Photo by: Columbia University Athletics / Josh Wang
10/29/2026 10:59:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Columbia’s all-time winningest coach named to Kathy Delaney-Smith award list for a fourth consecutive season
HOPEWELL, N.J. – Lavine Family Head Coach of Women's Basketball Megan Griffith '07CC has been named to the preseason watch list for the 2027 Kathy Delaney-Smith Mid-Major Coach of the Year Award presented by Her Hoop Stats. The award recognizes the best mid-major coach in Women's Division I college basketball.
Griffith has been named to the preseason watch list for the Kathy Delaney-Smith Award in all four years of the award's existence. She was one of five finalists for the 2025 award.
Griffith's Lions are coming off a 2025-26 campaign in which they accomplished something no Ivy League men's or women's basketball team had done in more than 50 years. Despite missing out on the NCAA Tournament, Columbia earned a No. 4 seed in the Women's Basketball Invitation Tournament (WBIT), which replaced the WNIT as one of the NCAA's major postseason tournaments in 2024. The Lions steamrolled St. John's at home before going on the road and defeating top-seeded North Dakota State in Fargo. Later that week, they flew out to Berkeley, California and outlasted the Cal Golden Bears, 74-68, earning a trip to the WBIT Final Four in Wichita, Kansas. Once there, Columbia finished the job, handily defeating third-seeded Wisconsin in the semifinal and leading by as many as 27 in the championship game over BYU, going on to defeat the Cougars, 81-64. Over the five games of the WBIT, Columbia trailed for all of 3 minutes and 9 seconds, and became the first Ivy League men's or women's basketball team to win a major national postseason tournament since the Princeton men's team won the NIT in 1975.
Over the last five seasons, the Lions are a combined 125-35 (.781) with a 61-9 (.871) record in Ivy League play. Including the WBIT Championship, Griffith's Lions are an impressive 17-9 (.654) in postseason play during her tenure. She has also coached Columbia to 21 wins over power-conference opponents, including the program's first-ever wins over teams from the ACC, BIG EAST, Big Ten and Big 12.
Since returning to her alma mater in 2016, Griffith has transformed Columbia into a perennial Ivy League powerhouse and national contender. After having just one winning season over its first 34 years as a Division I program, Columbia has now won three Ivy League Championships and been to five consecutive postseason tournaments under Griffith, including the WNIT Championship game in 2023, at-large NCAA Tournament berths in both 2024 and 2025 and the 2026 WBIT.
The Lions begin the 2026-27 season at home on Monday, November 2, against Davidson. Tip-off from Schiller Court at Levien Gymnasium on women's college basketball's opening day is slated for 11 a.m.
Award Eligibility & Schedule
To be eligible for the award, coaches must compete in a conference deemed to be "mid-major." The following conferences are considered high-major for the purposes of this award and thus ineligible: ACC, Big 12, Big East, Big Ten, and SEC. Coaches in the re-formed Pac-12 are eligible. Interim head coaches are eligible, though total games coached are taken into
consideration.
The 10-person midseason watch list will be announced in January. The five finalists for the award will be announced in March, with the winner being named around the Final Four. Coaches will be assessed across the entire season, including postseason play. Beyond on-court success, other factors such as recruiting, preseason expectations, injuries, and tactical coaching will also be weighed when assessing each candidate. Inclusion on
2027 Kathy Delaney-Smith Mid-Major Coach of the Year Award Watch List*
· Brady Sallee, Ball St.
· Ryun Williams, Colorado St.
· Megan Griffith, Columbia
· Carly Thibault-DuDonis, Fairfield
· Neil Harrow, Fordham
· Vanessa Blair-Lewis, George Mason
· Lisa Fortier, Gonzaga
· Carrie Moore, Harvard
· Sean O'Regan, James Madison
· Brooke Stoehr, Louisiana Tech
· Tricia Binford, Montana St.
· Rechelle Turner, Murray St.
· Amy Eagan, New Mexico
· Jory Collins, North Dakota St.
· Lindsay Edmonds, Rice
· Alisa Kresge, Richmond
· Stacie Terry-Hutson, San Diego St.
· Loree Payne, Santa Clara
· Aaron Johnston, South Dakota St.
· Kristy Curry, South Fla.
*Coaches can make their way onto and off the list at any point in the 2026-27 season
FOLLOW THE LIONS:
For the latest on Columbia women's basketball, follow @CULionsWBB on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, and the web at GoColumbiaLions.com.
Griffith has been named to the preseason watch list for the Kathy Delaney-Smith Award in all four years of the award's existence. She was one of five finalists for the 2025 award.
Griffith's Lions are coming off a 2025-26 campaign in which they accomplished something no Ivy League men's or women's basketball team had done in more than 50 years. Despite missing out on the NCAA Tournament, Columbia earned a No. 4 seed in the Women's Basketball Invitation Tournament (WBIT), which replaced the WNIT as one of the NCAA's major postseason tournaments in 2024. The Lions steamrolled St. John's at home before going on the road and defeating top-seeded North Dakota State in Fargo. Later that week, they flew out to Berkeley, California and outlasted the Cal Golden Bears, 74-68, earning a trip to the WBIT Final Four in Wichita, Kansas. Once there, Columbia finished the job, handily defeating third-seeded Wisconsin in the semifinal and leading by as many as 27 in the championship game over BYU, going on to defeat the Cougars, 81-64. Over the five games of the WBIT, Columbia trailed for all of 3 minutes and 9 seconds, and became the first Ivy League men's or women's basketball team to win a major national postseason tournament since the Princeton men's team won the NIT in 1975.
Over the last five seasons, the Lions are a combined 125-35 (.781) with a 61-9 (.871) record in Ivy League play. Including the WBIT Championship, Griffith's Lions are an impressive 17-9 (.654) in postseason play during her tenure. She has also coached Columbia to 21 wins over power-conference opponents, including the program's first-ever wins over teams from the ACC, BIG EAST, Big Ten and Big 12.
Since returning to her alma mater in 2016, Griffith has transformed Columbia into a perennial Ivy League powerhouse and national contender. After having just one winning season over its first 34 years as a Division I program, Columbia has now won three Ivy League Championships and been to five consecutive postseason tournaments under Griffith, including the WNIT Championship game in 2023, at-large NCAA Tournament berths in both 2024 and 2025 and the 2026 WBIT.
The Lions begin the 2026-27 season at home on Monday, November 2, against Davidson. Tip-off from Schiller Court at Levien Gymnasium on women's college basketball's opening day is slated for 11 a.m.
Award Eligibility & Schedule
To be eligible for the award, coaches must compete in a conference deemed to be "mid-major." The following conferences are considered high-major for the purposes of this award and thus ineligible: ACC, Big 12, Big East, Big Ten, and SEC. Coaches in the re-formed Pac-12 are eligible. Interim head coaches are eligible, though total games coached are taken into
consideration.
The 10-person midseason watch list will be announced in January. The five finalists for the award will be announced in March, with the winner being named around the Final Four. Coaches will be assessed across the entire season, including postseason play. Beyond on-court success, other factors such as recruiting, preseason expectations, injuries, and tactical coaching will also be weighed when assessing each candidate. Inclusion on
2027 Kathy Delaney-Smith Mid-Major Coach of the Year Award Watch List*
· Brady Sallee, Ball St.
· Ryun Williams, Colorado St.
· Megan Griffith, Columbia
· Carly Thibault-DuDonis, Fairfield
· Neil Harrow, Fordham
· Vanessa Blair-Lewis, George Mason
· Lisa Fortier, Gonzaga
· Carrie Moore, Harvard
· Sean O'Regan, James Madison
· Brooke Stoehr, Louisiana Tech
· Tricia Binford, Montana St.
· Rechelle Turner, Murray St.
· Amy Eagan, New Mexico
· Jory Collins, North Dakota St.
· Lindsay Edmonds, Rice
· Alisa Kresge, Richmond
· Stacie Terry-Hutson, San Diego St.
· Loree Payne, Santa Clara
· Aaron Johnston, South Dakota St.
· Kristy Curry, South Fla.
*Coaches can make their way onto and off the list at any point in the 2026-27 season
FOLLOW THE LIONS:
For the latest on Columbia women's basketball, follow @CULionsWBB on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, and the web at GoColumbiaLions.com.
Monday, November 02
Monday, November 02
Monday, November 02
Tuesday, September 08
