Jeff Dow was named the eighth head women’s basketball coach in Southeastern history on March 25, 2025. Dow took over the helm of the program after spending 2019-2025 as the head women’s coach of the University of Incarnate Word.
In six seasons at Incarnate Word, Dow secured 48 more wins than the previous six seasons combined and posted an overall record of 86-62 (.581) for the program during his time with the Cardinals.
In 2024-25, UIW finished with a successful season under the leadership of Dow, as the Cardinals posted an 18-14 overall record and 12-8 mark in Southland Conference play. Incarnate Word ended the season ranking third in Southland standings and concluded its SLC Tournament run in the semifinals. With Dow at the helm, UIW closed the season as one of only two programs in the SLC to reach the conference tournament each of the past six years. Dorian Norris represented the Cardinals on the SLC All-Conference Defensive Team.
Dow’s final season with UIW in 2024-25, marked the third consecutive year UIW earned the fourth seed and a first-round bye in the Southland Conference tournament. The Cardinals also secured a selection to the postseason Women’s National Invitational Tournament (WNIT). Dow helped the program to claim its best start in UIW program history after 21 games (13-8) and in league play after 12 games (8-4). Dow’s success with the Cardinals in 2024-25, marked the third consecutive winning season, the only women’s sport at UIW to accomplish that feat.
Under Dow’s guidance in 2023-24, UIW broke multiple program records as the team established and posted a new record for overall wins. The Cardinals gained a 19-11 record, marking a UIW school record for overall winning percentage (.633). Dow led UIW to claim 12 conference wins, the most in Cardinal history alongside UIW tying a program-best fourth place finish in the conference standings with a winning percentage of .667 and seven consecutive games won.
Other accomplishments included becoming the fastest team to win 10 games since the 2012-13 season (when UIW was NCAA Division II), recording the highest NET ranking in school history (128 out of 362 NCAA Division I teams), securing the most non-conference wins, 7, and best non-conference record (7-4) in Division I school history. The 2023-24 team also recorded the most road wins, 8, since 2009-10 and had an 8-3 (.727) road record vs. non-Power 5 opponents.
In 2022-23, UIW broke the school record for overall wins (later broken by the 2023-24 squad) set in 2019-20 and 2021-22 (Dow’s first and third seasons at UIW). The 15-14 record marked UIW’s first overall winning record since becoming Division I and along the way also set a school record for overall winning percentage. The number of conference wins, 10, matched the school record set in Dow’s first season at UIW in 2019-20. In addition to a program-best fourth place finish in the conference standings, school records were set for conference winning percentage (.556) and six consecutive games won.
Dow’s third season with the Cardinals in 2021-22, claimed a historic run as UIW won the Southland Conference Tournament Championship and secured an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament for the first time in Cardinal women’s basketball history. The accomplishment marked the seventh trip to the NCAA Tournament as head coach, and eighth overall. UIW defeated four teams to reach the Big Dance as each win was the first in program history for the Cardinals. Junior forward Tiana Gardner was named the Most Valuable Player of the Southland Conference tournament after scoring 22 points in the championship game, including two free throws to send it into overtime at the end of regulation and two more near the end of the overtime period to ice the victory.
The 2020-21 season was truncated by games cancelled due COVID-19 and a mid-February ice storm. But it also ushered in a freshmen class that would go on to qualify for the Southland Conference tournament and play in the conference tournament for the first time in school history. Jaaucklyn Moore, Destiny Terrell, Myra Bell, and Brenna Perez averaged double figure minutes as freshman and combined to start 29 games. Dow guided the Cardinals as the team qualified for the Southland Conference tournament for the second time in school history. The Cardinals had what was then the second-best conference winning percentage in school history.
In his first season at the helm of UIW in 2019-20, Dow led the team to a 14-15 overall record and 10-10 in conference play, marking the best record at the time since the Cardinals moved up to Division I in 2013-14. The nine-win improvement was ranked first in the country for most improved team for a first-year coaching staff. Overall, the nine-win increase ranked sixth nationally among all coaching staffs.
Prior to UIW, Dow spent five seasons as the head coach at the University of Louisiana Monroe (ULM) from 2014-2019. While at ULM, Dow registered the Warhawks’ only non-conference winning record since the 2009-10 season, a feat his teams accomplished twice (2015-16 and 2018-19) and the only non-conference winning records in the previous 13 seasons of the program. ULM’s five-game winning streak in Dow’s last season, was the longest in school history since the program’s 2006-07 season.
Dow also recruited and coached Arsula Clark, the 2017-18 Louisiana Sportswriter’s Freshman of the Year (first in school history) and a 2018-19 All-Sun Belt Conference member. This marked the first time in ULM’s history that a sophomore had achieved that honor. Clark had career highs of 33 points and 14 rebounds in Dow’s 500th win as a coach in ULM’s victory over Arkansas State, March 7, 2019.
Dow’s second year at ULM featured the first winning record against non-conference opponents for the program since the 2009-10 season. The Warhawks nearly pulled off an epic win but fell in overtime on the road to SEC foe LSU. The Warhawks would later go on to defeat Sun Belt Conference champion Troy. For the second consecutive year a senior post would be named second team all-Sun Belt as Alayshia Hunter received the honor after finishing fifth in the Sun Belt in scoring and field goal percentage, sixth in rebounding and seventh in blocked shots.
As a head coach and as a first assistant, Dow has compiled twelve 20-win seasons, eight NCAA tournament appearances, four postseason WNIT appearances and seven conference championships. In the eight years just prior to his inaugural season at ULM, Dow averaged over 23 wins per season with an overall record as a head coach of 187-57 (.766) and a 117-29 (.801) mark in conference play. Dow’s squads also registered winning seasons in each of those eight years. Prior to arriving at ULM, Dow averaged over 20 wins per season as a head coach.
Before beginning his tenure at ULM, Dow was one of the most successful coaches in Indiana University of Pennsylvania (IUP) history (2008-13), compiling a five-year record of 108-40 (.729) at the helm, with a 65-21 (.756) mark in conference. Dow guided the Crimson Hawks to the NCAA Tournament three times and won the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) championship in 2009. Dow coached the Crimson Hawks to a No. 7 ranking in the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) Coaches Poll in 2008-09. He also got them to No. 19 in 2009-10, No. 17 in 2011-12 and No. 12 in 2012-13. After the 2012-13 season Dow was ranked 22nd among active coaches at the NCAA Division II level in winning percentage and 40th all-time.
In the postseason, Dow’s squad garnered first round victories in the 2009, 2012 and 2013 NCAA Division II tournaments. He was also the first head coach in school history to win 20 games in his debut season, and to win 10 or more games in the PSAC West Division in five consecutive seasons. Dow’s 26 wins in his debut season set a school record that still stands. During his tenure at IUP, Dow recruited and/or coached three players that were named All-Americans: Jahzinga Tracey, Sarah Pastorek and Lindsay Stamp. Tracey and Pastorek’s selections would mark a run of five consecutive years that Dow had a different player named All-American. Off the court, he had a combined 63 student-athletes earn IUP Dean’s List honors and 33 were named PSAC Scholar Athletes.
Dow joined IUP from Anderson University (S.C.) where he tallied a record of 79-17 (.822) and led his teams to the NCAA Tournament each of his three seasons. In his three years at the helm (2005-08), Dow was one of just eight head coaches to lead his program to at least one NCAA Division II tournament victory in three consecutive years. He guided Anderson to two Conference Carolinas regular season titles and one postseason championship in 2005-06. His 2005-06 squad led all NCAA Division II schools in scoring (83.5 points per game). Dow held a 52-8 (.867) record in conference play and posted a 40-2 home record in three seasons.
While at Anderson, Dow recruited and/or coached three players that earned All-America honors in successive seasons: LaShonda Chiles, Deidra Langston and Nikki Anthony. Chiles was recognized in Dow’s first season at Anderson in 2005-06 after finishing third in the nation in scoring. Langston was also named 2006-07 Conference Carolinas Player of the Year and Female Athlete of the Year. In addition to All-American honors, Anthony was named the Conference Carolinas Player of the Year after the 2007-08 season. Off the floor, Kim Hausman was named the Murphy Osborne Award recipient in 2006-07 as Anderson’s Outstanding Senior Student-Athlete.
In his final season at Anderson in 2007-08, the program finished in the top-10 in the country in win-loss percentage, scoring defense, rebound margin, and scoring margin and was ranked as high as No. 12 in the WBCA national poll. For his team's accomplishments, Dow was selected as the Conference Carolinas Coach of the Year. In his first two seasons Dow’s Anderson squads were ranked 13th and 17th, respectively, in the WBCA national poll.
Prior to Anderson, Dow held the first assistant position at Colorado State (2002-05), Santa Clara (2000-02), UC-Irvine (1996-99) and New Mexico State (1992-96). During his time at those four universities, they had an overall record of 218-134 (.619) and a combined conference record of 122-65 (.652). Over the course of those twelve seasons, Dow’s teams made five appearances in the NCAA or postseason WNIT tournament and won two regular season conference championships. During his tenure at NMSU as the post coach, Dow worked with three-time Big West Conference Player of the Year, 1995-96 All-American and former WNBA player Anita Maxwell. While at UCI, the Anteaters posted an 11-4 record in Big West Conference play (1997-98), which would stand as the most conference wins the program had achieved for the next 22 seasons.
Dow had his first head coaching job at 24 years old at Texas A&M University-Kingsville (1990-91). His team was picked to finish ninth (last) in the preseason poll in his first year, but Dow propelled them to a third place showing and reached the semifinals of the Lone Star Conference Tournament. As the Lady Javelinas’ coach, Dow recruited and/or coached Patricia Rivers and Karen Weiss who were named WBCA All-Americans under Dow and were later inducted into the university’s athletics hall of fame.
Dow started his career as a graduate assistant at the University of Oregon in 1989-90. He earned a bachelor’s degree in psychology and physical education in 1988 and his master’s in physical education in 1991 from Oregon.
Dow was elected for a two-year appointment as the chairperson for the Southland Conference women’s basketball coaches committee in May 2023, a position he also held in 2007-08 for Conference Carolinas while he was coaching at Anderson University. Dow has also been a voting member of the College Insider.com Mid-Major Top 25 coaches’ poll since the 2014-15 season.
Dow is married to Dr. Emily Dow, an assistant professor in the department of Kinesiology at UIW. The couple has two daughters, Chloe and Helena.
