Betsy Harris arrived at Coastal Georgia in the spring of 2011 to revive a women's basketball program that had not been in existence since the mid-1980s.
The 2011-12 season marked the first as a head coach for Harris, who came to the Mariners program with a wealth of basketball experience as an assistant coach and also a college and professional player. Harris led the Mariners to a 19-10 record in their inaugural season.
Harris spent the bulk of her time on the bench as an assistant coach at the University of West Alabama, where she served two different stints with the program there.
She started her coaching career at West Alabama as a graduate assistant for the 1999-2000 season and was promoted to assistant coach the following year. Harris remained in that position for one year before going to Troy University where she coached for a season and also East Central Community College where she spent a full season.
After two years away from West Alabama, Harris returned to the school and spent the next seven years there working as an assistant coach and also the associate head coach until a coaching change at the top led Harris to Meridian (Miss.) Community College as an assistant for a season before she was hired by Coastal Georgia.
During her time at West Alabama, Harris was instrumental in the development of several outstanding guards including Jessica Thompson who became the school's all-time 3-point field goal leader. Several West Alabama guards scored 1,000 points in their careers under Harris' guidance and finished their careers ranked near the top in points scored at the school.
As a collegiate player, Harris was a four-year starter at guard for the University of Alabama and helped the Crimson Tide to three straight NCAA Tournament appearances and one trip to the Final Four. She earned second-team All-SEC, NCAA Midwest Regional MVP and Final Four All-Tournament honors as a senior in 1994.
Harris holds the record for most 3-point field goals made at Alabama and ranks sixth on the team's all-time scoring list with 1,519 career points.
She was also invited to participate in the USA Basketball National Team Trials in 1993.
Harris played professional for four years after college with stops in Spain, Iceland, Sweden, Greece and Switzerland. She also was invited to training camp for the WNBA Detroit Shock in 1998.
Harris attended Decatur High School in Mississippi, where she was an all-state basketball player. Her team won the school's first state championship her senior year. Harris also qualified for state in tennis and track during high school.
Harris graduated from Alabama with a B.S. in Sports Management and earned her M.A. in Teaching at West Alabama in 2001.
She is the daughter of Pat and Linda Harris of Decatur, Miss. She has a twin sister (Patsy), an older sister (Becky) and a brother (Jeff).
