KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Haskell Indian Nations University's women's basketball team defeated Northern New Mexico 57-52 on Sunday to become the Continental Athletic Conference 2025 women's conference champions.
The championship win comes after head coach Adam Strom decided he would continue leading the team through playoffs without pay after he was laid off on Feb. 14 following an executive order.
Strom was one of 35 employees at the university who were terminated as part of the ongoing federal workforce reduction.
Probationary federal employees across the country have been impacted by recent layoffs. Strom, who coached at Haskell the last four seasons, said he held probationary status because he officially became a federal employee within the last year after he began teaching courses at the university.
“They could remove the coaching title, but they’re not going to remove me from the sidelines," Strom said on Feb. 19. "So, I’m going to stay on board and we’re going to go into post-season together and we’re going to finish business.”
READ MORE | 'A lot of chaos': Haskell Indian Nations students react to teachers being laid off following federal orders
The team shared its celebrations on Instagram.
The team will move on to compete for the 2025 National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics Women’s Basketball National Championship.
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