Rutgers Names Coquese Washington New Women’s Basketball Head Coach

Rutgers has found its successor to Hall of Famer C. Vivian Stringer in former Penn State Head Coach Coquese Washington.

Washington, the third full time head coach in program history, inked a six-year deal worth upwards of $4.6 million on Monday. She brings plenty of experience to the job with 22 years of coaching under her belt. She served 12 years as Penn State's Head Coach, compiling a record of 209-169, while leading the Lady Lions to three Big Ten titles and four NCAA Tournament appearances.

Washington spent the past two seasons at Notre Dame as  Associate Head Coach.

In a statement released by the Rutgers Athletic Department and posted to scarletknights.com, Washington said,  "I am beyond thrilled with the opportunity to be here at Rutgers, a university that excels both academically and athletically," said Washington. "Following in the footsteps of Hall of Fame coaches Theresa Grentz and C. Vivian Stringer is s a tremendous honor. They exemplify achieving high levels of excellence with grace, class, integrity and dignity. The way they blazed trails and impacted the lives of student-athletes and coaches, beyond the ones on their teams, is nothing short of amazing. Standing on their shoulders to guide this program is going to be a wonderful adventure, and our family is eager to get to Piscataway and become a part of this remarkable community."

Rutgers Athletic Director Patt Hobbs added, ""We are excited to welcome Coquese and her family to Rutgers. It is important that the next leader of our women's basketball program be someone with a proven track record of winning, exemplary leadership and great character. Coquese is the perfect fit on all those criteria. She is someone who is hard-working, passionate and dedicated to building a championship program and that commitment extends equally to the success our student-athletes will have off the court. I look forward to Coquese leading this next chapter of the program and continuing the legacy that has come to define Rutgers women's basketball."