Richmond Athletics and women’s basketball head coach Aaron Roussell have agreed to a contract extension, Vice President and Director of Athletics John Hardt announced Thursday. Roussell, who led the Spiders to their first Atlantic 10 regular season and conference tournament championships last season, is entering his sixth season with Richmond. Terms of the extension were not disclosed.
“Aaron has taken our women’s basketball program to new heights and I’m excited to have him leading the Spiders,” said Hardt. “Under Aaron’s leadership, our team has won more games, drawn more fans, made more of an impact on the University and the surrounding community, and progressed towards our goal of establishing Richmond as one of the best women’s basketball programs in the Atlantic 10.”
Roussell was named Atlantic 10 Coach of the Year last season after leading Richmond to a school-record 29 wins and the program’s first regular season and conference tournament titles since joining the A-10 in 2001. Over 20 seasons as a collegiate head coach, including eight at the University of Chicago and seven at Bucknell, he has won 406 games and led his teams to the NCAA Tournament seven times.
“I am extremely lucky to be able to say that my family and I can continue to call ourselves Spiders. This is a special place and where we want to be,” said Roussell.
“This past year’s achievements were enjoyable but we feel we have only scratched the surface of what this program can become. I am incredibly grateful to everyone in the Spider family but especially to John Hardt and Kevin Hallock for their belief in me and for their investment in Richmond women’s basketball. I am also incredibly thankful for our coaching staff and players who have worked so hard to build this program to where it is today. I am eager to work with them to achieve even greater success in the coming years.”
Roussell led the 2023-24 Spiders to a 29-6 record, three more wins than any other season in school history. Richmond was a perfect 14-0 at the Robins Center and received votes in the AP Top 25 on four occasions, the first time UR appeared in the poll in 15 years. The Spiders went 16-2 in Atlantic 10 play to capture their first A-10 regular season title and then claimed their first conference tournament championship since 1991 (CAA) with a win over Rhode Island in the A-10 championship game on March 10.
Roussell’s 2024 Atlantic 10 Coach of the Year award was the sixth conference coach of the year honor of his career. He enters the 2024-25 season with the second-most career wins among active Atlantic 10 coaches, trailing only Saint Joseph’s Cindy Griffin (446).
AARON ROUSSELL ACCOMPLISHMENTS
• 6-time conference coach of the year (1 Atlantic 10, 2 Patriot League, 3 University Athletic Association)
• 7 NCAA Tournament appearances, 3 WNIT appearances
• Coach of 7 teams to win conference championships
• Led Richmond to 21-game home winning streak (active)
• 9 20-win seasons, 18 winning seasons
• 406 wins are second most among active A-10 coaches (SJU’s Cindy Griffin – 446)
