Colorado State University Athletics
CSU Women's Basketball Adds Johnston, Cunningham to Staff
9/8/2016 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
FORT COLLINS, Colo. - The Colorado State women's basketball team, coming off three-straight Mountain West Conference regular season titles and an NCAA Tournament appearance, has added Marcie Johnston and Amber Cunningham to the staff, head coach Ryun Williams announced on Thursday.
Johnston begins her role as director of operations after previous experience with the program as a sport coordinator, while Cunningham will serve as the program's video coordinator.
"These are two great additions to our basketball staff," Williams said. "Amber played for both Coach Chad Lavin and me at the University of South Dakota, so she's very familiar with our style and philosophy. She's a great basketball mind with a very nice skillset in the video area. Marcie worked with our staff prior to moving over to football, and has a great skillset that will help continue to move our program in the right direction. They're both outstanding with our team. It will be fun to work with them."
Read below for details on each of the new members of the Colorado State women's basketball staff. The Rams, in the midst of one of the most successful stretches in program history, will head to the 2016-17 season looking for a second-straight berth to NCAA Tournament and fourth-consecutive regular season conference title. The Rams return nine letterwinners from last year's team, including Mountain West Player of the Year Ellen Nystrom.
Marcie Johnston (Colorado State '87)
Johnston is a familiar face around the Colorado State Department of Athletics, as she has served in various roles at CSU for 19 years. She joined CSU in December 1997, and in addition to a prior stint working with CSU women's basketball, has worked with four CSU head football coaches (Sonny Lubick, Steve Fairchild, Jim McElwain and Mike Bobo).
Most recently, Johnston served as assistant to head football coach Mike Bobo, a position that she held since March 2015. In that role, Johnston prioritized time and scheduling for Bobo and the staff, which included arrangements for travel, events and meetings, among various other responsibilities.
Prior to her most recent position with CSU football, Johnston served as a sport coordinator from July 2012 through March 2015, providing support for the Rams' women's basketball, women's soccer, track and field, cross country and women's tennis programs. In that role, she coordinated various services for each coaching staff, while arranging events and travel for the six staffs and for prospective student-athletes.
Johnston began working at CSU in 1997 as an administrative assistant for the football program. Among various duties, she maintained CSU and NCAA documentation and assisted the recruiting coordinator with planning for travel and visits. Johnston led the design of all internal forms for statistics, game plans, schedules and other football-related documents.
A native of Boulder, Colo., Johnston graduated from Boulder High School, attended Colorado State University and received her bachelor's degree in 1987. Johnston's great-grandfather, parents, husband, brother, sister and sister-in-law, along with several nieces and nephews, are all graduates (or current students) of Colorado State University. Johnston and her husband Kevin have two children, Kaylee (12) and Brendan (10).
Amber Cunningham (South Dakota '12)
Amber Cunningham begins her first season with the Colorado State women's basketball team, serving as the Rams' video coordinator.
Cunningham was a two-sport athlete in her collegiate career at South Dakota, competing in basketball and track. In her collegiate basketball career, Cunningham played for current CSU head coach Ryun Williams and current CSU director of women's basketball administration Chad Lavin. She was a member of USD's 2008 squad that finished as the Division II national runner-up, and was a key member of the Coyotes as the team experienced success in the transition to Division I basketball.
Cunningham was recently named to USD's "Mount Rushmore of DakotaDome Basketball", and is the program's all-time No. 3 scorer (1,759 points). Cunningham ranks amongst the program's all-time career leaders in several major categories, including at No. 2 in blocks (176), No. 5 in rebounds (841) and No. 10 in assists (314). She is one of 11 players in program history to tally 1,000 points and 500 rebounds in a career, and was a three-time first-team all-conference selection.
Following her collegiate career, Cunningham played professionally for five seasons, including four years in Australia and one in Germany. Cunningham competed for the Melbourne Boomers and the Ringwood Hawks while in Australia, and was a member of the Herne basketball club in Germany.
A native of Crofton, Neb., the former Amber Hegge is married to Michael Cunningham. She graduated from South Dakota in 2012 with a degree in mathematics.
