Former Lafayette Women’s Basketball Coach Damon-Olson Is Now an Assistant at the University of Virginia

May 27, 2026

— Jeff Ward, Lehigh Valley News Briefs

Former Lafayette College women’s basketball Head Coach Kia Damon-Olson is now a Virginia Cavalier.

University of Virginia head women’s coach Aaron Roussell said earlier this month that Damon-Olson would join his staff. He noted her recruiting experience. Damon-Olson worked for the University of Cincinnati, Penn State and other schools before taking over at Lafayette in 2017. She was the recruiting coordinator for Penn State.

Lafayette said in March that the school was looking for “new leadership direction” for the team, and that Damon-Oloson would not return. In nine years at Lafayette, Damon-Olson went 92-161, with one winning season: 15-14 in 2019-20.

The Lafayette women’s program has struggled for decades. The team was successful under then-Head Coach Pat Fisher in the 1990s but has been losing ever since. The Leopards have never won a Patriot League title.