Jessie Biggs is entering her 13th season as the head women's basketball coach at Indiana Tech for the 2024-2025 campaign and assumed the role as the Director of Athletics on June 6, 2020. During her first 12 years at the helm of the women's basketball program, Biggs has amassed an overall record of 296-98 and a 196-48 mark in Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference (WHAC) play. Biggs currently sits at second on the Indiana Tech women’s basketball all-time wins list for with 296 wins, trailing the great Gary Cobb (301) by just five wins. From the summer of 2015 to the June 2020 served as the Associate Director of Athletics and Senior Woman Administrator, overseeing event management of all home varsity events in conjunction with the Sports Information Office.
During her tenure, she has coached 72 WHAC All-Academic Team members, 35 WHAC Player of the Week winners, 50 NAIA Scholar-Athletes, 43 All-Conference selections, 16 NAIA All-Americans, three WHAC Newcomer of the Year winners, five WHAC All-Freshman Team members, five WHAC All-Defensive Team standouts, one WHAC All-Newcomer Team selection, eight CoSIDA Academic All-District picks, seven CoSIDA Academic All-Americans, five WHAC Player of the Year honorees, two WHAC Defensive Player of the Year winners, and one CoSIDA Academic All-America Team Member of the Year. Coach Biggs has also won WHAC Coach of the Year seven times.
Last season, the Warriors posted one of their best seasons in program history, reaching the 30-win mark for the first time since the 2019-20 season. Tech would finish the season with a 30-4 overall record and going undefeated in WHAC play at 22-0 to win their third straight WHAC regular season title. The Warriors would also grab the WHAC Tournament title to complete the WHAC sweep. Biggs has now led the Warriors to six of the last seven conference regular season championships and five of the last six tournament titles. At the National Tournament the Warriors would draw the six seed in the Liston Quadrant and head to Siloam Springs, Arkansas where they would defeat No. 11 seed St. Thomas (Fla.) and No. 3 seed John Brown (Ark.) to move on to the final site in Sioux City, Iowa. Their season would end in the round of 16 at the hands of No. 7 seeded Briar Cliff (Iowa). Erika Foy would garner NAIA All-America Team honors, while three players were named to the WHAC All-Conference Teams and one to the WHAC All-Defensive Team. Foy would also be named WHAC Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year, while nine Warriors would be named to the WHAC All-Academic Team and seven as NAIA Scholar-athletes. Coach Biggs was named WHAC Coach of the Year for the third consecutive year and seventh overall.
In 2022-23, Biggs helped lead the program to a 27-6 overall record and an 18-2 record in WHAC play on their way to a second straight regular season WHAC championship. The Warriors would remain in the top 25 in the national ranking all season, finishing at No. 16 in the final poll, and reaching as high as No. 12. In the postseason, the Warriors would fall in the conference tournament final. At the NAIA National Championships, the Warriors would earn the No. 5 seed in the Liston Quadrant and go on to defeat Bryan College before falling in the opening round championship game to Briar Cliff University. Four Warriors would be named to the WHAC All-Conference teams in 2022-23, including Krya Whitaker, Erika Foy, and Taylor Covington who also won WHAC Player of the Year, Co-Defensive Player of the Year, and Newcomer of the Year, respectively. Whitaker and Foy also garnered All-American honors. Nine Warriors would be named to the WHAC All-Academic Team, while seven would be named NAIA Scholar Athletes. Coach Biggs was also named WHAC Coach of the Year, her second straight and sixth time winning the award while at Tech.
In 2021-22, Tech would go 30-3 overall and 19-1 in WHAC play on their way to a WHAC regular season title and a fourth straight WHAC Tournament title. In the NAIA National Tournament, the Warriors would fall to the University of Pikeville in the opening round. Emma Tuominen would garner NAIA All-America Team honors and WHAC Player of the Year, as well as CoSIDA Academic All-District and All-America Team honors. Four Warriors were named to the WHAC All-Conference Teams, one to the WHAC All-Defensive Team, and one to the WHAC All-Freshman Team. Jessie Biggs would be named WHAC Coach of the Year, while nine Warriors would be named to the WHAC All-Academic Team and seven as NAIA scholar athletes.
In 2020-21, Tech navigated through the COVID-19 pandemic with a 27-3 mark to make a fifth straight trip to the NAIA National Championship, falling to Indiana Wesleyan in the championship game of the Opening Round. The team won a program-record 30 games in a streak that dated back to the 2019-20 campaign, not losing until Jan. 2, 2021 at the hands of Indiana Wesleyan. The Warriors went 11-1 in conference play and won their third straight WHAC Tournament title. The Warriors had two players, Erika Foy and Kyra Whitaker, garner NAIA All-America Team accolades while four players were named to the All-Conference Teams.
In 2019-20 the Warriors went 30-4 en route to their fourth straight appearance in the NAIA Division II National Championship. Tech went 19-1 in conference play to win their third consecutive WHAC Championship and took home their second straight WHAC Tournament title. The Orange and Black advanced to the second round of the national tournament after defeating Olivet Nazarene and were preparing to play regional rival Taylor before the national championship was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Biggs was named the WHAC Coach of the Year for the fourth consecutive season and all five members of the starting lineup garnered All-Conference accolades, with senior DeAnn Kauffman also garnering NAIA All-America and CoSID Academic All-America Team honors.
During the 2018-19 season Tech won a program-best 32 wins while suffering just four losses, including 23 straight games to set a new program record, repeated as WHAC Champions and won the WHAC Tournament for the first time in program history. The team qualified for the NAIA Division II National Championship for the third straight season and advance to the quarterfinals for the first time since 1992 before falling to eventual national champion Concordia (Neb.). Biggs was named the WHAC Coach of the Year for the third straight season and led the team to as high as number three in the NAIA Coaches' Top 25 Poll, tying its highest ranking in program history. The team had all five starters garner All-Conference honors, while senior forward Kendall Knapke concluded a historic season by becoming the programs all-time leader in games played and starts (136) while garnering Academic All-America Team Member of the Year honors from CoSIDA and a spot on the NAIA All-America Team.
During the 2017-18 season, the Warriors finished off a historic campaign, which included 18 straight victories, with a 30-5 regular season record and an 18-2 mark in WHAC action. Indiana Tech would win their first-ever WHAC regular season title and appear in the WHAC Tournament Championship, falling to Cornerstone University 72-69. During the year, Biggs would lead the Orange and Black to its second straight NAIA Division II National Championship, falling to the second-seeded University of Jamestown Jimmies in the second round after defeating Bryan College. The team would also rank as high as seventh in the NAIA Coaches' Top 25 Poll during the season while Biggs was honored with her second WHAC Coach of the Year award.
During the 2016-17 season, Biggs led the Warriors to a 25-8 overall record and a second place finish in conference play with an 18-4 mark to earn her Coach of the Year honors from the WHAC. Tech rose as high as 16th in the NAIA Coaches' Top 25 Poll and broke a 22-year postseason drought as the team received an at-large berth to the NAIA Division II National Championship, falling to Tabor, 67-58, in a first-round matchup.
In the 2015-16 season, she led the Orange and Black to a 21-11 record and 16-6 mark in WHAC play, finishing third in the conference and finished the year receiving votes in the NAIA Coaches' Top 25 Poll. The Warriors would get the fourth seed for the WHAC Tournament, defeating Cornerstone in the quarterfinals before falling to regular season and eventual tournament champion Davenport, 82-76, in the semifinals. Senior point guard Rayana Villalpando would surpass the 500-career mark in assists and rebounds to become a 500 point-500 assist-500 rebound player.
In the 2014-15 season, she led Tech to a 12-19 overall record and finished sixth in the WHAC with an 11-11 mark, falling to Madonna in the first round of the WHAC Tournament.
In the 2013-14 campaign, Biggs led the Warriors to a 19-13 mark and 15-7 year in the Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference, finishing fourth. Tech hosted and defeated fifth-seeded Aquinas before falling in the semifinals to top-ranked Davenport in the WHAC Tournament. Biggs had three players on the All-Academic Team, three All-Conference selections, two NAIA All-Americans, and one NAIA Scholar-Athlete. The team ranked ninth in the NAIA in defensive rebounds per game while ranking 25th in rebounds per game, field goal percentage, and free throw percentage.
In the 2012-13 season, Biggs led the Warriors to a 13-18 record, going 11-11 in WHAC play to secure the sixth seed in the conference tournament, however, Tech fell in the first round. Tech garnered three All-Academic team members, two All-Conference accolades, and two NAIA Scholar-Athlete awards. The team ranked 26th in assists per game and field goal percentage while ranking in the top-30 in total assists.
Biggs spent two seasons as the Graduate Assistant Coach at Western Illinois University before coming to Indiana Tech. While with the Leathernecks, Biggs assisted in a variety of areas including on-court coaching, individual workouts, working with the guard position, game preparation, scouting reports, film exchange, volunteering activities, and monitoring academic progress of the student-athletes.
Biggs began at Western Illinois after spending three seasons as an assistant women's basketball coach at Coe College where she was responsible for creating workout programs, practice plans, recruiting quality student-athletes, scouting reports, and also monitoring student-athlete academic progress. Also while serving as the assistant coach Biggs helped to start the Junior Varsity program in her second year at Coe. She was the head coach of the Junior Varsity team her last two seasons while also serving as the assistant coach for the varsity team. Biggs was also the Director of Intramural Sports for the College.
While at Coe College, Biggs helped to recruit and coach four out of the top five scorers in program history, as well as the top three players in field goal percentage, two of the top three leaders in career assists for the College and three out of the top four leaders in career free throws made along with other records. Helping turn the program around, Coach Biggs assisted the Varsity team to a 53-28 record in her three seasons at Coe, while the previous three seasons the Kohawks were 21-51.
Prior to her time at Coe, Biggs was a standout guard at the University of Northern Iowa where she was a four-year member of the Panthers women's basketball squad. She was a second team All-MVC selection during the 2006-07 season and also earned Northern Iowa Female Athlete of the Year honors the same year while serving as a team captain.
Biggs was also named to the MVC's All-Freshman team in her first season with the Panthers. She left Northern Iowa as the program's all-time leader in career starts (107 and started every game of her final three seasons). She finished her career with over 1,000 career-points.
The Ottumwa, Iowa native is in the record books for numerous records in a variety of sports at Ottumwa High School. In her spare time Coach Biggs enjoys hunting, fishing, and other outdoor sports.
She earned her bachelor's degree in Criminology with a minor in Athletic Coaching from Northern Iowa in 2007 and her master’s degree in Recreation, Parks, and Tourism Administration from Western Illinois University in December 2011.
Biggs lives in Fort Wayne with her wife and assistant coach, Kylene, and daughters Olivia and Nile.
