Nell Fortner Hometown: Jackson, Miss. Position: Head Coach Alma Mater: Texas (1982)

When Nell Fortner became the fifth head coach in Auburn women's basketball history on April 22, 2004, she brought with her a unique blend of experience that she has used to lay a foundation for the Auburn program as she dedicated and achieved her goal of brining the Trigers back into the national spotlight.

As an Olympic and World Championship gold medal coach, a well-respected television analyst and a sought after motivational speaker, and with head coaching experience at all levels, Fortner has one of the most complete resumes in women's basketball.

In her first season at Auburn, Fortner led the Tigers to a 16-13 overall record and a 6-8 ledger in the SEC. Fortner's inaugural team felt the loss of two key post players in Mandisa Stevenson and Le'Coe Willingham, as both moved on to spots on WNBA rosters. The Tigers were not expected to be a threat in conference play that year, but Fortner had her own plans that season. The Tigers became the most dangerous team in the league, nearly knocking off No. 1 LSU twice.

Fortner began a foundation for the Auburn program by inking high school All-American and Miss Basketball from Alabama and Louisiana: DeWanna Bonner, Whitney Boddie and KeKe Carrier, in 2004.

With a roster equipped with a mere three upperclassmen, one of which was a junior transfer, the Tigers 2005-06 season was one of learning for the eight underclassmen. In her second year, Fortner guided the young team to a 14-15 overall record, including a 4-10 mark in SEC play. The freshman did shine in their inaugural campaign as Bonner became the first freshman to lead the team in scoring since Becky Jackson in the 1980-81 season. Over the summer, Bonner added to her resume as she helped lead team USA to a gold medal in the FIBA Americas U20 Women's Championship in August. Classmate Carrier was also a member of the U20 trials roster.

Twelve of the 13 members of the 2006-07 squad were brought to Auburn by Fortner and staff. Even with a roster dominated by underclassmen the Tigers reached new heights in Fortner's third year, turning in a 21-13 ledger which included a trip to the "Elite Eight" of the Women's NIT. Bonner continued to excel in her sophomore campaign, as she led the team in scoring and rebounding, becoming only the third sophomore ever at Auburn to lead the team in both categories in the same season. For her efforts, Bonner was named First Team All-SEC. Bonner gained more international experience over the summer, as she help lead the USA U21 World Championship team to a gold medal in July.

Fortner made recruiting in the state of Alabama a priority and it showed in her fourth recruiting class as she brought in three native's in guard Ruth Ketcham, center Cassie Moore and guard Alli Smalley. The 2007-08 squad included eight players from the state of Alabama, the most of any Auburn squad in program history.

In 2007-08, Fortner saw her goal met as the Tigers jumped into the national spotlight, earning as high as No. 14 in both the AP and Coaches poll. Auburn steamrolled through the non-conference season, picking up two victories over top-25 oppponents and finished SEC play with a 7-7 record, good enough for sixth overall.

Fortner's team also accopmlished another major feat during the 2007-08 season, when they defeated their first top-10 opponent. On Jan. 13, the Tigers blasted past SEC-foe Georgia, 82-52. For their efforts during the season, Auburn earned a trip to the NCAA Tournament as the No. 11 seed and played No. 6-seeded George Washington in Stanford, Calif. It was Auburn's first trip to the Big Dance since 2004, and the first for Fortner since her stint at Purdue.

Fortner's impact at Auburn is much more than just on the court. She is a staple in the Auburn/Opelika area and is well-known through her community service efforts and public speaking. The Jackson, Miss., native also travels around the country for numerous speaking engagements including the Tucson Duramed FUTURES Golf Classic, which was held in May in Tucson, Ariz., and at the USOC in Colorado Springs at the "Women in Coaching" convention in September.

In addition to her work in the community, Fortner's reach is global. During her first season on the Plains, she was named as the spokesperson for the Auburn University War on Hunger in conjunction with the World Food Programme and continues in her commitment to the program.

Against LSU in 2005, the team worked along side the campus World Food Programme to host "This One's For The Girls", which raised nearly $3,000 for the WFP and 2,406 pounds of food for the East Alabama Food Bank. In its second season, "This One's For The Girls", versus Florida on Feb. 19, 2006, brought in enough change from fans in attendance to feed more than 2,600 children.

On the national scene, Fortner is most frequently recognized by coaching Team USA to the gold medal in the 2000 Olympics. As the USA coach from 1997 to 2000, Fortner led the squad to a 101-14 record (which in addition to the Olympic gold medal included a 1998 World Championship gold medal) during that time, the most wins of any coach in Women's USA Basketball history. For her efforts, Fortner was named the 2000 USA Basketball Coach of the Year. In 1999, Fortner was named the head coach of the WNBA's Indiana Fever and was later appointed the head coach and general manager, a position she held for three years. In order to complete her commitment to USA Basketball, the Fever granted Fortner the time necessary and joined the team for the 2001 season. While with the Fever, Fortner led the team to a 42-56 record and the 2002 WNBA Eastern Conference playoffs.

Fortner's tour with USA Basketball did not begin in the 2000 season. Starting in the summer of 1995, Fortner served as an assistant to 1996 Olympic coach Tara VanDerveer, helping lead the team to a 52-0 run. Included in that run was an 8-0 ledger in the Olympic games, which culminated with a gold medal. Fortner's duties as an assistant included overseeing the national team's strength and conditioning program, the development of perimeter players and scouting of opponents and video game analysis.

Fortner's resume as a collegiate head coach is just as impressive as she led the Purdue squad to a share of the Big Ten regular season title in 1997 with a team that returned just four players. The first-year coach was named the National Coach of the Year by Basketball Times and was awarded Big Ten Coach of the Year honors for her efforts. That season, the Boilermakers played to a 12-4 conference mark and a 17-11 overall record, as well as a second round appearance in the NCAA Tournament.

Fortner served as an assistant under Hall of Fame coach Leon Barmore at Louisiana Tech from 1991-95. During those five seasons, the Lady Techsters went 123-37 and made five consecutive appearances in the NCAA Tournament and a National Championship game appearance in 1994. Including the 1997 season, collegiate teams associated with Fortner made nine consecutive trips to the NCAA Tournament and tallied a 10-year record of 252-66 (.792) during that time.

After graduating from Texas, Fortner took on responsibilities as the head girl's basketball coach at Killeen High School in Texas. From there, she served as a graduate assistant at Stephen F. Austin in 1987 while completing her Master's degree in education and was then promoted to a full-time assistant, where she served from 1988-90. While at SFA, the Ladyjacks played to an 87-12 record and attended three consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances. In 2007, Fortner was honored by Stephen F. Austin with the Distinguished Alumnus Award.

Fortner graduated from the University of Texas in 1982, playing for mentor, and Hall of Fame coach, Jody Conradt for the 1978-81 seasons. As a player, Fortner helped guide the Longhorns to a 127-26 record during her four seasons and led Texas to its first national ranking in women's basketball and a seventh-place finish at the AIAW National Tournament. While at Texas, Fortner scored 1,466 points, which remains near the top of the scoring leaders list at UT. The multi-sport athlete also played middle hitter for the Texas volleyball team and helped lead the Longhorns to the 1981 AIAW national championship.

In 1978, Fortner was a part of the silver medal-winning U.S. Olympic Festival South Team, averaging 6.0 points and 4.3 rebounds per contest.

In November of 2001, Fortner was appointed to the University of Texas Women's Athletics Wall of Honor and the Texas Hall of Fame. Prior to coming to The Plains, Fortner offered her talents to ESPN as a studio analyst, which included covering the NCAA Tournament and was then expanded to WNBA coverage, which she currently contributes to.

A native of Jackson, Miss., Fortner is the proud owner of four dogs, Chip, a yorkshire terrier/chihuahua mix, Jena, a yellow lab, Grady, a black lab and Tate, a hound mix.