By Colton Pankiewicz, Sports Editor
After a 20-day vacancy for the women's basketball head coaching position, Canisius announced on Wednesday, April 17, that they'd be hiring Penn State assistant coach Tiffany Swoffard to lead the program after helping to get the Lions to their first 20-win season since 2016-2017.
“I am excited to announce that Tiffany Swoffard will join the Canisius University community as our next head women’s basketball coach,” Maher said. “Tiffany has spent 19 years preparing to be a head coach and shared a compelling vision to continue the ascent of our women’s basketball program in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC). I am thrilled that her first head coaching opportunity will come at Canisius, and I look forward to working with her to reach our championship goals.”
Before becoming an assistant in the Big 10, Swoffard worked as an assistant at Miami of Ohio, where she coached alongside former Canisius head coach Sahar Nusseibeh. Prior to that, Swoffard played out her four years of eligibility on the court at Austin Peay University, appearing in two NCAA Tournaments (2001, 2002).
Swoffard has plenty of coaching experience in both the NIT and the NCAA tournaments, coaching in numerous NIT runs, with both Toledo and Penn State. As an assistant at Toledo, she helped the Rockets reach the NCAA Tournament after winning the MAC Championship in the 2016-2017 season.
“I am extremely thankful and excited to be named the head women’s basketball coach at Canisius University,” Swoffard said. “ I chose to become a college coach with the belief that I can add value to young women’s lives through the game of basketball. I am passionate about people, academic excellence, service to the local community and winning. I will work tirelessly to elevate the Canisius program and cannot wait to get started.”
Photo courtesy of Go Griffs