Princeton University Athletics
Players Mentioned
Megan Griffith Named Columbia Women's Basketball Head Coach
March 13, 2016 | Women's Basketball
PRINCETON, N.J. – Women's basketball assistant coach Megan Griffith will be leaving her post at Princeton to accept the head coaching position at Columbia University, Columbia announced today (Mar. 28).
Griffith recently completed her sixth season with the Princeton women's basketball team. She spent her first two years as the team's director of basketball operations and the previous four as an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator.
“My time at Princeton was extremely rewarding,” said Griffith. “I like to personally thank Courtney (Banghart), Milena (Flores), Tyler (Cordell), Chessie (Jackson) and Melanie (Moore) as well as Mollie (Marcoux '91) and Gary (Walters '67) for taking a chance on me. I wish this program nothing but the best.”
“As coaches, we are in the business of growing leaders”, said head coach Courtney Banghart. “We are all so happy for Megan, as she returns to her alma mater to enhance the mission, competitiveness, and integrity of this great league.”
When asked about the impact Griffith made, Banghart noted “Megan has been a valuable asset to our program in all of its facets and is ready for this next challenge. Her uniform color has changed, but she remains a teammate of ours for life. My players, staff, and the many whom support our program celebrate Coach G and wish her continued happiness and success in this next step."
The Tigers made history in Griffith's final season as an assistant, becoming the first Ivy League team to receive an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament since the conference became an automatic qualifier.
Princeton won at least 20 games in each of Griffith's six seasons. The Tigers had a historic 2014-15 campaign, going 31-1, including an unblemished 30-0 regular season. Capturing its fifth Ivy title in six years, Princeton earned its highest-ever national ranking (No. 13) and secured its first-ever NCAA Tournament victory. Three Tigers garnered All-Ivy honors for their efforts, including Player of the Year Blake Dietrick '15, who also received Associated Press and WBCA Honorable Mention All-America honors.
The King of Prussia, Pa. native is a 2007 graduate of Columbia and was a four-year letterwinner for the women's basketball team. She captained the Lions for three seasons and was named All-Ivy League in 2006 and 2007. Griffith is just the eighth Lion to score over 1,000 points during her career, averaging 10.1 points per game. During her junior year, Griffth ranked 22nd in the nation in assists, averaging 5.5 per game, while chipping in 15.2 points per game. She was twice named Academic All-Ivy and was a member of the Arthur Ashe Sports Scholar Team two straight years.