Amy Hayden joined the Valparaiso University women’s basketball staff prior the 2007-2008 season as a graduate assistant and returns this year for her second campaign with the Crusaders.

Hayden assists in a variety of capacities for the Crusaders. She handles all of Valpo’s film exchange and oversees the filming of Crusader games and practices. She also helps with publications for coaches and alumni, and assists with campus recruiting. Hayden also is responsible for helping with the team’s strength and conditioning program as well as day-to-day operation of the women’s basketball office.

Hayden played collegiately at Southern Illinois University where she was a team captain in 2005-2006. A shooting guard, she led the team in free throw shooting as a junior while also ranking second in assists and three-point shooting. As a senior, she earned the Goodman-Jones Award for leadership, citizenship, hard work, and pride.

Hayden has coached girls basketball at DuQuoin High School in DuQuoin, Illinois, where she helped lead the team to their first regional championship in 20 years. She has spent summers working at basketball camps around the Midwest, including Southern Illinois, Kentucky, Butler, and the McCracken Girls Basketball Camps.

A 2006 graduate of Southern Illinois, where she graduated cum laude with a degree in elementary education, Hayden is currently enrolled in Valparaiso’s sports administration master’s program.