The 2026-27 season will serve as Allison Guth's first season as Chief of Staff with the Northwestern University women's basketball program. A 21-year coaching veteran, Guth returns to Evanston after previously serving as an assistant coach with the Wildcats from 2012-15.
“Allison is an outstanding addition to Northwestern Women’s Basketball, and I’m truly excited for her as she returns to Northwestern in the Chief of Staff role,” Northwestern head women's basketball coach Carla Berube stated. “She is a high-energy leader who is both innovative and dynamic, and she will play an important role in shaping the program’s overall strategy and daily operations. Having served as a head coach at Loyola Chicago, Allison understands what it takes to build and sustain a successful program, and that experience will be invaluable in this position.”
"I am beyond grateful for the opportunity Carla has presented to me," Guth said. "Her innovative vision of how this position will function within the program is both unique, forward-thinking, and provides me a great deal of flexibility on a personal level. The love and respect I have for Coach Berube, both as a professional and as a person, is immeasurable. She not only invests in her players and staff on the court, but also values who they are as people and creates meaningful and lasting connections with their families."
Guth spent the past four seasons as head coach at Loyola University Chicago, where she also began her career as an assistant coach from 2005-07. This past season, she led the program to its first Women’s National Invitation Tournament (WNIT) berth, where Loyola picked up road wins over Norfolk State and Florida Gulf Coast en route to appearing in the event’s Super 16. On the individual front, Guth mentored a pair of Atlantic 10 All-Conference honorees in Alex-Anne Bessette and Sam Galanopoulos.
During a seven-year stint as head coach at Yale University, Guth piloted the Bulldogs to unprecedented levels of success, winning a single-season program-record 19 games in 2017-18 and 2019-20. In the 2017-18 campaign, Yale became the first Ivy League team to win a national postseason women’s basketball tournament when it rattled off four straight victories to claim the Women’s Basketball Invitational (WBI) crown.
Guth, who also spent two seasons as an assistant coach at Yale prior to joining the ‘Cats, coached 11 All-Ivy League picks, including the back-to-back Ivy League Defensive Player of the Year Tamara Simpson and two-time First Team All-Ivy League selection Roxie Barahman. The Bulldogs also excelled in the classroom, with four of Guth’s teams earning the NCAA Public Recognition Award for recording an Academic Progress Rate score that ranked in the top 10 among Division I women's basketball programs.
In her first stint at Northwestern, Guth, who also made stops at both DePaul (2008-10) and Missouri (2007-08), was part of a staff that piled up 53 wins, highlighted by a 2014-15 season that saw the ‘Cats finish 23-9 (12-6 B1G) and make the program’s first NCAA Tournament appearance in nearly 20 years.
“What makes Allison so special is her ability to bring people together," Berube continued. “She builds genuine, lasting relationships, serves as a connector across the university, and creates an environment where student-athletes and staff feel supported and inspired. Her passion for the game and commitment to those around her are evident every day, and I know she will play an important role in the continued growth of Northwestern Women’s Basketball.”
"I have always held Northwestern University, the athletic department, and the women's basketball program in the highest regard," Guth concluded. "I look forward to using my experience to add value to the already proven success that Coach Berube has brought to every institution with which she has been affiliated. I am also thrilled to learn from her incredible staff and to work alongside some of the finest colleagues in our profession here in Wildcat Nation."
A native of suburban Arlington Heights, Ill., Guth was a three-year letterwinner at the University of Illinois, where she featured on a Fighting Illini team in 2002-03 that reached the NCAA Tournament. During her prep career, she helped lead Buffalo Grove High School to an Illinois High School Association (IHSA) Class 2A state title.
A member of the Illinois Basketball Coaches Association (IBCA) Hall of Fame, Guth is a proud mother to two sons, Ray and Garvey.
“Allison is an outstanding addition to Northwestern Women’s Basketball, and I’m truly excited for her as she returns to Northwestern in the Chief of Staff role,” Northwestern head women's basketball coach Carla Berube stated. “She is a high-energy leader who is both innovative and dynamic, and she will play an important role in shaping the program’s overall strategy and daily operations. Having served as a head coach at Loyola Chicago, Allison understands what it takes to build and sustain a successful program, and that experience will be invaluable in this position.”
"I am beyond grateful for the opportunity Carla has presented to me," Guth said. "Her innovative vision of how this position will function within the program is both unique, forward-thinking, and provides me a great deal of flexibility on a personal level. The love and respect I have for Coach Berube, both as a professional and as a person, is immeasurable. She not only invests in her players and staff on the court, but also values who they are as people and creates meaningful and lasting connections with their families."
Guth spent the past four seasons as head coach at Loyola University Chicago, where she also began her career as an assistant coach from 2005-07. This past season, she led the program to its first Women’s National Invitation Tournament (WNIT) berth, where Loyola picked up road wins over Norfolk State and Florida Gulf Coast en route to appearing in the event’s Super 16. On the individual front, Guth mentored a pair of Atlantic 10 All-Conference honorees in Alex-Anne Bessette and Sam Galanopoulos.
During a seven-year stint as head coach at Yale University, Guth piloted the Bulldogs to unprecedented levels of success, winning a single-season program-record 19 games in 2017-18 and 2019-20. In the 2017-18 campaign, Yale became the first Ivy League team to win a national postseason women’s basketball tournament when it rattled off four straight victories to claim the Women’s Basketball Invitational (WBI) crown.
Guth, who also spent two seasons as an assistant coach at Yale prior to joining the ‘Cats, coached 11 All-Ivy League picks, including the back-to-back Ivy League Defensive Player of the Year Tamara Simpson and two-time First Team All-Ivy League selection Roxie Barahman. The Bulldogs also excelled in the classroom, with four of Guth’s teams earning the NCAA Public Recognition Award for recording an Academic Progress Rate score that ranked in the top 10 among Division I women's basketball programs.
In her first stint at Northwestern, Guth, who also made stops at both DePaul (2008-10) and Missouri (2007-08), was part of a staff that piled up 53 wins, highlighted by a 2014-15 season that saw the ‘Cats finish 23-9 (12-6 B1G) and make the program’s first NCAA Tournament appearance in nearly 20 years.
“What makes Allison so special is her ability to bring people together," Berube continued. “She builds genuine, lasting relationships, serves as a connector across the university, and creates an environment where student-athletes and staff feel supported and inspired. Her passion for the game and commitment to those around her are evident every day, and I know she will play an important role in the continued growth of Northwestern Women’s Basketball.”
"I have always held Northwestern University, the athletic department, and the women's basketball program in the highest regard," Guth concluded. "I look forward to using my experience to add value to the already proven success that Coach Berube has brought to every institution with which she has been affiliated. I am also thrilled to learn from her incredible staff and to work alongside some of the finest colleagues in our profession here in Wildcat Nation."
A native of suburban Arlington Heights, Ill., Guth was a three-year letterwinner at the University of Illinois, where she featured on a Fighting Illini team in 2002-03 that reached the NCAA Tournament. During her prep career, she helped lead Buffalo Grove High School to an Illinois High School Association (IHSA) Class 2A state title.
A member of the Illinois Basketball Coaches Association (IBCA) Hall of Fame, Guth is a proud mother to two sons, Ray and Garvey.