Meet The New Face Of Women’s Basketball At Alabama

On Thursday morning, the University of Alabama inducted Pauline Love as its 10th women's basketball coach. Love takes the reins after Kristy Curry's departure to the University of South Florida, ending her 13-year tenure as head coach.

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Athletic Director Greg Byrne expressed his confidence in Love, stating that she was the best choice among a strong pool of candidates. "Very confident! I was very pleased with the level of interest in the job, and we had a lot of good options. Knowing Pauline already certainly helped," Byrne said. "I've hired many coaches in my career. While I've had friendships with some, I didn't hire them because they weren't the right fit. You have to hire the person you believe is best for the long-term health of the program, and as we talked with Pauline, we became confident that she was that person."

Love brings a wealth of experience to the position, having served as an assistant coach for 13 years, with the added responsibility of recruiting coordinator beginning in 2017.

She recently contributed to Oklahoma's success, helping them reach the NCAA Sweet 16 and achieve a 26-win season in 2025-26. During that season, the Sooners averaged a program-best 85.9 points per game, ranking among the top five nationally. Love's coaching career includes stops at Oklahoma, Alabama, Arkansas, Southern Miss (2013-17), her alma mater, and McNeese (2012-13).

As a Golden Eagles standout from 2007-2010, Love distinguished herself by earning three first-team All-Conference USA honors. Her exceptional performance placed her among the program's all-time leaders in scoring, rebounding, field goals made, and minutes played. Before her time at Southern Miss, she started her collegiate journey at Jones College.

Following her college career, Love played professionally for a year with the Connecticut Sun and gained international experience playing in France before transitioning to coaching. Her contributions to athletics have been recognized with inductions into the Southern Miss M-Club Hall of Fame, the Jones College Hall of Fame, and the Mississippi Community College Sports Hall of Fame.

Now, Love's journey culminates in her first head coaching position at Alabama. Drawing from years of experience assisting and recruiting behind the scenes, she feels well-prepared for the challenge. "I give all the credit to the people I've worked for, especially Kristy Curry. She challenged me and laid the foundation for me, asking, 'Is this what you want to do?' and putting me in very difficult situations. Mike and Jenny did the same by presenting tough situations and asking, 'Do you want to be a head coach? Are you sure? Is this what you want to do?' They all prepared me for this role."

The Love Era is now beginning in Tuscaloosa, and she plans to immediately focus on retaining the current roster, recruiting new talent, and building upon the foundation established during Curry's tenure.

Regarding her immediate priorities, Love stated, "My first priority is to retain this roster and get players to buy into my vision for Alabama. Secondly, I'm taking my time to hire the right staff, as that's equally important. I'm looking to bring in people I trust and who believe in what I'm building here. That's the order I'm approaching things in."