A week after new Athletic Director Damon Evans released Toyelle Wilson from her position as head women’s basketball coach, SMU announced Adia Barnes as the new head coach of women’s basketball. Five days later on April 9, Barnes spoke at a press conference in Moody Coliseum. About 100 people, including men’s head basketball coach Andy Enfield, student-athletes and SMU administrators, turned out to welcome Barnes and her husband, Salvo Coppa, to SMU.
With his experience in other major collegiate athletic conferences, Evans wants to make SMU’s sports known across the country, and believes Barnes is the right person for the job.
“I believe that we can be one of the premier women’s basketball programs in the country, but in order to do that, it takes unbelievable leadership,” Evans said. “I believe that the starting point for greatness is desire, the desire to succeed, to help others and to keep going no matter what. That’s what Adia Barnes embodies.”
Her strong track record as a coach, including her past nine seasons at the University of Arizona, along with her ability to inspire her players and grow women’s basketball programs made her a standout candidate to university administration.
“Anyone with her record and the history that she’s had in basketball is somebody that is ACC ready,” President Gerald Turner said.
As Evans introduced Barnes, he mentioned she is exactly the person SMU needs to help build the women’s basketball program.
“She is a program builder. She drives attendance,” Evans said. “If you go look at her track record, the average attendance was eight to nine thousand people at Arizona. She will do that here.”
The confidence in SMU’s athletic program is reciprocal for Barnes who believes Evans is the person who will help women’s sports, which was one of the reasons she came to SMU.
“He [Evans] wasn’t afraid. I watched him from afar and what stood out was that he supported women; he supported women’s sports,” Barnes said. “If you look right now across the country, that’s not happening. It’s a bold thing. He was bold, he did it big and I am blessed to work for him.”
Barnes has already started to build the women’s basketball program even though she has been at SMU for less than a week. Over the past week, Barnes signed nine new players to the team. She is also bringing her entire University of Arizona staff with her to SMU.
“I’m so excited. I can’t wait, we’re gonna hit the ground running,” Barnes said.
