Craig Wiginton
Craig Wiginton

Player Profile
Position:
Assistant Coach
Experience:
Second Season
Alma Mater:
Oklahoma '78




Wiginton Highlights

  • Led Southern Nazarene to record sixth NAIA National Championship in 2003
  • Three-time NAIA National Coach of the Year
  • Took SNU to the NAIA semifinal round each of his seven seasons
  • Coached during the longest home-court winning streak at any level in women's basketball - a record 122 games


    • Craig Wiginton, one of the best college coaches in the country over the last decade, returns for his second season as an assistant coach on Cindy Stein's staff. Wiginton led Southern Nazarene University to a record sixth NAIA National Women's Basketball Championship in 2003 prior to joining the Tigers.

    Wiginton works with the post players on the court, and his administrative duties with the Tigers include scouting, recruiting, player development, film breakdown and directing the Tigers' summer basketball camps.

    During his seven seasons at SNU, Wiginton compiled a record of 213-44 (.828) and left as the winningest head coach in Southern Nazarene history. Wiginton took SNU to the Final Four in each of his seven years and earned NAIA National Coach-of-the-Year honors following the program's titles in 1997 and 2003. He also led the Crimson Storm to national runner-up finishes in 1998 and 2002, and was named National NAIA Coach of the Year by the Women's Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) in 2002. In addition, he coached at SNU during the longest home-court winning streak at any level in women's basketball - an astounding 122-game winning streak. Among his protégés is Astou Ndiaye-Diatta of the WNBA's Indiana Fever.

    Wiginton, who played at Oklahoma and lettered for the Sooners in 1976 and 1977, began his coaching career at OU in 1977 as a graduate assistant. He then moved on to hold head boy's basketball coaching positions at Choctaw and Yukon (Okla.) High Schools. Wiginton came to SNU in 1994 and served as a men's basketball assistant for two seasons before taking over the head women's basketball coaching position in 1996. He also has experience with USA Basketball as a court coach, helping select the USA Women's National Team in 2001.

    The Oklahoma native earned a bachelor of arts degree in history from OU in 1978.

    Mizzou Wins "Pack the House" Challenge

    05/07/2009 - W. Basketball

    The University of Missouri was one of 32 winners in the NCAA Division I "Pack the House" Challenge, a second-year national effort in which conferences and institutions compete to build attendance. Missouri was rewarded for its effort in drawing 3,546 fans to the Feb. 7 contest against Kansas, which the Tigers won 74-60.

    Tigers Help Clean Up Sports Park

    05/01/2009 - W. Basketball

    In an effort to keep the Mizzou Sports Park clean and beautiful, the Missouri women's basketball team took part in the third annual Mizzou Sports Park Staff and Student-Athlete Clean Up Day on May 1. All administrative offices and sports programs spent a part of their Friday picking up trash around the entire Mizzou Sports Park.

    Women's Basketball Earns APR Award

    04/23/2009 - W. Basketball

    Two University of Missouri athletic programs have been recognized by the NCAA with a public recognition award for their respective multi-year Academic Progress Rate (APR) scores, announced on Wednesday. The women's basketball and women's golf teams both received the honor for the second consecutive year as the programs posted an APR in the top 10 percent in their sports.

    Mizzou Signs Crafton to NLI

    04/17/2009 - W. Basketball

    Jefferson City's Sydney Crafton has signed a National Letter of Intent to play for the Missouri women's basketball team this fall, Head Coach Cindy Stein announced on Friday. Crafton joins Trenee Thornton of Kansas City as a member of this year's signing class.

    Mizzou Basketball Awards Banquet

    04/16/2009 - W. Basketball

    The Mizzou Women's Basketball team hosted their annual banquet Tuesday night at the Holiday Inn Select in Columbia. The evening entailed memories of the season filled with laughs, hugs, and tears of joy. The ball room at the Holiday Inn was filled to capacity with fans that wanted to get a final peak of the 2008-2009 women's basketball team.