Northwestern University Athletics
Amonte Hiller Inks Contract Extension Through 2029
2/12/2022 9:46:00 AM | Women's Lacrosse
EVANSTON, Ill. — Northwestern's Combe Family Head Lacrosse Coach Kelly Amonte Hiller has agreed to a contract extension that will keep her in charge of Northwestern's program through the 2029 season, Combe Family Vice President for Athletics and Recreation Dr. Derrick Gragg announced Saturday before the No. 4 Wildcats 2022 opener at No. 1 Boston College.
"Kelly Amonte Hiller is synonymous with college lacrosse," said Gragg. "She built the Wildcats program from its inception into a national power widely regarded as a standard of excellence anywhere in collegiate athletics. Her drive to continually raise the bar of success matches her passion to provide our lacrosse student-athletes with the best academic and athletic experience possible. We are extremely excited to keep her on our sidelines for years to come."
Amonte Hiller, who was hired by Northwestern in 2000, coached the program's inaugural varsity campaign in 2002, and has led the 'Cats to seven NCAA titles, will have completed 28 seasons as head coach of the Wildcats upon serving out the duration of her current contract.
"Thank you to Dr. Gragg and our leadership group for the belief they have in our staff, student-athletes and lacrosse program," said Amonte Hiller. "Northwestern has been my family's home for over 20 years, and while we are proud of what we have accomplished to this point, we are confident that there is a higher ceiling for this program in the future."
Amonte Hiller has amassed a 314-82 record as the Wildcats' head coach and is only one of eight Division I women's lacrosse coaches to surpass the 300-win mark. During her time in Evanston, she has shined in postseason play by taking the program to the NCAA tournament every season since 2004 and boasting a 46-10 (.821) record in those games, making her the all-time leader in NCAA tournament wins and winning percentage.
The Massachusetts native has produced the nation's Tewaaraton Award winner in five different seasons as well as the Honda Sports Award recipient on seven occasions. Additionally Northwestern has featured 58 IWLCA All-Americans and won a total of 11 IWLCA positional Player of the Year awards (two attacker, five midfielder and four defender).
Named the 2021 Big Ten and IWLCA West/Midwest Region Coach of the Year, she guided Northwestern to a strong 2021 campaign that saw the Wildcats capture the Big Ten regular season and tournament titles for the first time in program history. The Wildcats finished the year with a 15-1 overall record and a berth in the national semifinals. NU posted historic offensive numbers in 2021 as the Wildcats led the country in scoring (20.12), points per game (28.75), draw controls per game (19.19), shots per game (39.81) and shots on goal per game (30.06), while NU's 9.25 scoring margin was the second-best nationally. The 20.12 goals per game is an NCAA record. Amonte Hiller mentored Izzy Scane, who was a Tewaaraton Award finalist and 2021 Big Ten Attacker of the Year, as she broke the NCAA record for goals per game (6.12) and the Northwestern single-season record for goals with 98.
In February of 2018, Amonte Hiller was announced as the head coach of United States Lacrosse Women's U19 team, where she guided the United States to a gold medal at the 2019 Federation of International Lacrosse (FIL) Women's U19 World Championship in Peterborough, Ontario. Four other Wildcats also found their way onto the team: Madison Doucette, Elle Hansen, Izzy Scane and Greta Stahl.
Widely considered one the best to also play the game, Amonte Hiller was named the recipient of the 2020 Tewaaraton Legends Award. The recognition honors athletes who played collegiate lacrosse prior to the creation of the Tewaaraton Award in 2001 but would have earned the award should the award have existed during their collegiate career. Amonte Hiller began her career playing both collegiate lacrosse and soccer at Maryland. As a Terrapin, Amonte Hiller earned All-American honors four times in lacrosse, was selected as the NCAA National Player of the Year in both 1995 and 1996 and was honored the ACC Female Athlete of the Year for all sports in 1996. During her four-year campaign, she broke the school's all-time records for career goals (187), assists (132) and points (319) and won two NCAA Championships.
Her accomplishments as a student-athlete led her to be included in several elite recognitions, including the ACC's 50th Anniversary Women's Lacrosse Team, the NCAA Division I 25th Anniversary Women's Lacrosse Team, and the Sports Illustrated list of Massachusetts' Greatest Sports Figures of the 20th century.
"Kelly Amonte Hiller is synonymous with college lacrosse," said Gragg. "She built the Wildcats program from its inception into a national power widely regarded as a standard of excellence anywhere in collegiate athletics. Her drive to continually raise the bar of success matches her passion to provide our lacrosse student-athletes with the best academic and athletic experience possible. We are extremely excited to keep her on our sidelines for years to come."
Amonte Hiller, who was hired by Northwestern in 2000, coached the program's inaugural varsity campaign in 2002, and has led the 'Cats to seven NCAA titles, will have completed 28 seasons as head coach of the Wildcats upon serving out the duration of her current contract.
"Thank you to Dr. Gragg and our leadership group for the belief they have in our staff, student-athletes and lacrosse program," said Amonte Hiller. "Northwestern has been my family's home for over 20 years, and while we are proud of what we have accomplished to this point, we are confident that there is a higher ceiling for this program in the future."
Amonte Hiller has amassed a 314-82 record as the Wildcats' head coach and is only one of eight Division I women's lacrosse coaches to surpass the 300-win mark. During her time in Evanston, she has shined in postseason play by taking the program to the NCAA tournament every season since 2004 and boasting a 46-10 (.821) record in those games, making her the all-time leader in NCAA tournament wins and winning percentage.
The Massachusetts native has produced the nation's Tewaaraton Award winner in five different seasons as well as the Honda Sports Award recipient on seven occasions. Additionally Northwestern has featured 58 IWLCA All-Americans and won a total of 11 IWLCA positional Player of the Year awards (two attacker, five midfielder and four defender).
Named the 2021 Big Ten and IWLCA West/Midwest Region Coach of the Year, she guided Northwestern to a strong 2021 campaign that saw the Wildcats capture the Big Ten regular season and tournament titles for the first time in program history. The Wildcats finished the year with a 15-1 overall record and a berth in the national semifinals. NU posted historic offensive numbers in 2021 as the Wildcats led the country in scoring (20.12), points per game (28.75), draw controls per game (19.19), shots per game (39.81) and shots on goal per game (30.06), while NU's 9.25 scoring margin was the second-best nationally. The 20.12 goals per game is an NCAA record. Amonte Hiller mentored Izzy Scane, who was a Tewaaraton Award finalist and 2021 Big Ten Attacker of the Year, as she broke the NCAA record for goals per game (6.12) and the Northwestern single-season record for goals with 98.
In February of 2018, Amonte Hiller was announced as the head coach of United States Lacrosse Women's U19 team, where she guided the United States to a gold medal at the 2019 Federation of International Lacrosse (FIL) Women's U19 World Championship in Peterborough, Ontario. Four other Wildcats also found their way onto the team: Madison Doucette, Elle Hansen, Izzy Scane and Greta Stahl.
Widely considered one the best to also play the game, Amonte Hiller was named the recipient of the 2020 Tewaaraton Legends Award. The recognition honors athletes who played collegiate lacrosse prior to the creation of the Tewaaraton Award in 2001 but would have earned the award should the award have existed during their collegiate career. Amonte Hiller began her career playing both collegiate lacrosse and soccer at Maryland. As a Terrapin, Amonte Hiller earned All-American honors four times in lacrosse, was selected as the NCAA National Player of the Year in both 1995 and 1996 and was honored the ACC Female Athlete of the Year for all sports in 1996. During her four-year campaign, she broke the school's all-time records for career goals (187), assists (132) and points (319) and won two NCAA Championships.
Her accomplishments as a student-athlete led her to be included in several elite recognitions, including the ACC's 50th Anniversary Women's Lacrosse Team, the NCAA Division I 25th Anniversary Women's Lacrosse Team, and the Sports Illustrated list of Massachusetts' Greatest Sports Figures of the 20th century.
Players Mentioned
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