Colo. Alvidrez served on a staff that guided Colorado State to a record of 77-16 over the course of those three seasons and claimed the 2015-16 Mountain West Tournament Championship and earned the automatic qualification into the 2016 National Tournament.
During her time at Colorado State, Alvidrez augmented the international recruiting ties that led to the acquisition of three straight Mountain West Player of the Year representatives from Colorado State in Gritt Ryder and Ellen Nystrom. She spearheaded and coordinated recruiting efforts throughout her time in Fort Collins, and also assisted in individual skill training and development of the current roster as well as scouting for future opponents.
She will bring head coaching experience to the sidelines for the Patriots in 2021-22 as she served as the head women’s basketball coach at Adams State University in Alamosa, Colo. In 2013-14 before moving up the ranks to a prominent assist role at Colorado State and then later Stephen F. Austin. Alvidrez led the Adams State women’s basketball program to a record of 9-18 with limited resources during her year as head coach of the Grizzlies, increasing the overall average home attendance and booster interaction with the program during her lone season.
She spent the 2012-13 season at Nebraska-Omaha University as an assistant coach following the longest tenure of her career as associate head women’s basketball coach at the University of Alaska-Anchorage, a perennial power in women’s basketball in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference during her time with the Seawolves. Alvidrez assisted in the recruitment and development of six All-Americans for the Seawolves during her tenure from 2006-2012, assisting the program to a pair of NCAA Division II Final Four appearances in 2008 and 2009 and a total of six NCAA Division II National Tournament appearances.
The Seawolves claimed the regular-season GNAC Championship in 2009 and 2012, and GNAC Tournament Championships in 2011 and 2012. Alvidrez and company guided the program to a record of 9-3 against Division I competition during her six seasons as associate head coach of the program.
Alvidrez got her start in the coaching ranks as an assistant coach at Otero Junior College in La Junta, Colo. From 2003-2006 on both the men’s and women’s side following a standout playing career of her own in the professional ranks overseas. She was named the Player of the Year in the Sweden-Basketattan League in 2003 as well as an “All-Star” All-Sweden Selection the same year.
That standout professional career came after an illustrious playing career at Montana State University for Alvidrez, during which time she named a two-time All-Big Sky Selection, the league’s Newcomer of the Year in 2000-01, and the league’s Defensive Player of the Year in 2002. She was inducted into the Montana State University Hall of Fame in 2018 for her standout athletic career for the Bobcats and was a member of the 2001-02 women’s basketball team that was also inducted into the school’s Hall of Fame.
Alvidrez will assume the role of head women’s basketball coach immediately and will be tasked with the building of a women’s basketball program that finished a shortened 2020-21 season with a record of 0-14 in Lone Star Conference play. UT Tyler reached the NCAA Division III National Tournament three times from 2013-2016, but will need to elevate their level of play quickly if they hope to compete amongst the league’s best in a competitive Lone Star Conference next season.
The Albuquerque, N.M. native will bring extensive international and domestic recruiting ties with her to the program, as well as extensive success as an associate head coach at both the Division I and Division II national levels, into UT Tyler’s first years as a Division II athletic program.
