Kim Young-Buford will begin her fourth season as the head coach of the New Orleans Privateers in 2013.

If her first three seasons at UNO proved anything, it showed that Buford can embrace a challenge head on.

The East St. Louis, Illinois native was announced as head volleyball coach at UNO on July 29, 2010 by then-athletic director Amy Champion. Two weeks later, Young-Buford hit campus with a squad consisting of just four players.

Over the weeks that followed, Buford put together a team that not only came together quickly on the floor, but allowed the first-year head coach to become the sixth in school history to post a winning season in their year at the helm.

Young-Buford’s team posted a 10-9 mark in her first season and then dealt with the challenges of switching paths from NCAA Division III to Division II, battled through a tough 2-22 season in one of the classification’s toughest leagues – the Gulf South Conference.

More recently, Young-Buford took a young team through a 23-game NCAA Division I schedule in 2012 and emerged with an 8-15 record.

The squad's season featured a tournament title at Texas Southern, the first tournament championship for UNO since 2009. A balanced offensive team, the Privateers had four different players average at least two kills per set - the first time in recent memory for the UNO program.

Entering the Southland Conference for her second true season of competition at the NCAA Division I level at UNO, Young-Buford carries 154-128 record in nine years as a head coach. The first six seasons came at Grambling where she compiled a 134-82 overall record and 49-2 mark in Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) play.

In five of her six years at the helm of the Grambling program, Buford''s season came to an end in the league tournament's championship game with all six campaigns highlighted by a SWAC West Division championship.

An accomplished player during her time at Grambling, Young-Buford was a three-time SWAC Player of the Year for head coach Fredrick Payne from 1996-1998, leading the Tigers to league titles in 1996 and 1997.

Her success as a collegiate player led to a stint at the next level with the United States Professional Volleyball League. The East St. Louis, Illinois native had the opportunity to play for the nearby St. Louis Quest while also participating in professional competition in Japan and the Dominican Republic.

Young-Buford returned to Grambling as an assistant coach in 2003 and earned her Masters' degree in Sports Administration in 2004 before rising to the position of head coach later that year.

"I've had a vision of coaching outside the SWAC," said Young-Buford. "UNO has available what I need to complete that vision from great facilities to a great education."

“The school has the heritage, recent success and location that will assist in getting quality student-athletes."

Young-Buford is married to Melvin Buford and the couple has two young daughters.

Kim Young-Buford Year by Year Record

Year       Record  League Place
Grambling                          SWAC West Division
2004       32-14     10-0       1st
2005       18-16     10-0       1st
2006       15-17     8-1          1st
2007       23-13     7-1          1st
2008       26-9       8-0          1st
2009       20-13     8-0          1^st
TOTAL   134-82   49-2

New Orleans                     NCAA Div I Independent
2010       10-9       N/A        N/A
2011       2-22       N/A        N/A
2012       8-15       N/A        N/A
TOTAL   20-46     N/A

TOTALS                 9 yrs       154-128 49-2
 
Home-Away-Neutral Year-by-Year
Year       Home   Away     Neutral

Grambling
2004       10-2       10-4       12-8
2005       8-2          7-7          3-7
2006       7-1          4-7          4-9
2007       9-2          8-5          6-6
2008       12-0       10-5       4-4
2009       11-1       7-5          2-7

New Orleans
2010       4-1          2-5          4-3
2011       1-9          1-10       0-3
2012       4-5          2-7          2-3
TOTAL   66-23     51-55     37-50