Arnika Edwards has spent over 25 years involved in sports as a two-sport student-athlete at Alabama A&M University, a prominent 15-year high school head basketball coach, a school district Director of Athletics, a collegiate Director of Administrative Support Services at Auburn University and the Director of Operations at the University of Dayton.
During her 14-year span as head basketball coach, her teams reached the regional tournament nine times and the Final Four on four occasions. Edwards compiled a 266-89 record en route to being named Coach of the Year six times by various organizations.
Throughout her coaching career, Edwards coached 53 athletic scholarship players, specifically DeWanna Bonner, three-time WNBA Sixth Woman of the Year, and four-time All-Star currently with the Connecticut Sun.
As the Fairfield School District Athletic Director, she coordinated “The Complete Female Athlete” symposium, spoke at various conferences and was the facilitator for the NCAA Guidelines and Compliance Seminar for college bound athletes. In addition to her role as girl’ basketball head coach and Director of Athletics, she also taught math and physics at Fairfield.
In both Director of Operations positions at Auburn and Dayton, Edwards managed all off the court aspects of the women’s basketball program not limited to coordinating all community outreach, sustainability programming, and serving as the team liaison to academics, equipment, facilities, housing, the business office, event management, marketing, athletics communications, and student-athlete development for the program.
Edwards was jointly responsible for the development, oversight, and management of FLYERS UNITED. A student-athlete run educational program that focuses on Diversity & Inclusion programming workshops and seminars for all student-athletes. She served as program administrator to Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC), Student-Athlete Academic Support Services (SAASS), A-10 Conference, Career Services, Diversity & Inclusion, and the Women’s Center.
Understanding the value of student-athlete development, Edwards worked with the career services department assisting with career guidance and intern/career opportunities for student-athletes and student managers and assisted the Assistant Athletic Director to ensure compliance with gender equity and the Title XI guidelines and monitored the areas of student-athlete welfare.
Edwards graduated Cum Laude from Alabama A&M University in 1991 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Mathematics and a minor in Physics. She earned her Master of Arts Degree in Mathematics Education from the University of Montevallo in 1996 and an MBA from the University of Dayton in 2020.
