Diane Richardson, Amanda Kammes Join AU Women's Basketball Staff

April 25, 2006

WASHINGTON - Former Riverdale Baptist (Upper Marlboro, Md.) head coach Diane Richardson and Eagle volunteer assistant Amanda Kammes have been promoted to Assistant Coaches with the American University women's basketball team, Head Coach Melissa McFerrin announced Tuesday.

Richardson comes to American after spending the last five years at the helm of Riverdale Baptist where she amassed a 142-20 record, also where she coached current AU point guard Pam Stanfield (College Park, Md./Riverdale Baptist). While at Riverdale Baptist, she led the Crusaders to a national top-10 ranking in two of the last three seasons.

In 2005 Richardson was named as the Black Coaches Association's National Coach of the Year after leading the Crusaders to a final USA Today ranking of third in the nation. She was named Regional High School Coach of the Year in 2006 by the WBCA. She has coached a number of Parade All-Americans, McDonald's All-Americans and three players that are now in the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame. Richardson has had over 20 players earn scholarships to Division I institutions, including current players at Duke, Wake Forest, James Madison and South Florida. She was also involved with numerous AAU teams and tournaments and ran the Lady Crusader Summer Basketball Camp.

As an athlete Richardson played basketball and was a sprinter for Frostburg State. As a member of the Bobcat basketball team she was the NCAA Regional leader in field goal percentage and on the track was a NCAA Regional Champion in the 400 meter. Richardson graduated with a degree in Psychology in 1980 and went on to complete her Master's in Management at Central Michigan University.

"Diane brings an amazing resume of business experience and coaching success to our program," McFerrin. "Her coaching abilities were on display in building Riverdale Baptist into a nationally elite high school program, finishing in the top-10 nationally in two of the past three seasons. Diane is a wonderful motivator and will be a very positive contributor on the basketball floor and in the area of recruiting. Diane's metro area network enhances our ability to bring metro area players to AU and allows us to continue to promote our program in the D.C. area."

Amanda Kammes (left) and Diane Richardson (right)

Kammes was named as a full-time assistant coach after spending the 2005-06 basketball season as the team's video coordinator and administrative assistant.

Last season Kammes was responsible for video taping all AU games, breaking down film to be used as teaching tools and exchanging tapes with other schools. In her first year with American she also managed the alumni database and the AU Flight Crew database, keeping track of new members and donations. Kammes also headed up the Guest Coach Program, which takes faculty and staff members of the American University community and invites them to sit on the bench and participate in the team's pre-and post-game activities.

Kammes was a two-year starter for the University of Pennsylvania from 2001-05, where she was a member of the 2004 team that won the Ivy League Championship. Kammes served as captain in her senior season. The Chicago, Ill., native graduated with a bachelor's degree in sociology and is currently pursuing a master's degree.

"Amanda is a bright young coach that has the skills and desire to be very successful in this profession," said McFerrin. "She is an Ivy League graduate and experienced a conference championship and an NCAA tournament appearance at Penn. She will be a great resource for our athletes as she understands the juggling of academic and athletic obligations. I am most impressed with Amanda's passion to achieve in the world of coaching. She is a tireless worker, has a genuine interest in being a mentor for the student-athlete and has a broad knowledge of the game."

American finished the 2005-06 season with a 7-21 record but loses just two seniors to graduation. In addition to three newcomers, the Eagles return 11 players from last year's squad, including the five that started the last portion of the season.