Florida hired Rhode Island coach Tammi Reiss as the next head coach of its women's basketball program on Monday, tasking her with rebuilding one of the school's least-accomplished programs.

Reiss, a three-time Atlantic 10 Coach of the Year, spent seven seasons with the Rams. She led Rhode Island to Women's March Madness for the first time in 30 years earlier this month, subsequently losing to Alabama in the first round.

However, under Reiss's leadership, Rhode Island won a school-record 28 games along with a share of the A-10 regular-season title and the conference tournament championship.

The 55-year-old posted a 138-73 overall record with Rhode Island, including 96 wins in the past four seasons. She twice set a program record for victories, with the Rams tripling their average attendance during her tenure.

"Tammi Reiss is a proven winner and an outstanding leader whose experience as both a player and coach stood out throughout this process," said Florida athletic director Scott Stricklin. "[We] look forward to the energy and vision she will bring to our women's basketball program."

Reiss played alongside South Carolina boss Dawn Staley at Virginia, appearing in three consecutive Final Fours from 1990 to 19 —2, including the 1991 national title game. She participated in eight Women's March Madnesses as an assistant, including four at Syracuse before joining Rhode Island.

She replaces Kelly Rae Finley, who was fired two weeks ago after the Gators faced missing the NCAA tournament for the fourth consecutive year. Finley went 93-75 in five seasons in Gainesville, including 30-50 in SEC play.

Florida fielded a talented rosters this year, with Liv McGill, Me'Arah O'Neal, and Laila Reynolds giving the team three McDonald's All Americans in the starting lineup. But the trio couldn't deliver enough wins in one of the country's deepest leagues.

The first Top 10 classic of the 2025/26 NCAA basketball season delivered on Friday, as No. 1 UConn survived No. 6 Michigan 72-69 — just barely keeping their unbeaten streak alive.

Guards on both sides stood out, with Husky senior Azzi Fudd scoring a game-high 31 points while Wolverine sophomore Syla Swords put UConn on notice with 29 points of her own.

"Those are two of the best shooters in the country playing tonight against each other," Huskies boss Geno Auriemma said postgame. "They both put on quite a show."

UConn started strong in the first half, but a dominant third quarter from the Wolverines saw the Huskies' 17-point lead dwindle before Fudd got hot from behind the arc.

"I was proud how we stuck together, and we figured it out in the end," Fudd said afterwards.

While defending national champ UConn remains on top of the early 2025/26 NCAA field, the star is rising for Michigan and their 5-1 record, as the Wolverines jumped eight spots in last week's AP Poll — with another leap possible when the rankings update on Monday afternoon.

Elsewhere, the weekend's lineup featured a few other successful upset bids, with No. 24 Notre Dame taking down No. 11 USC 61-59 behind a gritty 22-point performance from Irish star guard Hannah Hidalgo on Friday and unranked mid-major Rhode Island stunning No. 16 NC State with a 68-63 Wolfpack loss on Sunday.