Nevada women’s basketball head coach Jane Albright announced the addition of 23-year coaching veteran Julie Rousseau to her staff as an assistant coach with the Wolf Pack.
"I am ecstatic to have Julie join our Wolf Pack family!" Albright said. "She has a plethora of championship experiences in this great game and will add tremendously to what we are doing as a staff. Her connections in California will be critical to enhance our recruiting and her strategic mind for the game is outstanding. Above all, she is a quality person and we are blessed to bring her to Reno. I am sure Julie will prove to be a great addition to our program, university and community."
Rousseau spent the past year as a color analyst for the Pac-12 Network, broadcasting several games for the network. As a faith driven person, the foundation of her faith is summed up in one Bible verse, "But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well," Matthew 6:33.
Prior to her broadcasting experience, Rousseau served as the head women’s basketball coach at Pepperdine University for nine seasons. During her tenure, she led the Waves to three postseason appearances and a West Coast Conference championship in 2006, leading to an automatic berth in the NCAA Tournament. Her 2009-10 squad won 20 games and made the first of two straight appearances in the WNIT that year. Three of Rousseau’s recruiting classes at Pepperdine received a top-50 ranking by HoopGurlz Recruiting.
Before beginning her stint at Pepperdine, Rousseau spent four seasons as an assistant coach at Stanford University. She had a part in coaching the Cardinal to four Pac-10 conference championships and four NCAA Tournament appearances, reaching the Elite Eight in 2004. She received special assignments for recruiting elite student-athletes, such as current WNBA professionals Candace Parker and Candice Wiggins and also coached three-time All-American Nicole Powell.
Outside the realm of collegiate athletics, in the summer of 2009 Rousseau assisted current Arizona State head coach Charli Turner-Thorne and USA Basketball to gold at the World University Games in Belgrade, Serbia. Additionally, she spent two seasons with the WNBA’s Los Angeles Sparks organization in the late 90’s as an assistant coach for one year and head coach the following season.
Rousseau got her start in coaching at Washington Preparatory High School in Los Angeles, Calif. She served as the boys freshman/sophomore head coach and the girls varsity assistant coach for two years before becoming the head coach of the girls varsity squad for five seasons. She led the program to postseason appearances in all five seasons and won the Los Angeles City Championship in 1996.
Rousseau is a 1991 graduate of California State University, Los Angeles, receiving a bachelor’s degree in education. She earned her master’s degree in psychology from Pepperdine in June of 2012.
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