Tulane Women's Hoops Lands New Orleans-Based Ops Director

The Tulane Green Wave women’s basketball team has picked up a lot of new staff members as head coach Ashley Langford heads into her third season atop the Green Wave. She has officially rounded out the staff with a hire that keeps New Orleans talent in the local basketball scene, naming Tamia Willingham-King as director of basketball operations.

Willingham-King held the same role for the last two seasons at the University of New Orleans. Langford explained how she quickly became the top candidate through an amalgamation of her attention to detail, organizational skillset, and ties in the local New Orleans community, all key traits for the director of ops.

While at UNO, Willingham-King was responsible for coordinating team travel, recruiting prospect visits, and the professional development of players. She also has rare experience at the NFL level to bring to Tulane women’s hoops. Willingham-King was a Player Engagement and Operations Intern with the New York Jets, and a Minority Fellow with the Carolina Panthers, where she worked with equipment, team ops, marketing, and stadium services. She was a 2023 NFL Women’s Forum invitee.

In 2022, she was selected for the inaugural USA Basketball Women in the Game scholarship cohort. She has a unique background that she brings to college athletics with her professional sports operating level that is not common to find for a director.

Then there’s her playing and coaching career, starting off as a player for Snead State Community College from 2017 to 2019, Tuskegee University from 2019 to 2021, and Auburn University of Montgomery in 2022. Following her playing career, she was a graduate assistant for the Warhawks in 2022 to 2023, bringing a solid foundation with some coaching background.

Willingham-King earned her associate of science from Snead State, a Bachelor of Science in Health Science with a minor in Social Work from Tuskegee University, and a Master of Education from AUM, showing off a decorated academic profile that aligns with the role of player development and off-court support such as professional.

Her time at an HBCU should also prove important to connecting with the athletes and she currently serves on the alumni board of the Black Sports Business Academy, which helps support HBCU students pursuing sports industry careers.

In addition, her local ties will prove crucial to connecting in the community as the native of Decatur, Al., has spent time establishing New Orleans ties through her two years at UNO.

It signals that Langford is committing to her players on and off the court ahead of Year 3, and with Willingham-King's local ties and operational experience, her hiring positions the program to make a quick impact on logistics and hosting prospects.