Joseph R. Ciampi (born September 25, 1946) is an American former

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

coach. Starting off in boys basketball from 1968 to 1977, Ciampi was an assistant coach for a Nanticoke high school and the head coach for

Marlboro High School Marlboro High School is a four-year comprehensive public high school located in Marlboro Township, in Monmouth County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey, serving students in ninth through twelfth grades as one of the six secondary schools of t ...

in New York. In women's basketball, Ciampi coached the

Army Black Knights women's basketball The Army West Point Black Knights women's basketball team is the women's basketball team that represents the United States Military Academy in West Point, New York. The team currently competes in the Patriot League. History The Black Knights began ...

team from 1977 to 1979 before joining the

Auburn Tigers women's basketball The Auburn Tigers women's basketball program is the intercollegiate women's basketball team that represents Auburn University. The school competes in the Southeastern Conference in Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) ...

team in 1979. With the Tigers, Ciampi and his team reached the

NCAA Division I women's basketball tournament The NCAA Division I women's basketball tournament, sometimes referred to as Women's March Madness, is a single-elimination tournament played each spring in the United States, currently featuring 68 women's college basketball teams from the Div ...

final consecutively from 1988 to 1990. After winning his 600th game as a Division I coach in January 2004, Ciampi retired from basketball in March 2004. With his stints with the Army Knights and Tigers, Ciampi retired with 607 wins and 213 losses. In the mid 2000s, Ciampi's record of 607 wins was in the top 15 overall wins by a Division I basketball coach during the late 2000s. After working as a women's basketball sports commentator for

Comcast Comcast Corporation, formerly known as Comcast Holdings,Before the AT&T Broadband, AT&T merger in 2001, the parent company was Comcast Holdings Corporation. Comcast Holdings Corporation now refers to a subsidiary of Comcast Corporation, not th ...

during the early 2010s, Ciampi briefly returned to basketball as an assistant coach for the

Atlanta Dream The Atlanta Dream are an American professional basketball team based in the Atlanta metropolitan area. The Dream compete in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) as a member of the Eastern Conference. The team was founded for the ...

from 2012 to 2013. Ciampi was inducted into the

Women's Basketball Hall of Fame The Women's Basketball Hall of Fame honors those who have contributed to the sport of women's basketball. The Hall of Fame opened in 1999 in Knoxville, Tennessee, USA. It is the only facility of its kind dedicated to all levels of women's bask ...

in 2005 and the

Alabama Sports Hall of Fame The Alabama Sports Hall of Fame (ASHOF) is a state museum located in Birmingham, Alabama, dedicated to communicating the state’s athletic history. The museum displays over 5,000 objects related to athletes who were born in Alabama or earned fam ...

in 2006.

Early life and education

On September 25, 1946, Ciampi was born in

Glen Lyon, Pennsylvania Glen Lyon is a census-designated place (CDP) in Newport Township, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 1,877 at the 2020 census. History The town of Glen Lyon was founded after anthracite coal mining began in Newport Township (ca. 18 ...

. At Nanticoke Area High School in

Nanticoke, Pennsylvania Nanticoke is a city in Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 10,628, making it the third largest city in Luzerne County. It occupies of land. Nanticoke is part of Northeastern Pennsylvania. The ...

, Ciampi started playing basketball and baseball. Ciampi then attended Mansfield State College (now

Mansfield University of Pennsylvania Mansfield University of Pennsylvania is a campus of Commonwealth University of Pennsylvania, and is located in Mansfield, Pennsylvania, United States. It is part of the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education (PASSHE). The campus's total ...

), graduating with a bachelor's degree in elementary education in 1968. At Mansfield State, Ciampi played varsity basketball in the 1966–67 season.

Coaching career

High school basketball (1968–1977)

After graduating from college, Ciampi began his career as a high school gym teacher. In boys' basketball, Ciampi was an assistant coach from 1968 to 1972 at Nanticoke Area High School, helping Nanticoke reach an 82–19 record in four years.Thomaselli 1989, p. 1D Continuing his boys basketball experience in

Marlboro, New York Marlboro is a hamlet (and census-designated place) in Ulster County, New York, United States. The population was 3,669 at the 2020 census. Marlboro is in the southeastern part of the town of Marlborough, located in the southeastern corner of the ...

, Ciampi worked as the head coach for

between 1972 and 1977. With Marlboro, Ciampi had 73 wins and 23 losses.

Army (1977–1979)

In 1977, Ciampi joined the

United States Military Academy The United States Military Academy (USMA), commonly known as West Point, is a United States service academies, United States service academy in West Point, New York that educates cadets for service as Officer_(armed_forces)#United_States, comm ...

to be head coach for Army Cadets women's basketball, the program's first head coach at the

NCAA Division I NCAA Division I (D-I) is the highest division of intercollegiate athletics sanctioned by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in the United States, which accepts players globally. D-I schools include the major collegiate athlet ...

level. With Army, Ciampi went 18–5 in 1977–78 and 21–5 in 1978–79 for a total of 39 wins and 10 losses.

Auburn (1979–2004)

In 1979, Ciampi joined

Auburn University Auburn University (AU or Auburn) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Auburn, Alabama, United States. With more than 26,800 undergraduate students, over 6,100 post-graduate students, and a tota ...

as head coach of the

team. Inheriting a program that had won only 17 games in the past two seasons, Ciampi led Auburn to a 17–13 record in the 1979–80 season. Auburn would later reach the final of the

three consecutive times from 1988 to 1990. Apart from the NCAA tournament, Ciampi led Auburn to the

2003 Women's National Invitation Tournament The 2003 Women's National Invitation Tournament was a single-elimination tournament of 32 NCAA Division I teams. These teams were not selected to participate in the 2003 Women's NCAA tournament. It was the sixth edition of the postseason Women's ...

title. While coaching the Tigers, Ciampi earned his 600th win as a Division I basketball coach in January 2004. That year, Ciampi ended his Auburn head coach position with 568 wins and 203 losses. Upon his retirement from basketball in March 2004, Ciampi had an overall college basketball record of 607 wins and 213 losses. With his 607 wins, Ciampi was in the top 15 for the most NCAA Division I basketball wins during the mid 2000s. By the end of the 2010s, Ciampi's 607 wins made him tied for 34th place alongside Mike Granel for the most basketball games won overall by a Division I coach.

Later career

After retiring from Auburn, Ciampi was a consultant to several NCAA Division I women's basketball teams. In the early 2010s, Ciampi was a sports commentator for

SportSouth FanDuel Sports Network Southeast is an American regional sports network owned by Main Street Sports Group (formerly Diamond Sports Group) and operated as an affiliate of FanDuel Sports Network. Headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, the channel br ...

on women's basketball games played in the

Southeastern Conference The Southeastern Conference (SEC) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference whose member institutions are located primarily in the South Central United States, South Central and Southeastern United States. Its 16 members in ...

. In 2012, Ciampi came out of retirement to become an assistant coach for the

in the WNBA. He continued to coach for the Dream until 2013. The Dream went 19–15 in 2012 under head coaches

Marynell Meadors Marynell Meadors (born August 27, 1943) is an American women's basketball coach at the college and professional level. She most recently served as head coach and general manager of the Atlanta Dream of the Women's National Basketball Association ...

and Fred Williams and 17–17 in 2013 under Williams, qualifying for the playoffs in both years, including as runners-up in the

2013 WNBA Finals The 2013 WNBA Finals was the playoff series for the 2013 season of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA), and the conclusion of the season's playoffs. The Minnesota Lynx, champions of the Western Conference, defeated the Atlan ...

. Ciampi continues to be a women's basketball analyst for the Auburn Sports Network and

SEC Network SEC Network (SECN) is an American multinational sports network owned by ESPN Inc., a joint venture between The Walt Disney Company (which operates the network, through its 80% controlling ownership interest) and Hearst Communications (which hold ...

Awards and honors

In 2005, Ciampi was inducted into the

. The following year, Ciampi became a part of the

in 2006.

Personal life

Ciampi is married and has four children.

Head coaching record

College

Sources:

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ciampi, Joe 1946 births Living people American people of Italian descent American women's basketball coaches Army Black Knights women's basketball coaches Atlanta Dream coaches Auburn Tigers women's basketball coaches Basketball coaches from Pennsylvania High school basketball coaches in New York (state) High school basketball coaches in Pennsylvania Mansfield Mounties men's basketball players People from Nanticoke, Pennsylvania Sportspeople from Luzerne County, Pennsylvania Women's college basketball announcers in the United States