Campbell University

Wanda Watkins Photo Gallery
Campbell Magazine Spring 2024: The Matriarch
Tales from the Creek Podcast | Wanda Watkins (April 2024) part 1
Tales from the Creek Podcast | Wanda Watkins (April 2024) part 2

For 35 years (1981-2016), Wanda Watkins '79 served as head coach of the Campbell women's basketball team before retiring from coaching in the spring of 2016.  While in charge of the Camels on the court, Watkins led her teams to 549 victories, 10 appearances in Division I conference championship games and the program's first-ever trip to the NCAA tournament.  Among Watkins' countless honors and achievements is the fact that more than 95 percent of her student-athletes completed their Campbell undergraduate degrees. 

The 1979 Campbell graduate led her teams to the 1989 Big South and 2000 Atlantic Sun Conference tournament titles. In addition, Campbell was the 1988 (co-champion) and 1991 Big South regular season champion, as well as the 2001 A-Sun regular season champion.  Her 2000 team defeated Georgia State in the championship game, advanced to the NCAA Tournament for the first time in school history, and finished with a 22-9 record.  

In addition to her coaching achievements, Watkins holds a special place in Campbell athletics history. She was the school's first female athletic scholarship recipient after graduating in 1975 from nearby South Johnston High School, where she was a member of the 1974 North Carolina state championship team.  She served as team captain of the Campbell basketball team as a senior and captained the softball team for three years. Despite suffering an injury in her final season, Watkins was named MVP of the 1978-79 team and selected as Campbell's Outstanding Female Athlete. 

Watkins was inducted into the Big South Conference Hall of Fame in 2019.

The playing floor at Gore Arena inside the John W. Pope. Jr. Convocation Center was dedicated as Wanda Watkins Court on Nov. 18, 2023.

She served as Senior Associate Athletics Director / Coaches Liaison and Senior Woman Administrator at her alma mater from 2016 until her retirement in May 2024.