Niele Ivey

Biography

One of the finest point guards ever to wear the Notre Dame uniform, Niele Ivey was announced as the fourth Karen & Kevin Keyes Family Head Women's Basketball Coach on April 22, 2020. Since taking the reins, Ivey has proven to be one of the nation's premier coaches with a record of 142-49, an ACC Tournament title, five consecutive trips to the Sweet 16 and a 2026 Elite Eight Berth. In the most recent season, the Irish posted a 25-11 record and made their first Elite Eight since 2019. With the fifth consecutive trip to the Sweet 16, Notre Dame joined South Carolina and UConn as the only programs in the nation to make the last five Sweet 16s. In 2024-25, Notre Dame went 28-6 and earned a share of the ACC regular season title for the second time in three years, downing three AP Top 5 teams in the same season for the first time in program history. Ivey is the common link to all nine of the program's Final Four appearances, two as a player and seven as an assistant coach. She has now logged a combined 20 years on Notre Dame's campus. As an assistant, the Irish went 386-55 during Ivey's time on the sidelines. Ivey expanded her basketball prowess when she spent the 2019-20 season as an assistant coach with the Memphis Grizzlies, becoming the ninth active female coach in the NBA. A former All-America point guard at Notre Dame and a five-year WNBA veteran, Ivey was the first Fighting Irish point guard to earn third-team AP All-America honors and recipient of the 2001 Frances Pomeroy Na