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GEORGIAN COURT WELCOMES CURTIS AS HEAD WOMEN'S BASKETBALL COACH

August 23, 2007

Courtesy of Ashley Cameron, GCU SID

LAKEWOOD, NJ ? Director of Athletics & Recreation, Laura Liesman, announced the hiring of Valerie Curtis as Head Basketball Coach at Georgian Court University. Curtis comes to GCU via Lock Haven University of Pennsylvania where she guided the Lady Eagles for the past three seasons. Following a 4-23 record in her first season, the Lady Eagles were the third most improved team in the nation in 2005 with a record of 17-9. The 2005 season was the first winning season for Lock Haven in a decade.

"I am very pleased to announce Valerie as our head basketball coach and community engagement coordinator," said Liesman. "As she is a native of New Jersey and a former Division II student-athlete, I am confident that she will do an outstanding job at GCU and continue developing our basketballs program into a conference contender. With Valerie's leadership and our talented young team, the future should be very exciting".

Curtis began her career in college athletics as a student-athlete at the University of the District of Columbia (UDC). While there, Valerie was a starter and leading scorer for the Firebirds. In 1993, Curtis led NCAA Division II women's basketball averaging 6.1 steals per game (135 total). She still ranks second in the nation's single-season chart for steals. Having finished her collegiate career averaging 4.7 steals per game (318 steals), Valerie ranks third on the NCAA's all-time list in steals average. While leading her team in 1995 to a record of 20-6, the University of the District of Columbia made a berth into the 1995 NCAA Division II tournament.

Following her stellar collegiate career, Coach Curtis joined the UDC coaching staff as an assistant coach. Curtis served as assistant for two seasons from 1995-1997. Along with assistant coaching, Valerie served as the coordinator of Martha's Table Adolescent Program, which counseled and motivated disadvantaged teens as a project site director of the Communities in Schools program in Washington, D.C. Curtis also administrated and implemented the development of the D.C. Reads program at selected elementary schools.

In 1998, Curtis joined Fresno State as an assistant basketball coach. For four years, she served as recruiting coordinator and opponent scout. Curtis also led pre-season and post-season conditioning while serving as student-athlete academic advisor. Curtis returned to the East in 2002 serving as an assistant basketball coach at Lock Haven. Following the 2003-2004 season, Curtis took over the reigns and assumed the position of head basketball coach.

Prior to attending UDC, Curtis served in the United States Navy for four years. At the University of the District of Columbia, she earned a bachelor's degree in Health Education in 1996 and a master of science degree in Public Administration in 1998.

Coach Curtis will serve as Head Basketball Coach as well as implementing the NCAA Division II's community engagement initiative on Georgian Court's campus. The Division II initiative focuses on the interaction between Division II institutions and their local communities. The goal of the platform is to engage Georgian Court's community actively in the life of our campus as it is a key component of the development of our students.