Ashley McElhiney

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Ashley McElhiney, Director of Women's Basketball at the University of Alabama

Ashley Reneé McElhiney (born July 7, 1981) is an American basketball administrator, former coach, and former college player. She is best known for having been the first female coach of a male professional basketball team, as the coach of the Nashville Rhythm of the American Basketball Association in the 2004-05 season.

1 Early life and playing career
2 Coaching career
3 Adminstrative career
4 External links

[edit] Early life and playing career

Born to parents Danny and Sandra McElhiney in Martin, Tennessee, she attended Gleason School in Gleason, Tennessee. As a senior, she averaged 17.7 points and 4.0 assists a game. She was the all-time leading scorer at Gleason School with 2,073 points and all-time assists leader with 604.

McElhiney was honored for her high school performance in 1999 as the Tennessee State 1A Miss Basketball.

She attended Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee from 1999-2003 and was awarded the Most Outstanding Defensive Player in 2001, 2002, and 2003 at the position of guard. During that same time period, she was named as Tennessee State Amateur Athlete of the Year for 2002. She was also named as her team's 2001 co-MVP, along with her friend and teammate Chantelle Anderson.

In the 2003 WNBA Draft, she was drafted as the 3rd round selection of the Indiana Fever, but was released before playing any games.

[edit] Coaching career

McElhiney became the first female coach of a male professional basketball team in 2004, when she was hired to coach the American Basketball Association's Nashville Rhythm.

Her coaching career got off to a good start, with the Rhythm achieving a 9-2 record at the start of the season and McElhiney being reported to have the support of the male Rhythm players. Dontae' Jones, a former NBA player then with the Rhythm, was quoted as saying, "It’s going to go a long way toward how women succeed from here on .... If I can help her continue to raise that bar, then I’m doing my job." Another Rhythm player, Adam Sonn, commented, "She comes in, and it’s just normal. It’s just a coach coaching." [1]

The Rhythm's season was marred by an incident in which one of the team's co-owners, Sally Anthony, attempted to fire McElhiney in the middle of a game on January 29, 2005, on the grounds that McElhiney was playing Matt Freije after Anthony insisted that Freije be benched. [2] McElhiney nevertheless finished coaching the game, which the Rhythm won. [3] She was reinstated as coach by decision of the team's other two co-owners before the team's next game. [4]

The Rhythm finished with a 21-10 record, qualifying for the playoffs and the chance to host a first-round playoff game. However, the team's owners chose to withdraw the team from the postseason, stating, "We've lost several players and felt we were not ready for the playoffs." [5] McElhiney resigned as coach later the same week. [6]

[edit] Adminstrative career

In June, 2005, McElhiney joined the athletic department staff at the University of Alabama as the director of women's basketball operations. Her former Vanderbilt University teammate Ashley Earley also joined as the graduate assistant coach.