Meet Rhode Island’s Most Successful Basketball Coach

Meet Rhode Island’s Most Successful Basketball Coach

Make no mistake about it, Tammi Reiss is a coaching, teaching, and winning machine.

The University of Rhode Island’s women’s basketball coach is the Atlantic-10 coach of the year. The Rams won the regular-season conference championship and are now playing in the conference playoffs for a bid to the NCAA tournament. Reiss says she has a bigger mission.

Her Rams' record this year is 26-4 overall and 16-2 in the conference. On Saturday, Rhode Island plays in the semi-final of the conference championship. In the interview, she could not heap enough praise on her players and how much she enjoys coaching this team.

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Blue Collar Work Ethic

“It starts with your culture of what your expectations are of yourself, your staff, and your team, and how you go about your business every day. We have certain characteristics we recruit to our program. We have certain characteristics that we hold you accountable to every day, and it's not easy attaining those on a daily basis, but that's what we do,” said Reiss, who is frenetic in speech and action.

“I was brought up with a blue-collar work ethic of you earn everything you get, you better show up every day and give 110%, or there's gonna be a problem. And I still believe in that,” said Reiss.

 

Different Generation

Reiss understands that the old coaching method of command and control is not applicable today.

“Now, how you deliver that message is way different for this generation, obviously, but our standards are extremely high. And the second thing is, we're a family atmosphere here. This team, there's a reason why we're so good. We went out, we recruited characters, personality, connectors, a team that loves each other, that plays for each other, that has fun together, like it is an absolute blast,” she said.

 

More Than the X and Os

Reiss does not want to be defined as just a basketball coach.

She has done much more and things big.

Reiss said, “I’ve owned my own businesses a lot harder than coaching. A nightclub in Salt Lake City. An ethnic nightclub, no less than Salt Lake City. I've been in the boardrooms with, I think, one of the best draft GM organizations, the Utah Jazz, when I was an assistant in the WNBA. So, I've watched what goes behind when you're building your draft boards, who you're drafting, who you're trading for, and the amount of due diligence that went into what was important for their culture.”

 

Winning in a New Era - Leading an Organization

She talked about the challenges and the realities of the portal era. This year, she had NIL money to spend.

"And my AD did an awesome job this year and got me a little bit of money. We were able to do what we do. But again, from my business experience, my management of money. I'm not a basketball coach at this point. I'm a GM. I'm putting together the pieces. And I run my own, my money. I am running my own money. I know where it's going. I fundraise for it. I know how to put it together. And so, from a coaching standpoint, the last thing I do the most is Xs and Os,” added Reiss.

“The biggest thing I do is assemble the talent and the culture and try to put the right pieces together, which is the most important component, not just my team, but my coaching staff. And so, the least thing, I don't get to play or develop as much as I want. I don't get to do the Xs and Os now, all the time as much as I want. And then you'd better know how to lead an organization the way you want it led, not the way someone else wants it led. It is the most important thing. And I've realized that this year,” added Reiss.