Fresno State Director of Athletics Thomas Boeh announced the hiring of Jaime White on Wednesday. White becomes the 10th head coach in the history of the Bulldog women’s basketball program. An official introductory press conference will be held on Thursday at 4 p.m.
White comes to Fresno State after eight seasons as the head coach at Northern Colorado, where in her time in Greeley she built the Bears from the ground up into a team that made postseason play in three out of the last four years.
"We are very pleased that Jaime White will be leading our women’s basketball program," Boeh said. "Throughout the search process Jaime displayed a level of clear vision, expertise and enthusiasm that will be vital for the continued advancement of Bulldog women’s basketball. Her early mentors are some of the finest coaches in the West and she recently demonstrated her capacity to lead significant program growth by building a Division I team from its infancy to perennial postseason play."
"First I would like to thank Director of Athletics Thomas Boeh, President Castro and the search committee for this opportunity," White said. "I am honored to be the next women’s basketball coach for the Bulldog program that has such an outstanding tradition. I am thrilled to be back in the Mountain West and looking forward to being a part of the Fresno community."
At Northern Colorado, White was able to guide the Bears back into the postseason by turning her squad into a perennial contender in the Big Sky Conference. In her eight seasons, she led teams to a total of four appearances in the Big Sky Championships, including three of the last four.
After sharing the 2010-11 Big Sky regular season championship, Northern Colorado advanced to its first-ever NCAA Division I postseason appearance when it participated in the Women’s Basketball Invitation. The following two seasons, White led NC into the WNIT, which was highlighted by the Bears’ first-round victory over Wyoming in 2012 – the programs first-ever Division I postseason win.
White’s teams showed continual improvement, increasing their win total in four of the past five seasons and included in that was 20-win campaigns in 2011-12 and 2012-13. The Bears only had two 20-win seasons in the first 32 years of program history before White took over in 2006-07. Her 2012-13 team finished the campaign with a 21-13 overall record, tying the school record for wins in a season.
A total of 10 players garnered All-Big Sky accolades playing under White at Northern Colorado.
White has prior experience coaching in the Mountain West from her days as an assistant at Utah (2001-03) and Wyoming (2003-06).
In her second season at Utah, she helped guide the Utes to the Mountain West regular season championship and into the NCAA Tournament second round. Utah finished that season with a 24-7 overall record.
In her three seasons at Wyoming, White helped the Cowgirls win their first conference tournament game in 12 years (2004) and to a first-round WNIT victory over Oregon State (2006). That 2006 Cowgirl team finished the season with a 21-9 overall record.
White also has previous head coaching experience from her days at the junior college ranks, when she coached Snow Junior College from 1996-01. In five years, she led the Badgers to a 107-50 record and back-to-back Scenic West Athletic Conference Championships in 1999-00 and 2000-01. In 2000, the Badgers finished with a 27-6 record and a final ranking of No. 13. In 2001, Snow tallied a 30-3 record and was ranked 12th in the final poll.
For her efforts, White was named the 2000 Scenic West Coach of the Year and the Snow College Coach of the Year. Every year during her tenure at Snow, the Badger teams improved their win total. In addition to the team’s success on the court, the Badgers were the Academic Team of the Year in 1999, 2000 and 2001.
White was born and raised her early childhood in Lancaster, Calif. She graduated from Utah Valley Community College in 1989 where she played for coach Tom Perkins. At Utah Valley, she was named a Kodak All-American after she led her team to a final 16 appearance.
After Utah Valley, White continued her education at Kansas State before completing her basketball career and education at Southern Utah in 1994. White received her bachelor’s degree in psychology with a minor in physical education, in addition to a secondary teaching certificate from Southern Utah. White also earned her master’s degree in instructional technology from Utah State.
No further comments from White, Boeh or other University officials will be made until the introductory press conference that will be held on Thursday at 4 p.m.
