BIRMINGHAM – The University of Alabama System Board of Trustees has approved a contract extension for women’s head basketball coach Randy Norton.
“I’m thrilled that we were able to do this. Randy Norton is a great man and a great coach,” said UAB athletic director Mark Ingram. “We are proud to have him leading our Women’s Basketball team. He has done a tremendous job here at UAB and we want him to be a Blazer and help us win another championship.”
The new agreement extends Norton through the 2025-26 season.
“I appreciate the continued support from President Watts, Mark Ingram, the University of Alabama System Board of Trustees and their confidence in me and our program,” said Norton. “We have accomplished some great things the last four years and we look forward to setting the bar even higher in the future.”
Norton, who will be entering his ninth season at the helm of the Blazers in 2021-22, has 147 career victories, which ranks him second all-time in program history.
During the last four years, UAB has averaged 21 wins per season and qualified for the postseason on three occasions.
During the 2017-18 season, Norton led UAB to a program record 27 victories and its first-ever Conference USA regular season title and a berth in the C-USA Championship finals. The Blazers advanced to the Second Round of the WNIT that season. For his efforts, he was named C-USA Coach of the Year. The following year, UAB recorded 26 victories and finished in second place in C-USA and advancing again to the Second Round of the WNIT.
In the COVID shortened 2019-20 season, the Blazers won 20 games for the third straight season, which was a program first. UAB was in position for another WNIT bid before the cancelation of the season. The Class of 2020 finished with 88 wins, which is the most for any group of UAB seniors.
From 2018 to 2020, UAB had 37 Conference USA victories, trailing only Rice during that span. In that three season period, the Blazers won 74% of their games.
In addition to the victories on the court, Norton’s players have had a rich history of academic success. This past season, UAB earned the Conference USA Academic Excellence Award for the third time in four years. This honor is given to those programs with the highest team GPA in their respective sports.
Norton has coached 12 players who have earned C-USA postseason honors a total of 18 times, including Rachael Childress who was the 2017 Rookie of the Year.
This is Norton’s fourth contract extension since coming to UAB. Most recently, his contract was extended two years through 2025 prior to the beginning of the 2019-20 season.
“Our past and current student-athletes have built a tremendous legacy for our future players. I want to thank my staff who have worked extremely hard in helping us build an amazing program,” added Norton.
UAB opens its season Nov. 5 against Spring Hill in an exhibition game with the regular season beginning Nov. 10 versus Shorter. Both games are at Bartow Arena.
Women’s basketball season tickets are on sale by purchasing the 2021-22 Gold Card for $65 here. The 2021-22 Gold Card will get you access to all home events for Women’s Soccer, Men’s Soccer, Volleyball, Women’s Basketball, Softball, and Baseball (Regions Field & Young Memorial). This card is not valid for Conference USA or NCAA Championship events.
