As Arizona Wildcats Men’s basketball team’s new head coach, Tommy Lloyd has been a man on the move and the man of the moment. But did you know there’s been a woman behind his remarkable career? Their 27-year partnership—formed over backpacking trips, growing pains and cross-country relocations—shows the personal side of college basketball’s elite.

What is Chanelle Lloyd’s Family Background?

Chanelle Lloyd (Chanelle Marie Santillanes) was born on April 11, 1976, in Pueblo, Colorado. The eldest daughter of the couple, Joseph and Patricia Santillanes and sister to Chauntea Santillanes, now Chauntea Westfall.

Chanelle’s worldview was shaped by the Santillanes family’s deep roots in Colorado’s Hispanic community. This upbringing suited her well for the nomadic existence of a coach’s wife and gave her the resilience she would come to need when Tommy struggled early in his career.

How Did Tommy Lloyd and Chanelle Meet?

Chanelle and Tommy met in 1995 at the University of Southern Colorado (now CSU Pueblo), where she was studying and he was a junior basketball player. Their first date, at a local diner, grew into weekends spent hiking in the Rocky Mountains. After graduating, the couple went on a life-changing backpacking trip in Australia that solidified their relationship.

The couple’s most formative experience was managing a remote Australian hotel for a month. This common struggle became the basis for their marriage when they tied the knot in a simple ceremony in 1997, about the same time Tommy began his coaching career as a volunteer assistant.

“We ran the hotel and literally it was awesome,” Lloyd said. “I mean, I had no idea how to run a hotel and hospitality, but I’m checking people in, I’m making poached eggs, taking breakfast (orders), I’m the bartender at night. It was an awesome adventure.”

What is Chanelle Lloyd’s Background and Career?

Although Chanelle became an elementary education major, she paused her teaching career to help Tommy Lloyd in his coaching career. While raising their three children, she also served as the program’s unofficial team mom during his Gonzaga years.

She’s especially skilled at keeping their family’s complex schedule across time zones running smoothly. Chanelle, who works informal jobs but has never held formal employment, has sharpened her knowledge of NCAA compliance rules, advising some players’ families on what is academically required for them to be eligible, information she gathered through her own navigation of Liam at that age.

How is Chanelle and Tommy’s Life as a Couple?

Lloyds keep balance by having rigid lines. Their mutual fondness for adventure has made a comeback in through offseason trips. This dynamic was tested when Arizona made its 2023 NCAA Tournament run, which led to Chanelle demanding he fly home for Maria’s championship game even though the Elite Eight was on the horizon.

What is Chanelle’s Role in Their Family?

Tommy can concentrate on coaching; Chanelle, as the family anchor, takes care of all household logistics. She’s an expert in the art of a quick relocation, having moved the family five times for Tommy’s career. But they are also immensely proud of their son’s pursuit in basketball: Liam’s basketball career at GCU. Time and again, Sophia and Maria follow their mother to watch the Arizona’s games, taking pride in their father’s magic being unveiled on the court.

What is Chanelle’s Ethnicity?

Chanelle does not hide from her Mexican-American identity and, in fact, proudly embraces it; her family has lived for generations in Colorado’s Latino community. In fact, she has woven this heritage into family traditions.

Chanelle Lloyd’s story is not just being a coach’s wife—it’s a lesson in legacy through strength behind the scenes. As Tommy Lloyd diagrams play, she has created something more lasting: a family grounded in cultural pride, a marriage that flourishes amid chaos, a steadfast identity outside of basketball’s spotlight.

At a time of NIL deals and transfer portals, the Lloyds are a reminder that the true pillars of the sport are the stars off the court who show them how to stand tall on it. Chanelle’s journey—from a Pueblo classroom to the sidelines of in Arizona—reminds us that behind every great coach is someone who rewrites the meaning of “assist.”

Your Turn: Who is the unsung hero in your favorite coach’s life? Mention them in comments.