The 202-21 season is Christa Sanford’s 13th at Idaho and fifth as the associate head coach. Overall, this season marks her 15th year in the college coaching ranks. Sanford followed head coach Jon Newlee to Idaho in 2008 after a five-year stay at Idaho State. Sanford was an assistant for the Bengals from 2006-08, a graduate assistant from 2005-06 and a player from 2003-05.
Sanford helps with the day-to-day coaching of the both the posts and guards. She has helped develop the skills of the guards Stacey Barr, Christina Salvatore and Connie Ballestero. Barr was named the Western Athletic Conference Player of the Year and Tournament MVP in 2014. Salvatore broke Idaho’s single season 3-point record in both her freshman and sophomore seasons. Ballestero led the WAC in 2014 with an assist/turnover ratio of 2.5.
Off the court, Sanford serves as the programs recruiting coordinator. Sanford oversees the scouting of opponents and organizing team practices. In the offseason, she helps run the Idaho basketball camps.
Sanford already had a history on the Palouse before she arrived as a coach. She put together an impressive prep career at Pullman High, where she was a Washington 2A Player of the Year and a USA Today High School All-American basketball player for the Greyhounds.
Sanford graduated from Idaho State in 2004 with a degree in communications. She earned her master’s degree in 2006 in physical education with an emphasis in athletic administration. Formerly, Christa Brossman, she and her husband Tom Sanford were married in May 2008. The couple has a daughter Adelynn , born in February 2011, and a son Jack, born in July 2012.
