Wofford College Athletics

Assistant coach Shanae Vaifanua is in her first season with the Terriers after spending two years as a graduate assistant coach at Armstrong State University. Vaifanua joined the Terrier staff in July 2015.
 
At Armstrong State, Vaifanua served as a graduate assistant coach as well as the director of operations for the Pirates’ women’s basketball program starting in August 2013.  Her responsibilities included facilitating recruiting visits, managing and coordinating team community service events, serving as the academic liaison for the team, scheduling preseason and exhibition games and planning team travel arrangements. She also served a role in ensuring team compliance with the NCAA and overseeing the team’s summer camps as well as day-to-day activities.
 
Armstrong State achieved success in her two seasons with the program. The Pirates reached the NCAA Division II Sweet 16 in 2013-14 under her watch and were regular season champions of the East Division of the Peach Belt Conference that year. Overall, the Pirates went 34-22 with Vaifanua on the bench.
 
Vaifanua also has experience coaching at the high school level, serving as an assistant coach from August 2012 to August 2013 at Juan Diego High School in Draper, Utah. She was responsible for assisting the team with a variety of day-to-day tasks and managing stats for the team. The team finished 19-3 with Vaifanua as an assistant, reached the state playoffs and ended the year as the #16 team in the state.
 
Vaifanua was a four-year letterwinner at Dixie State University and one of the program’s most accomplished players. She finished her career as the school’s fourth all-time scorer, third all-time in rebounds and assists, and second all-time in steals. She earned Pacific West Conference Second Team honors in 2009 and was a Preseason All-Conference selection in 2010. Vaifanua served as team captain for her junior and senior seasons. Academically, she was named to the Pacific West Conference Honor Roll in 2009 and 2012. She was the first female athlete at Dixie State University to graduate in four years.
 
Outside of basketball, Vaifanua has demonstrated leadership qualities in the professional world. She served as the head supervisor of the New Haven Residential Treatment Center, a boarding school for girls aged 12 to 17, in Saratoga Springs, Utah, from 2011 to 2013. In her role at the center, she oversaw student academic progress as well as managed and trained employees.
 
Vaifanua graduated from Dixie State University in May 2012 with a Bachelor’s of Science degree in communication. She recently completed her masters in professional communication and leadership at Armstrong State University in May 2015.
 
A native of Hurricane, Utah, Vaifanua currently resides in Spartanburg, S.C.