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Nikki Caldwell is head coach for women's basketball at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA).
Early life
Caldwell is a native of Oak Ridge, Tennessee, where she was raised by her mother<ref>http://www.uclabruins.com/sports/w-baskbl/mtt/caldwell_nikki00.html</ref> and attended public schools. She graduated from Oak Ridge High School in 1990. She was a member of the school basketball team, coached by Jill Prudden, that won the Tennessee state championship in 1988. As of 2009, she still held the high school's single-season records for total points scored and for successful free throws.<ref>http://www.oakridger.com/archive/x342402592/Caldwell-Responsibility-key-to-successful-life</ref>
College and career
She attended the University of Tennessee from 1991 to 1994, playing as a guard under coach Pat Summitt on the university's Lady Vols basketball team, which compiled a 118-13 won-loss record during her playing years. Caldwell was known for her strong defensive play and her three-point shooting. Her defensive play in the 1991 NCAA tournament final game, in which the Lady Vols defeated the University of Virginia in overtime, was considered a key factor in her team's victory. She was named to Southeastern Conference (SEC) All-Freshman team that same year, and in both her junior and years seasons she received the university's Gloria Ray Leadership Award. Although she missed portions of two seasons due to injuries, her four-year statistics as a three-point shooter, with 128 three-point field goals made out of 364 attempts, place her in the all-time top 10 at Tennessee.<ref>http://www.uclabruins.com/sports/w-baskbl/mtt/caldwell_nikki00.html</ref><ref>http://www.utladyvols.com/sports/w-baskbl/mtt/caldwell_nikki00.html</ref>
Broadcasting
After receiving a bachelor's degree in public relations from the University of Tennessee in 1994, she became a color analyst for FOX Sports Net South broadcasts of Lady Vol basketball games. In 1995 she added the position of color analyst for FOX broadcasts of the SEC Game of the Week, which she continued until 1997, when she became hostess for sports segments on the Shop at Home Network. <ref>http://www.utladyvols.com/sports/w-baskbl/mtt/caldwell_nikki00.html</ref>
Coaching
Caldwell returned to basketball in 1998 as a member of Pat Summitt's coaching staff, serving as graduate assistant for administration, in which position she served the coaching staff in all aspects of basketball operations during the 1998-1999 season.<ref>http://www.utladyvols.com/sports/w-baskbl/mtt/caldwell_nikki00.html</ref> The following season she joined the University Virginia as an assistant coach, assuming responsibilities for recruiting, scouting, film exchange, player development, monitoring academic progress and camps.<ref>http://www.utladyvols.com/sports/w-baskbl/mtt/caldwell_nikki00.html</ref> In 2002 she left Virginia to return to the University of Tennessee as an assistant coach for the 2002-03 season and recruiting director beginning in the spring of 2003. <ref>http://www.utladyvols.com/sports/w-baskbl/mtt/caldwell_nikki00.html</ref>
She was appointed head coach for UCLA on April 17, 2008, with a five-year contract valued at nearly $1.5 million.<ref>http://www.insidesocal.com/ucla/2008/04/nikki-caldwell-story.html</ref> In her first season as coach, the UCLA team compiled a regular season record of 18 wins and 11 losses.<ref>http://www.today.ucla.edu/portal/ut/a-team-of-her-own-85059.aspx</ref>
Public service activities
In the company of Holly Warlick, an assistant coach for University of Tennessee women's basketball, Caldwell has conducted a series of three long-distance motorcycle road trips, called "Cruisin' for a Cause", to promote awareness of breast cancer and to raise money for research on this disease. In their first trip, in 2007, they rode their Harley-Davidson motorcycles from Berkeley, California to Knoxville, Tennessee.<ref>http://www.govolsxtra.com/news/2007/jul/27/california-knoxville-warlick-caldwell-lady-vols-as/</ref> As of 2008, the two women's non-profit organization, Champions for a Cause, had raised nearly $100,000.<ref>http://www.uclabruins.com/sports/w-baskbl/mtt/caldwell_nikki00.html</ref>
Awards
In May 2009 she received the Woman of Excellence Award from the LadyLike Foundation for her excellence as a coach and for fund-raising activities for breast cancer awareness.<ref>http://www.uclabruins.com/sports/w-baskbl/spec-rel/051909aab.html</ref>
Family
An uncle, Mike Caldwell, played for the Carolina Panthers in the National Football League.<ref>http://www.utladyvols.com/sports/w-baskbl/mtt/caldwell_nikki00.html</ref>