Head Coach Amanda Levens  Amanda Levens enters her first season as the head coach of the SIUE women's basketball program. Levens comes to SIUE from University of Nevada-Reno where she was an assistant coach. Levens, 29, will be one of the youngest head coaches at the NCAA Division I level when the Cougars lace up their shoes for play this fall. Only two other current coaches at the NCAA Division I level are younger. As the Cougars continue the reclassification process to NCAA Division I, Levens will be charged with developing a women's basketball program that reflects SIUE's commitment to excellence, academic integrity, service to the community and commitment to all students. Hewitt said that during the interview process, Levens stood out as a coach eager to make those challenges a reality. Every constituency group represented during the interview process recognized Amanda for her confidence and sincerity. Regarded as one of the top young assistant coaches in the Western Athletic Conference (WAC) for the past five seasons, Levens was part of Nevada's coaching staff just one year after completing her Bachelor of Arts degree in history at Arizona State University in 2002. Levens also completed her Master's in higher education administration from Nevada-Reno in 2007. Hewitt said Levens has been outstanding at every level she has progressed, whether as a coach or as a player. As a coach, she recruited a WAC Newcomer of the Year, a junior college All-American and four members of the WAC All-Freshmen team. In five seasons, she has overseen the development of 16 players who have earned All-WAC Academic Honors. In 2007, Nevada made its first-ever postseason appearance at the Women's National Invitational Tournament. The Wolfpack have noticed a marked improvement while Levens has been with the program. Levens was a part of every facet of the Nevada basketball staff under Head Coach Kim Gervasoni. Her duties were varied, including recruiting, scouting, game preparation, fundraising, player development, and community outreach. As a player, Levens was marked as "one of the best players in the Arizona State women's basketball history," according to the Sun Devils' Web site. She spent two seasons at Arizona State, where she was twice named first team All-PAC -10 and led the Sun Devils to a spot in the NCAA Tournament. She was an Associated Press honorable mention All-American in 2002. Levens held records for most 3 pointers in 2001 with 60, and lead in free throws in 2002. In her collegiate career Levens totaled 1,322 points averaging 10.6 points per game, with 332 assists, grabbing recovering 310, 2.5 per game and 99 steals. She also spent her first two collegiate seasons at Old Dominion, where she twice helped the Monarchs to an NCAA Tournament Sweet Sixteen appearance. Levens signed a free agent contract with the Charlotte Sting of the WNBA in April of 2002. Levens served as an assistant coach at the University of Nevada for five years (2003 to 2008) Her ties to the Midwest date back only a few years. She was a three-time All-State selection at Belvidere High School in northern Illinois. In the fall of 2000, she was named to the All-Century Girls' team by the Rockford Register-Star.  |
