Hartford Courant

New strength coach Hudy comes home

She has had prior stints with Huskie title teams

- By Alexa Philippou

The UConn women’s basketball team is bringing home Andrea Hudy as the program’s new director of sports performanc­e.

Hudy, who spent the last two seasons at Texas, earned her master’s degree in sport biomechani­cs from UConn in 1999. She previously worked with the Huskies women’s basketball team from 1995-2004, in addition to stints with the men’s basketball and men’s soccer programs. Hudy was part of eight national title-winning Huskies teams, including five women’s basketball ones.

“We’re beyond excited to bring in someone like Andrea Hudy,”

Geno Auriemma said in a statement. “She’s been here before and knows what the expectatio­n level is. She had a lot of success here, and at Kansas, and at Texas. To get one of the premier strength and conditioni­ng coaches in men’s or women’s basketball was a great opportunit­y for us. We’ve had great success here with our strength and conditioni­ng. I think Hudy being here, especially with such a young team this year, gives us an opportunit­y to add to what we’ve been doing here all this time.”

“Returning to the University of Connecticu­t is a full circle moment,” Hudy added. “Having started my career here over 26

years ago created a solid foundation for me in sports performanc­e, and to be a part of UConn again is a great opportunit­y. It will be a great experience to see such a familiar place with new perspectiv­es. I am grateful to Coach Auriemma and his staff, David Benedict, and the University of Connecticu­t for this opportunit­y to continue cultivatin­g the championsh­ip culture that has become a rich tradition. It is an honor and a privilege.”

Hudy is a nationally acclaimed sports performanc­e coach and was named National College Strength and Conditioni­ng Coach of the Year by the National Strength and Conditioni­ng Associatio­n in 2013. In 2017, the NSCA awarded her with the Impact Award, given to “an individual whose career has greatly contribute­d to the advancemen­t of the national or internatio­nal strength and conditioni­ng or fitness industries.”

Her previous stops include spending the last two seasons at Texas, where she was head basketball strength and conditioni­ng coach, a role where she oversaw both the men’s andwomen’sbasketbal­l programs and was the primary sports performanc­e coach for the men’s team. She also spent 15 years at Kansas as the strength andconditi­oning coach for the men’s squad.

Hudy played volleyball at Maryland, where she graduated in 1994. She also earned an MBA from Kansas in 2019.

Amanda Kimball, the previous women’s basketball team’s director of sports performanc­e, is now the athletic department’s director of holistic and reintegrat­ion sports performanc­e, according to the UConn athletics website.

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