Former Tide Assistant Pauline Love Hired As New UA Women's Basketball Coach

TUSCALOOSA, AL — The University of Alabama has hired former Crimson Tide assistant Pauline Love as its new women’s basketball coach.

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Love will be introduced at a press conference on Thursday.

This comes after longtime UA women's basketball coach Kristy Curry was hired away by the University of South Florida to lead its women's basketball program.

Love returns to UA after previously serving as an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator during the 2024-25 season.

Before that, she spent seven seasons in the same role at Arkansas, building a reputation as one of the SEC’s top recruiters and player developers.

Alabama athletics said she recently helped Oklahoma reach the Sweet 16 after a 26-win season in 2025-26, when the Sooners averaged a program-record 85.9 points per game.

“We are thrilled to welcome Pauline back to Tuscaloosa,” UA Director of Athletics Greg Byrne. “Throughout this process, we spoke with several people, and she quickly rose to the top of that list. Pauline’s vision for this program and preparation to lead Alabama women’s basketball is incredibly impressive, and we look forward to seeing the Tide continue to rise under her leadership.”

Love said she is eager to build a program that matches Alabama’s expectations.

“I’m incredibly honored to lead the Alabama women’s basketball program,” she said in a statement. “This is a place with a championship standard, and we’re going to build a team that reflects that every day through toughness, togetherness and trust.”

A former standout player at Southern Miss, Love earned three first-team All-Conference USA honors and remains among the program’s career leaders in scoring, rebounding, field goals made and minutes played.

She began her college career at Jones College, later played professionally with the Connecticut Sun and overseas in France, and has since built a coaching resume with stops at McNeese, Southern Miss, Arkansas, Alabama and Oklahoma.

The university said financial terms of Love’s appointment are still subject to approval by the UA System Board of Trustees.

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