Story courtesy: Greg Lautzenheiser, Xavier Athletic Communications
Xavier Vice President and Director of Athletics Greg Christopher announced Billi Chambers as the new women’s basketball head coach on Wednesday. Chambers becomes the ninth head coach in program history.
“We are thrilled to announce Billi as the new leader of our women’s basketball program,” said Christopher. “Through our national search, she distinguished herself among our list of talented candidates.
“Billi has a demonstrated track record of building successful teams, advancing to postseason play and winning conference championships. We are excited for Billi to re-establish our program on a national stage.”
Chambers joins the Musketeers after spending 10 seasons at Iona University (2013-23). She led the Gaels to the NCAA Tournament twice (2015-16, 2022-23), captured two Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Regular-Season Championships (2013-14, 2022-23) and won two MAAC Tournament Championships (2015-16, 2022-23). The conference titles and NCAA Tournament appearances were program firsts.
“I am excited to be the new head women’s basketball coach at Xavier,” said Chambers. “Xavier plays in one of the premier college basketball conferences in the country and has a rich history of success. We will work relentlessly to restore this program to excellence both on and off the court. I can’t wait to coach in the BIG EAST and compete for conference championships!”
The two-time MAAC Coach of the Year led the Gaels to a 26-7 (18-2 MAAC) record in 2022-23 and earned the conference’s automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. Three players earned All-MAAC honors this season, highlighted by Juana Camilion who was named the MAAC Player of the Year and MAAC Defensive Player of the Year.
The Gaels finished the 2022-23 season ranked second in the NCAA in three-point field-goal percentage (.397), seventh in field-goal percentage (.474) and 16th in scoring defense (55.5 ppg). Iona also ranked 27th in field-goal percentage defense (.366). In 10 seasons at Iona, her scoring defense has ranked in the top-75 in the NCAA five times.
All told, Chambers has coached 21 All-MAAC honorees – including three MAAC Players of the Year, two MAAC Defensive Players of the Year, and two MAAC Rookies of the Years. Chambers was also named the Spalding Maggie Dixon Rookie Coach of the Year in 2013-14.
The 26 overall wins and 18 conference wins in 2013-14 and 2022-23 are program bests in Iona program history. All told, Chambers posted a 102-85 record in MAAC games during her tenure.
Prior to Iona, Chambers was an assistant coach at Virginia Tech (2011-13) and UMBC (2008-11). She also served as an assistant coach/associate athletic director for compliance/SWA at Molloy College (2006-08) and an associate commissioner/operations/SWA at the East Coast Conference (2004-06).
The Cheverly, Md., native holds a bachelor’s degree in psychology from Hofstra (2003) and a master’s degree in psychology from Adelphi University (2005). She played in 79 games at Hofstra from 1999-03.
Chambers and her wife, Mel, are re-locating to the Cincinnati area.
