Hill Named New Lee Women’s Coach

Cleveland, TN--Tiffany Hill, a star player and assistant coach at two of the top NAIA women’s basketball programs in the nation, has accepted the position of head women’s basketball coach at Lee University.

 Hill, who is currently the top assistant at Union University, and formerly coached and played at Southern Nazarene University, will replace coach Gary Baldwin, who resigned after nine season at Lee.

 Lee University President Dr. Paul Conn made the official announcement on Friday morning. Said Conn, “I believe Tiffany can build a nationally competitive women program, bring with it an outstanding example of Christian living, and continue to field teams that will respect our institution’s values.”

 Hill was a member of three straight NAIA National Championship teams (1994-‘96) at Southern Nazarene in Bethany, Okla. She served as an assistant at Southern Nazarene from 1996-’99, before accepting a similar position at Union University two seasons ago.

 “Even through this is Tiffany’s first head college coaching job, we felt her excellent background as an assistant coach and player prepared her well for this position,” said Conn. “She comes from two tremendous women’s basketball programs, and we feel she has the knowledge and training to carry our program to a higher level.”

 Conn added that he had spoken to officials at both Union University and Southern Nazarene, and they were in full agreement that the new Lee coach was ready for the challenge.

 The Lady Flames were 18-17 last season, but have never beaten the powerful Union clubs since joining the TranSouth Conference.

 “I think this is a great opportunity at Lee,” said Hill on Friday morning. “I believe everything is in place to move the program up. I wanted to continue coaching at a Christ-centered college. I made the final decision this morning, after talking and praying with my parents last night. I believe God has open this door of opportunity for me.”

 Hill will inherit a Lee team that lost only one senior from this year’s team. She could have as many as 10 players returning for next season.

 The new coach received a Bachelor of Science in Health/Human Performance, Pre-Physical Therapy from Southern Nazarene in 1996. She holds a Masters of Education from the University of Central Oklahoma.

 Lee Athletic Director Larry Carpenter described his new coach as a “winner.” He noted that she has six championship rings to her credit and has always been associated with winning programs. “Having played and coached at two schools with NAIA National Championships, she knows what it takes to get to that level,” said Carpenter.

 The AD added, “Tiffany is a wonderful Christian and her teams reflect that. She works hard to insure her athletes are successful, both on and off the court. She will be a great addition to the Lee University and Cleveland communities.”

 Dr. Conn pointed out that he was gratified to see the number of quality candidates that applied for the position. “We had an outstanding number of finalists,” he noted, “and I would like to thank our search committee for the hard work and long hours they contributed to this selection process.”

 The search committee was made up of Dr. David Tilley, Gary Ray, Dale Goff, coach Jack Souther, Carpenter, coach Rick Hughes, coach Andres Hudson, and George Starr.

 An official welcome will be held for coach Hill in early April. Between now and the end of the school year, she will be traveling to and from Jackson, Tenn., because of her current teaching duties at Union University.

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