USF head coach Kristy Curry is always open to a challenge and an opportunity, and when she saw the chance to write her final chapter as a women's basketball coach on her own terms, she had to take it. Curry told High Post Hoops Wednesday that inheriting the house Dallas Wings coach Jose Fernandez built was simply too good of an opportunity to pass up. (Fernandez left USF after 25 years with the school to coach the Wings.)
Curry, who coached at the University of Alabama from 2013 to 2026, didn't make the decision easily, and debating whether she should depart the program wasn't something she took lightly. But she's always one to be open to change and possibility, and there were a couple of factors at USF that were simply too compelling.
What sets USF apart from other college programs
For starters, the program is run by Rob Higgins, the CEO of Athletics. His role is a little different than that of a traditional athletic director, something that appealed to Curry right away. "He's the only CEO in college athletics," she said, "and so with the landscape and with things are from rev share to NIL to the growth in women's sports... he was responsible for bringing multiple Final Fours to Tampa Bay and worked for the Sports Commission."
In other words, Higgins can provide the kind of support that Curry wants as she begins to consider her final years of coaching. While she gave absolutely no indication that she's anywhere near actually leaving the game she's called home for decades, Curry is cleary thinking about where she's come from and where she's going.
"I'll forever bleed crimson, there's no question," she laughed, a reference to Alabama. "And a little black and gold over here for Purdue and a little bit of red for Texas Tech. I've been so blessed... I feel like coaching is just being a servant leader every day."
Curry said that leading others is just part of who she is as a person. "I want to be the best coach mom I can be, the best coach wife I can be... to some degree, we're all coaches, right?" she continued. "We're able to influence those around us every day in a really special way, at home, at the office, at work, and in the commuity." Preparing young women to go out in the world and succeed no matter what they want to do a is a crucial part of that leadership.
Coaching a college sport isn't always the easiest thing to do, Curry added. "We don't always get to write our last chapter, so I'm just very, very grateful." She mentioned three core values that matter at USF: grit, love, and gratitude. "I just have a heart of gratitude."
Curry could have finished things out at Alabama or retired, but a door was opened at USF and she decided to walk right through it. Perhaps more than most things, that demonstrates the kind of leader she is, and the kind of person her players see day in and day out. "I had great support at Alabama, but it was time for a new challenge," she explained. "I think coaches love challenges."
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