Dorothy Faye Murphy (' Easterwood; born September 20, 1952) is an American former

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 ...

player and coach, and current

junior college football This is a list of schools of United States community colleges that offer a football program. The two largest associations are the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) and California Community College Athletic Association (CCCAA). I ...

assistant coach for

Hinds Community College Hinds Community College is a public community college with its main campus in Raymond, Mississippi and branches in Jackson and Vicksburg. The Hinds Community College District includes Hinds County, Claiborne County, part of Copiah County, Ran ...

. She became the first female football coach in

National Junior College Athletic Association The National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA), founded in 1938, is the governing association of community college, state college and junior college athletics throughout the United States. Currently the NJCAA holds 24 separate regions ...

history when she was hired to coach wide receivers at Hinds in 1984.

Playing career and personal

Murphy was born to Thad, a

high school football High school football (french: football au lycée) is gridiron football played by high school teams in the United States and Canada. It ranks among the most popular interscholastic sports in both countries, but its popularity is declining, part ...

coach in

Mississippi Mississippi () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States, bordered to the north by Tennessee; to the east by Alabama; to the south by the Gulf of Mexico; to the southwest by Louisiana; and to the northwest by Arkansas. Miss ...

, and Faye Easterwood on September 20, 1952. She attended

Starkville High School Starkville High School (SHS) is a public secondary school in Starkville, Mississippi, United States. It is the only high school in the Starkville Oktibbeha Consolidated School District, serving grades 9–12. It offers more than 140 courses, ...

. She played basketball at the

Mississippi University for Women Mississippi University for Women (MUW or "The W") is a coeducational public university in Columbus, Mississippi. It was formerly named the Industrial Institute and College for the Education of White Girls and later the Mississippi State College ...

(MUW) as a forward. In 1973, she was a starter for the United States women's World University Games basketball team that earned a silver medal at the

1973 Summer Universiade The 1973 Summer Universiade, also known as the VII Summer Universiade, took place in Moscow, Soviet Union. Sports and venues at the 1973 Summer Universiade * (Central Lenin Stadium) * ( Sport Palace of the Central Lenin Stadium) * (Tchaika Po ...

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...

. Her roommate in Moscow was

Pat Summitt Patricia Susan Summitt (; June 14, 1952 – June 28, 2016) was an American women's college basketball head coach who accrued 1,098 career wins, the most in college basketball history at the time of her retirement. She served as the head coac ...

. She earned All-America honors in 1974. In 2003, ''

The Clarion-Ledger ''The Clarion Ledger'' is an American daily newspaper in Jackson, Mississippi. It is the second-oldest company in the state of Mississippi, and is one of the few newspapers in the nation that continues to circulate statewide. It is an operating d ...

'' noted Murphy as the "greatest athlete in Mississippi University for Women history". She met her husband Gene Murphy at

Mississippi State University Mississippi State University for Agriculture and Applied Science, commonly known as Mississippi State University (MSU), is a public land-grant research university adjacent to Starkville, Mississippi. It is classified among "R1: Doctoral Unive ...

as a graduate student. The couple married in 1976.

Basketball coaching career

Murphy was an assistant coach for the University of Tennessee at Martin women's basketball team in 1975–76.

Itawamba Junior College Itawamba Community College is a public community college with its main campus in Fulton, Mississippi. Additional campuses are in Belden and Tupelo. History Itawamba Community College began as an extension of Itawamba County Agricultural High ...

hired her as head basketball coach for the 1976–77 season, and she was the head basketball coach for the

from 1977 to 1982. Her record at MUW in five seasons was 50–84. Her position was terminated when MUW moved from

Association for Intercollegiate Athletics for Women The Association for Intercollegiate Athletics for Women (AIAW) was founded in 1971 to govern collegiate women's athletics in the United States and to administer national championships (see AIAW Champions). It evolved out of the Commission on Interc ...

(AIAW) Division I to

NCAA Division II NCAA Division II (D-II) is an intermediate-level division of competition in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). It offers an alternative to both the larger and better-funded Division I and to the scholarship-free environmen ...

for the 1982–83 season.

Football coaching career

Murphy's husband Gene was hired as defensive coordinator for the Hinds Junior College football team in 1983. Dot Murphy was hired by Hinds, later called Hinds Community College, as their wide receivers coach for the football program in August 1984, joining her husband on the coaching staff. She became the first female football coach in

history. The Murphys had their third child in 1986. Her husband Gene was promoted to head coach in 1987. Murphy was chairman of the Health and Physical Education Department at Hinds by 1994. She took a year off from coaching in 1995, returning in August 1996. Murphy coached future NFL players Hason Graham and

Purvis Hunt Purvis is a surname and occasionally a masculine given name which may refer to: Surname * Al Purvis (1929–2009), Canadian ice hockey player * Arthur Blaikie Purvis (1890–1941), Canadian industrialist * Bart Purvis (1919–2001), English footba ...

at Hinds. In 1996, the TNT television program '' Football America'' aired an episode featuring Murphy. She was named to the

Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame The Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame and Museum is located in Jackson, Mississippi. The hall of fame was established in 1961 and is currently located in a museum that displays the achievements of Mississippi athletes. The museum opened on July 4, 19 ...

in 1999. In 2000, ''

Sports Illustrated ''Sports Illustrated'' (''SI'') is an American sports magazine first published in August 1954. Founded by Stuart Scheftel, it was the first magazine with circulation over one million to win the National Magazine Award for General Excellence twic ...

'' ranked her 50th on their "20th Century's 50 Greatest Sports Figures from Mississippi" list.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Murphy, Dot 1952 births 21st-century American women Living people Sportspeople from Starkville, Mississippi Basketball players from Mississippi Basketball coaches from Mississippi Coaches of American football from Mississippi Forwards (basketball) Starkville High School alumni Mississippi University for Women alumni Mississippi State University alumni American women's basketball players American women's basketball coaches Medalists at the 1973 Summer Universiade FISU World University Games silver medalists for the United States Summer World University Games medalists in basketball Hinds Eagles football coaches Junior college women's basketball coaches in the United States UT Martin Skyhawks women's basketball coaches Female coaches of American football