After five seasons, Tennessee fired Kellie Harper as the Lady Vols coach on Monday.
After a “thorough review” of the women’s basketball program, athletic director Danny White declared that Harper would not be coming back. Harper was informed that her alma mater was making changes.
“It’s never easy to make decisions like these, especially with someone who has given the Lady Vols so much as a three-time national champion student-athlete,” a statement from White said. She has an unmatched love and enthusiasm for Tennessee and the Lady Vols. She has genuinely given her all for Tennessee and poured so much love and energy into our program.
Harper has a 108-52 overall coaching record when she leaves the Lady Vols, with a 53-24 SEC record.
play. She had become one of only two coaches to take four different programs to the NCAA Tournament.
But that’s not the standard at Tennessee, which she helped win three straight national titles as a player under the late Pat Summitt. The Lady Vols remain the only program to make every NCAA Tournament.
White said he talked with the Lady Vols and plans an aggressive search for the next leader of a program with eight national championships. Tennessee hasn’t won a national title since 2008 with Summitt. The Lady Vols have not reached a Final Four since then.
