The University of Alaska Fairbanks has fired women’s basketball head coach Amy Donovan. The move was announced via press release Wednesday night.
Donovan spent three seasons as head coach at UAF, finishing with an overall record of 14-64. Previously, she was an assistant coach at the NCAA Division I level for Big Sky Conference teams Weber State and Northern Arizona. She also served as the head coach at Shoreline Community College for one season. Donovan played Division I basketball for the University of Pennsylvania in the Ivy League.
According to UAF Athletics, “a national search for the next head coach for the 2025-26 season will begin immediately.”
In the release, UAF’s Director of Athletics, Brock Anundson, thanked Donovan for her dedication, commitment and leadership, referenced “special moments and memorable victories” and wished her success in future endeavors.
“However, our vision for Nanooks Women’s Basketball extends beyond where we are today,” Anundson said in the release. “We have high aspirations within the GNAC and on the national stage, with the expectation of consistently competing in the conference tournament. After thoroughly evaluating our program, I believe a change is necessary to achieve our goals. Now is the time to begin that process, and we remain committed to providing our student-athletes with the staff and resources they need as we enter this next chapter.
“We continue to invest in our women’s basketball program — strengthening our staff and enhancing NIL opportunities in partnership with our supporters. These investments will only grow as we move forward. I am confident that our upcoming national search will bring us the right coach to elevate our program further.”
The Nanooks lost the final nine games of Donovan’s tenure and 19 of their last 20 after starting 5-1 this past season. UAF’s 6-20 record during the 2024-25 season was its best under Donovan.
The Nanooks finished 4-23 overall in 2023-24 but fared better in Great Northwest Athletic Conference (GNAC) play (going 3-15 compared to 1-17 in 2024-25). UAF was 4-21 overall and 1-17 in the GNAC in 2022-23, Donovan’s debut season.
Perhaps the most stark statistic is the fact that UAF won just one game at the Patty Center in 11 tries in the 2024-25 season, while going 4-10 on the road and 1-0 at neutral sites.
However, UAF wasn’t significantly better in the years immediately before Donovan’s arrival. Prior to this year, the Nanooks had not won more than four games in a season since 2016-17.
Without a true post presence, UAF shifted to more of a 3-point heavy style in the 2024-25 season, attempting almost 10 more 3-pointers per game than in 2023-24 (up from 17.5 to 26.7) and making more of them (up from 27% to 31%) to lead the GNAC in 3-pointers made per game (8.2).
However, the Nanooks were worst in the GNAC in points allowed (77 per game), point differential (-10.8 per game) and a distant last in rebounding margin (-8.1 per game).
The Nanooks were already going to be without several key players next season due to graduation, so for better or worse, UAF’s 2025-26 roster will likely require like a full-scale restart assuming some of the other players that Donovan recruited transfer out.
Destiny Reimers, UAF’s only 2024-25 all-conference honorable mention honoree, led the team in scoring at 14 points per game this past season and is graduating after starting 85 games between four years in Fairbanks. Another lead guard, Taylor Pilot, was second in minutes per game and is graduating after one year in Fairbanks in which she led the ‘Nooks in steals and assists.
Kayla Johnson left the team midseason after serving as a program fixture under Donovan. She led the team in games started in 2022-23, led the team in steals while starting 25 games in 2023-24 and still averaged over 10 points through 13 games in 2024-25 despite seeing her minutes dwindle.
Jayda Van Dyke will also be gone after playing 77 games as a Nanook, including starting 16 this past season. Two frontcourt reserves, Bobbi Clark and Tristian Martin, and guard Taylor Tiulana, were all seniors this past season. Those names made up seven of UAF’s 10 leaders in average minutes played per game.
The Nanooks lost three of their five starters from the 2023-24 season and, even before accounting for a new head coach, may be in store for even more turnover after 2024-25.
