Following a career-high-tying 25-win campaign and a postseason run to the NCAA Sweet 16, University of Tennessee Vice Chancellor/Director of Athletics Danny White on Thursday announced that he has extended Kellie Harper‘s contract through the 2026-27 season.
In her initial three seasons back on Rocky Top, the 1999 UT graduate has guided the Lady Vol basketball team to consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances and had it in position for a third prior to the cancellation of the 2020 tourney. The 2021-22 squad repeatedly overcame injuries to key contributors to record its third-straight top-three SEC finish and advance farther in postseason play than UT had since 2016.
Perhaps most noticeably, Harper has been intentional from day one in creating a welcoming, family environment where student-athletes are loved, supported and respected, and they are held accountable as well as encouraged to hold one another accountable. The synergy of this year’s group was quite apparent, and Lady Vol fans gravitated toward the hard-working and easily-likable collection of student-athletes.
“Kellie is an amazing leader for the young women on our team and a wonderful ambassador for our university,” White said. “She operates in a first-class manner, easily connects with people, has a great vision for our women’s basketball program and is clearly taking the steps to accomplish goals that will continue to make us all extremely proud of Lady Vol basketball.
“The job she has done this season in the face of unfortunate injuries within her team has been remarkable and impressive to watch. The ‘next woman up’ mentality she instilled in her players enabled them to overcome some key personnel losses and still advance farther than the program has in some time. I look forward to next season and beyond with great anticipation.”
One of only two coaches ever to lead four different women’s programs to the NCAA Tournament, Harper carded the 14th postseason appearance during her 18 years as a head coach. She kept Tennessee perfect in NCAA Tournament berths with its 40th this season, and she heads the only program to appear in every single tourney held. Personally, she directed her second program into the Sweet 16 round in the past four seasons after guiding Missouri State there in 2019 prior to being named the Lady Vols’ leader after that postseason run.
Harper guided Tennessee to its most overall (25) and most SEC (11) wins since 2017-18 and led the Lady Vols to back-to-back SEC Tournament semifinals appearances for the first time since 2014-15 and 2015-16, despite playing without injured veterans Jordan Horston and Keyen Green down the stretch.
“I am so proud of the grit, toughness and passion our team played with this season,” Harper said. “Our players were a reflection of a strong culture and sisterhood.
“I’m grateful for the way our administration, the university and our fans embraced this team, and I cherish the privilege of being the head coach at my alma mater. I appreciate the support our administration and Lady Vol Nation provide our staff, our players and my family.”
The 2021-22 season saw the Lady Vols finish 25-9, place third in the SEC standings and advance to the semifinal round of the league tournament despite their misfortunes on the health front. With Harper guiding her unit to one victory over a ranked team in year one, to two in her second season, to five in year three, the Lady Vols climbed to No. 4 in the Jan. 24 AP Poll after opening the year at 18-1. That was their highest spot since early in the 2016 campaign.
Harper’s record stands at 63-27 through three seasons at the helm at Tennessee, and she clearly has the Lady Vols on an upward trajectory. UT has gone 21-10 (10-6 SEC), 17-8 (9-4) and 25-9 (11-5) in building a foundation, with the staff quickly demonstrating great momentum on the recruiting front in both the transfer portal and through the high school ranks.
Academically, Harper also oversees a program that maintains a 100-percent graduation rate for players who complete their playing careers as Lady Vols. Underscoring the importance of excellence in the classroom as part of the culture, an all-time, program-best nine of her 13 squad members in 2020-21 were named to the SEC Academic Honor Roll.
