Head promoted to assistant coach for the Lady'Backs

FAYETTEVILLE – Khadija Head was promoted to assistant women’s basketball coach at the University of Arkansas, Lady Razorback head coach Susie Gardner announced Friday. “She is a bright, young coach and I think she is a great fit with our current staff,” Gardner said. “Sometimes you have a sense of a person, and you can tell if they have the gift for a particular job. She’s a people person, she’s well organized and she relates to our players and recruits.” Head was named director of basketball operations earlier this summer for the Lady Razorbacks after spending a season working at the Women’s Basketball Coaching Association. She moves into the position held by former assistant coach Rena Faust-Holden who accepted a similar position at Birmingham Southern University earlier this month. “We had a chance to see her interact with parents and recruits during the summer camps,” Gardner said. “I know that she will do an outstanding job for us this season.” A four-year letterwinner at Murray State, Head spent one season as a graduate assistant coach at Slippery Rock. She worked with the guards for Coach Laurel Heilman, including individual workouts and creating the summer workout programs. She also coordinated scouting and films exchange for The Rock. “When I got the call to Arkansas, I said this was an excellent opportunity,” Head said. “I’m happy that Coach Gardner has the trust and confidence in me to be a contributor to the coaching staff.” “She is very organized, but she knows the game from every angle,” Gardner said. “She’s played the game, she’s worked it as a coach and she has worked in administration.” Gardner and Head share a common bond through the Ohio Valley Conference as former rivals. “She’s the person that ended my college career,” Head said, referring to Austin Peay’s defeat of her Racers in the OVC Tournament. “Now, she’s helping start my coaching career at the Division I level.” “I’ve known her since her playing days at Murray,” Gardner said. “She was a player with great heart on the court.” Head’s promotion as one of Arkansas’ full-time assistants puts her immediately into the recruiting world. “One great indication of Khadija’s commitment toward becoming a collegiate coach was the fact she had already taken and passed the NCAA certification test this summer even though she was just the director of operations,” Gardner said. “I know that she will make the most of this opportunity.” During her four-year career with the Racers, Head was twice named to the Ohio Valley Conference honor roll and the MSU dean’s list three times. A cum laude graduate in organizational communications in 2003, she earned a Black Coaches Association Postgraduate Scholarship and a NCAA Ethnic Minority Enhancement Postgraduate Scholarship for Careers in Athletics. Spending one season as a marketing and tournament intern with the Georgia State Soccer Association prior to joining the WBCA, Head assisted with the logistics of one of the countries largest and most prestigious youth soccer tournaments, the Atlanta Cup. At Murray, Head started all 28 games her senior season and was the fourth leading scorer for the Racers with 7.1 ppg, and set a then-school record with 14 assists her junior season against Southeast Missouri State.