Tammi Reiss led Rhode Island to the NCAA Tournament for the first time in 30 years this season. (Photo: USA Today Sports Images)
Reiss Brings a Builder's Mentality to Gators
Monday, March 23, 2026 | Women's Basketball, Scott Carter
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By: Scott Carter, Senior Writer
GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Tammi Reiss long ago committed herself to working hard, building relationships and living a life loaded with responsibility and goals. She was reminded of that on Saturday evening in the first round of the NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament.
Reiss was standing on the sideline in Louisville as her Rhode Island team faced Alabama, the Rams' first appearance in March Madness in 30 years and only the second in program history. Reiss, a former star player at Virginia whose various adult pursuits have included coaching, acting and business ownership, caught a glimpse of Crimson Tide coach Kristy Curry at the other end of the court.
At that moment, if a quote bubble had floated above Reiss' head as she danced on the game's biggest stage, facing a Power 4 opponent with the season on the line, the rest of the world could have seen what she was thinking.
"This is what you wanted,'' Reiss said.
Reiss had an inkling an opportunity might be on the horizon following recent discussions with Gators Athletic Director Scott Stricklin and the University Athletic Association committee searching for a new UF women's basketball coach. Still, she didn't know for sure until Stricklin called late Sunday morning to offer her the job.
The 55-year-old Reiss, South Carolina coach Dawn Staley's backcourt partner at Virginia in the early 1990s, checked off another box on her bucket list as soon as she said yes.
"I'm over the moon,'' Reiss said. "There are certain jobs and certain places you want to get to in your career. When you write down your goals and your dreams – and I often do – one of them is to be at a Power 4 school as a head coach. I have never led a P4 program. I want to coach at the highest level, and I want to go against the best in recruiting and competition, and that's just who I am."
Tammi Reiss guided Rhode Island to a program-record 17-game win streak this past season. (Photo: Kris Craig / USA TODAY NETWORK)
Reiss, after informing her Rhode Island team on Monday morning, arrived in Gainesville and met with the Gators in the last hour as the 12th women's basketball coach in program history.
Reiss spent seven seasons at Rhode Island, leading the Rams to their first Atlantic 10 Conference title this season and a 28-5 record following a 68-55 loss to the Crimson Tide on Saturday. Reiss turned around a Rhode Island program that had one winning season in the previous 15 before her arrival. She led the Rams to four 20-win seasons in the past five years, highlighted by the program's first NCAA Tournament appearance since 1996.
The whirlwind of the past 48 hours offered Reiss a chance to reflect on her uncommon journey. Tammi Reiss during her WNBA player career. (Photo: Courtesy of University of Virginia)
Reiss played and coached in the WNBA, served as an assistant at Syracuse, Cal State Fullerton, San Diego State and Virginia, appeared in movies "Juwanna Mann" and "Double Teamed", and, like late NBA legend Kobe Bryant, made an appearance in the television series "Sister, Sister." She also spent a decade as a nightclub owner in Utah, running a business with 75 employees after her WNBA career ended.
In a full and accomplished life, Sunday will stand out in her memory.
Following Saturday's exit from the NCAA Tournament, the Rams were 45 minutes from landing back in Rhode Island when their plane was forced to return to Louisville due to mechanical issues. By the time they boarded a different plane and landed at home, it was around 3:30 in the morning.
"It's been crazy,'' Reiss said. "If my voice sounds like I smoked about 10 packs of Marlboros and I sound like Demi Moore, now you know why. I couldn't be happier."
Reiss's gregarious personality has been well documented since her days starring alongside Staley at Virginia, where, in 1992, as seniors, both were named first-team All-Americans. While Reiss spent time away from the game over the years, Staley has become one of the game's top ambassadors as South Carolina's head coach, leading the Gamecocks to seven Final Fours and three national championships. Former Virginia teammates Tammi Reiss, left, and Dawn Staley have remained close friends throughout their coaching careers. (Photo: Courtesy of Staley's Facebook page).
Staley promoted Reiss for the UF job, and the two talked as events unfolded.
"This is a full-circle moment for both of us,'' Staley said. "From sharing the court as roommates and teammates and now coaching in the same league, it's special. And I know she's going to make a strong impact at Florida."
Meanwhile, as Stricklin searched for a replacement for Kelly Rae Finley and held conversations with industry sources, Reiss' background and her success in building Rhode Island from the ground up stood out immediately.
"She is a proven success at everything that she's done,'' Stricklin said. "I think that counts for something. There's a competitive side that all good coaches have. Her team plays hard; they're well-coached, they're disciplined, and all that stuff is important, but just as a person, I love her energy.
"She is vivacious. You can tell underneath that she is not going to not be successful. She is going to figure out a way to be good at whatever she does. Her energy is what I think works here at Florida. She has an 'it' factor about her."
When Reiss took over Rhode Island, she picked the brain of then-Rams men's head coach Danny Hurley, who had rebuilt the men's program before leaving to take over UConn and leading the Huskies to back-to-back national championships. She has already spoken to Gators men's coach Todd Golden about working at Florida and what can be accomplished.
Reiss, in the middle of a postseason run, said that she was caught off guard at first in Florida's serious interest during a Zoom call, later emailing the committee to make sure it understood she was overjoyed about the opportunity, if her surprise dulled her emotions.
Reiss said she had questions she needed answered about the administration's commitment and view of the program, and once they were, she knew what she would say if Stricklin offered her the job.
That proposal came on a sleep-deprived Sunday morning.
"I need a certain investment in women's basketball, and they did that. I've had other opportunities, but again, I've been very particular about the program that checks all the boxes and is a builder program,'' Reiss said. "I don't like inheriting. I want something to build. All I needed was someone to meet halfway. Florida came to the table, and they are ready. They want a good women's basketball program, and they are ready to resource it accordingly.
"It fit me perfectly. Now I have to do my job. It was hard to say goodbye to a place I love, but it was so easy to say yes to a place where you can see yourself being successful, and you can help a program reach its goals."
A goal that Reiss envisioned when she took over Rhode Island and made happen. She is ready to build again, this time at a Power 4 program, her dream all along.
