Margaret Richards was named the seventh head coach of the women’s basketball program for the 2024-25 season.
In her first season at Jackson State, Richards led the Tigers to the top of the conference with a 16-15 overall record, 13-5 in SWAC play and a fourth-place finish following the regular season. Under her leadership, Taleah Dilworth was named SWAC Player of the Year, Newcomer of the Year, and All-SWAC First Team. Dilworth was named to BOXTOROW's HBCU All-America First-Team. Richards also coached Zoe Cooper, who was named to the 2025 HBCU All-Star team. Team JSU completed its season in the SWAC semifinals matchup.
A19-year collegiate coaching veteran, she comes to Jackson State from Mercer where she joined the staff after an eight-year run as head coach at Alabama A&M where she paced the Bulldogs to nearly 100 wins and six appearances in the Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) Tournament, including a run to the semifinals of the 2019-20 event. Alabama A&M also reeled in 13 league victories during the 2021-22 campaign on the way to a runner-up finish in the final SWAC regular season standings.
During her time in Huntsville, Ala., the AAMU women's basketball program reeled in six all-conference honors, including a pair of first-team selections. Alabama A&M turned in a trio of winning seasons with her at the helm and put together an eight-game turnaround that bridged her first and second seasons.
Richards dove into the coaching world as an assistant at Kentucky State where she played a key role in helping the Thorobreds have an 18-game turnaround across two seasons. In two years she played a pair in helping lead Kentucky State to a 19-9 clip and a fourth-place finish in the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SIAC) to highlight the 2006-07 campaign.
A graduate assistant coach during Louisville's run to a 26-10 record and an appearance in the NCAA Sweet Sixteen, Richards was named head coach at Saint Augustine's in time for the 2008-09 campaign and led the Falcons to a 33-24 clip across two seasons, highlighted by an 18-10 record and a Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association Western Division championship in 2009-10. During her time at SAU, the team had two All-CIAA and CIAA All-Rookie Team honors, while Richards was named CIAA Coach of the Week six times.
Richards took on roles as an assistant coach at both North Texas (2010-11) and Weber State (2011-12) before joining Western Kentucky prior to the 2012-13 campaign. During her time at WKU, Lady Toppers compiled a 76-25 (.752) clip and made three postseason appearances, including berths in both the 2013-14 and 2014-15 NCAA Tournament. WKU carried the nation's 11th-best field goal percentage on the way to a 30-5 record in Richards’s final season on staff.
Following WKU, Richards was hired on as assistant coach at Clemson in time for the 2015-16 season before being named as Alabama A&M's fifth head coach on June 2, 2016.
Richards played in 117 games (69 starts) at Nebraska from 1999-2004 and was voted as NU's best defensive player as a senior after averaging 9.7 points, 6.5 rebounds, and 2.8 assists per game. She highlighted her playing career with five double-doubles, a Big 12 Player of the Week honor, and a trio of all-tournament team selections.
A native of Louisville, Ky., Richards earned her bachelor’s degree in communication studies from Nebraska in 2003.
