Tammi Reiss leaves URI for Florida

GAINESVILLE, F.L. — Florida has hired Tammi Reiss as its new women’s basketball coach, bringing in the longtime Rhode Island leader after one of the most successful seasons in Rams history.

Reiss leaves Rhode Island after seven seasons, during which she rebuilt the program and guided it to the NCAA women’s tournament for the first time in 30 years earlier this month. The Rams later fell to Alabama in the opening round.

Her final Rhode Island team won a school-record 28 games, captured a share of the Atlantic 10 regular-season title and won the conference tournament.

In a statement released by URI, Reiss called it one of the hardest decisions she has ever had to make.

Reiss built Rhode Island into a winner

Reiss finished her time at Rhode Island with a 138-73 overall record. Over the last four seasons alone, the Rams won 96 games.

She also reset the program’s single-season wins mark twice and helped raise the first three conference banners in school history.

Rhode Island’s growth under Reiss was not limited to the court. The Rams also tripled their average attendance during her tenure, showing how much momentum the program gained under her leadership.

Florida turns to proven builder

Florida is asking Reiss to revive a women’s basketball program that has struggled to break through in the Southeastern Conference.

She replaces Kelly Rae Finley, who was fired two weeks ago as the Gators appeared headed to a fourth straight season without an NCAA tournament bid.

Finley went 93-75 in five seasons at Florida, including a 30-50 mark in SEC play. Her roster included highly regarded talent such as Liv McGill, Me’Arah O’Neal and Laila Reynolds, giving the Gators three McDonald’s All-Americans in the starting lineup.

Still, Florida was unable to turn that talent into enough wins in one of the nation’s toughest conferences.

Florida program faces steep challenge

Florida remains the only program on campus that has never won a conference title.

The Gators have also lagged behind SEC powers such as LSU and South Carolina in investment and results, making the rebuild even more difficult.

That challenge now belongs to Reiss, who built a reputation at Rhode Island for changing the direction of a program and delivering consistent success.

Long basketball background

Reiss, 55, played at Virginia alongside Dawn Staley and reached three straight Final Fours in 1990, 1991 and 1992. That run included an appearance in the 1991 national championship game.

Before taking over at Rhode Island, she also built a strong résumé as an assistant coach. She was part of eight NCAA tournament appearances in those roles, including four at Syracuse.

Florida is now hoping that experience, along with her success at Rhode Island, can lift the Gators to a higher level.