Carol Ross (born June 11, 1959) is an American college and professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

coach. Ross has served as the head women's basketball coach for the

University of Florida The University of Florida (Florida or UF) is a public land-grant research university in Gainesville, Florida. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida, traces its origins to 1853, and has operated continuously on its ...

and the

University of Mississippi The University of Mississippi (byname Ole Miss) is a public research university that is located adjacent to Oxford, Mississippi, and has a medical center in Jackson. It is Mississippi's oldest public university and its largest by enrollment. ...

, and also as the head coach of the

Los Angeles Sparks The Los Angeles Sparks (LA Sparks) are an American professional basketball team based in Los Angeles. The Sparks compete in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) as a member club of the league's Western Conference. The team was foun ...

of the

Women's National Basketball Association The Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) is an American professional basketball league. It is composed of twelve teams, all based in the United States. The league was founded on April 22, 1996, as the women's counterpart to the Natio ...

(WNBA).

College playing career

Ross accepted an athletic scholarship to attend the University of Mississippi, where she was a four-year starter at

guard Guard or guards may refer to: Professional occupations * Bodyguard, who protects an individual from personal assault * Crossing guard, who stops traffic so pedestrians can cross the street * Lifeguard, who rescues people from drowning * Prison ...

for coach

Van Chancellor Van Winston Chancellor (born September 27, 1943) is a former college and professional basketball coach. He coached University of Mississippi women's basketball, Louisiana State University women's basketball, and the professional Houston Comet ...

's Ole Miss Lady Rebels basketball team from 1978 to 1981. She developed a reputation as a "pesky" and "tenacious" player who still holds the Ole Miss season record for steals (135), and ranks ninth on the Southeastern Conference (SEC) career steals list. She is one of only two Ole Miss players to record more than 1,000 points, 500 assists and 250 steals in a career. She served as team captain during her senior 1980–81 seasons, and was a key contributor to the overall 93–50 record compiled by the Lady Rebels during her four seasons. Ross graduated from Ole Miss with a bachelor's degree in education 1982, and was inducted into the University of Mississippi Athletic Hall of Fame in 2001.OleMissSports.com, Women's Basketball
Carol Ross
. Retrieved July 21, 2014.

College coaching career

Ross began her college coaching career in 1982–83 as a volunteer assistant for the

Belhaven Blazers The Belhaven Blazers are the athletic teams that represent Belhaven University, located in Jackson, Mississippi, in intercollegiate sports as a member of the Division III level of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), primarily c ...

women's basketball team at Belhaven College in Jackson, Mississippi. The following year she accepted a graduate assistant position with the

Auburn Tigers women's basketball The Auburn Tigers women's basketball program is the intercollegiate women's basketball team that represents Auburn University. The school competes in the Southeastern Conference in Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCA ...

team of

Auburn University Auburn University (AU or Auburn) is a public land-grant research university in Auburn, Alabama. With more than 24,600 undergraduate students and a total enrollment of more than 30,000 with 1,330 faculty members, Auburn is the second largest uni ...

in Auburn, Alabama. She stayed at Auburn for seven seasons, gradually being promoted to associate head coach and chief recruiter. Presented with an offer to lead another SEC program in 1990, Ross became the head coach of the

Florida Gators women's basketball The Florida Gators women's basketball team represents the University of Florida in the sport of basketball. The Gators compete in Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and the Southeastern Conference (SEC). The Gator ...

team of the University of Florida. Before Ross, the Gators were a perennial cellar dweller; with Ross, the Gators became the SEC's fourth team of ten. Arguably the Gators' best season under Ross was 1996–97, when the Gators posted a 24–9 record, advanced to the NCAA Tournament Elite Eight, and earned their first-ever top-10 poll ranking, and

DeLisha Milton DeLisha Lachell Milton-Jones (born September 11, 1974) is an American retired professional basketball player and head coach of Old Dominion. Milton-Jones played college basketball for the University of Florida. She was a first-team All-American a ...

was recognized as the best women's player in college basketball when she won the

Wade Trophy The Wade Trophy is an award presented annually to the best upperclass women's basketball player in National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I competition. It is named after three–time national champion Delta State University coac ...

. Her 2000–01 squad produced her best SEC finish – 11–3 and second place – while compiling an overall record of 24–6.
Florida Women's Basketball 2013–14 Media Guide
'', University Athletic Association, Gainesville, Florida, pp. 106–07 (2013). Retrieved July 21, 2014. During her twelve seasons as the Gators' head coach, she coached multiple future WNBA players, including

Vanessa Hayden Vanessa L'asonya Hayden-Johnson (born June 5, 1982), née Vanessa L'asonya Hayden, is an American former college and professional basketball player who was a center in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) for five seasons in the 2000 ...

Merlakia Jones Merlakia Jones (born June 21, 1973) is a former American college and professional basketball player who was a guard in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) for eight seasons during the 1990s and 2000s. Jones played college basketb ...

, DeLisha Milton-Jones,

Murriel Page LaMurriel Page (born September 18, 1975) is a former American college and professional basketball player who was a forward and center in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) for eleven seasons. Page played college basketball for th ...

Bridget Pettis Bridget Pettis (born January 1, 1971) was an Assistant Coach of the Chicago Sky Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) professional basketball team. She is an American former college and professional basketball player who was a guard in ...

, Tiffany Travis and

Sophia Witherspoon Sophia L. Witherspoon (born July 6, 1969) is a former American college and professional basketball player who was a guard for seven seasons in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). Witherspoon played college basketball for the Unive ...

, as well as future Gators head coach

Amanda Butler Amanda Kay Butler (born March 6, 1972) is an American college basketball coach and former player. In 2018, Butler was hired as the head coach of the Clemson Tigers women's basketball team. Prior to that, she was the head coach for the Florida Gat ...

. The Gators finished among the top-25 in seven of her final nine seasons. At the time of her resignation in 2002, her Gators had compiled an overall win–loss record of 247–121 (.6712), averaging more than twenty wins per year, earning nine NCAA Tournament invitations.Mike DiRocco,
Ross came, went on her terms
" ''Florida Times-Union'' (April 5, 2002). Retrieved July 21, 2014. Ross remains the winningest coach in the history of the Florida Gators women's basketball program. She returned to her alma mater, the

, to become the head coach of the

Ole Miss Rebels women's basketball The Ole Miss Rebels women's basketball team represents the University of Mississippi in women's basketball. The school competes in the Southeastern Conference (SEC) in Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). The Rebels ...

team in 2003. During her four seasons at Ole Miss, Ross coached the Lady Rebels to an overall 77–50 record (.6063), and led the Rebels to two NCAA Tournaments and a pair of Women's National Invitation Tournament appearances. In her first season, 2003–04, she led Ole Miss back to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 1995–96 and was recognized as the SEC Coach of the Year. In her fourth and final season, 2006–07, Ole Miss won twenty regular season games for the first time in more than a decade, advanced to the NCAA Tournament Elite Eight, and produced first-round WNBA Draft pick

Armintie Price Armintie Ada (Price) Herrington (born April 3, 1985) is an American professional basketball player who last played for the Washington Mystics of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). Price, who played collegiately at the Universit ...

.Associated Press,
Assistant Ladner to succeed Ross at Ole Miss
" ESPN (April 26, 2007). Retrieved July 21, 2014. Ross resigned as the Ole Miss head coach following the 2006–07 season.

USA Basketball

Ross served as an assistant coach of the USA Women's Under-19 team representing the United States at the 2005 FIBA U19 World Championship in

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Tunisia ) , image_map = Tunisia location (orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = Location of Tunisia in northern Africa , image_map2 = , capital = Tunis , largest_city = capital , ...

. Team USA won all eight of their games, including the championship game against Serbia & Montenegro. Team USA was dominant, winning every game by more than 20 points.

WNBA coaching career

Ross joined the

Atlanta Dream The Atlanta Dream are an American professional basketball team based in Atlanta, playing in the Eastern Conference in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). The team was founded for the 2008 WNBA season. The team is owned by real ...

as an assistant coach in 2009. The Dream enjoyed a 14-game turnaround from its inaugural WNBA season in 2008, and tied for second place in the WNBA Eastern Conference. The Dream posted 21–13 records in 2010 and 2011, and tying for first place in the Eastern Conference in 2011 on the way to a second consecutive appearance in the WNBA Finals. Following the 2011 season, the

hired Ross to be their new head coach. In 2012, her first season as a WNBA head coach, Ross pushed the Sparks to a 24–10 record and a second-place finish in the WNBA Western Conference. In the 2012 WNBA playoffs, Ross's Sparks swept the

San Antonio Silver Stars The San Antonio Stars were a professional basketball team based in San Antonio, playing in the Western Conference in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). The team was founded in Salt Lake City, Utah, as the Utah Starzz before the ...

in two games in the Western Conference semifinals, before losing to the

Minnesota Lynx The Minnesota Lynx are an American professional basketball team based in Minneapolis, playing in the Western Conference in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). The team won the WNBA title in 2011, 2013, 2015, and 2017. Founded pr ...

in two games in the conference finals. After the 2012 season, Ross was honored as the

WNBA Coach of the Year Award The Women's National Basketball Association's Coach of the Year is an annual Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) award given since the league's inaugural season. The winner is selected at the end of regular season by a panel of sportswr ...

. In her follow-up season in 2013, the Sparks posted an identical record of 24–10 and again finished second in the Western Conference. The Sparks lost to the

Phoenix Mercury The Phoenix Mercury are an American professional basketball team based in Phoenix, Arizona, playing in the Western Conference (WNBA), Western Conference in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). The team was founded before the league ...

, two games to one, in the Western Conference semifinals of the 2013 WNBA playoffs. Despite having compiled an overall winning record of 24–10 in each of her first two seasons as head coach, Ross was fired by the Sparks management in the midst of the 2014 season when the team had posted a 10–12 record (3–7 at home), with twelve games remaining. Sparks general manager and executive vice president

Penny Toler Virginia Marlita "Penny" Toler (born March 24, 1966) is an American basketball executive and former player who served most recently as the general manager of the Los Angeles Sparks of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). Toler holds ...

was named as the team's interim head coach.Mechelle Voepel,
Sparks fire head coach Carol Ross
" ESPN (July 20, 2014). Retrieved July 21, 2014. In 2012 and 2013, the Sparks had the third-best and second-best regular season records, respectively, in the twelve-team WNBA.ESPN.com, WNBA
WNBA Regular Season Standings - 2013
Retrieved July 22, 2014

References

External links

– WNBA.com coach profile {{DEFAULTSORT:Ross, Carol 1959 births Living people American women's basketball coaches Atlanta Dream coaches Basketball coaches from Mississippi Basketball players from Mississippi Florida Gators women's basketball coaches Los Angeles Sparks head coaches Ole Miss Rebels women's basketball coaches Ole Miss Rebels women's basketball players People from Yalobusha County, Mississippi Guards (basketball)