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Shann Hart Hometown: Newport News Position: Head Coach High School: Ferguson B.S.: Mass Communications/Marketing Alma Mater : Norfolk State '88 Experience: Fourth Season

Head Coach Shann Hart has made an immediate impact on the AU women’s basketball program. In just her second year at the helm, guiding the team to one of the best turnarounds in the country during the 2001-02 sesaon. She took a team that went 4-23 in her first year as head coach and transformed it into a 12-15 squad a year later complete with two All-Patriot League selections and just four returning letterwinners on the roster. Hart led the Eagles to an 18-11 finish in 2002-03, including a 10-4 record in the Patriot League -- tied for second-most league wins in a season all-time at American.

Tthe Eagles made a statement in their first year in the Patriot League -- the second under Hart -- going 7-7 and earning a No. 4 seed in the postseason conference tournament. In addition, several Eagles earned individual recognition on the national level. Sophomore transfer Chanel Spriggs ranked third in the nation in steals, senior Hollie Steinman ranked 32nd in the country in blocks and All-League forward Katryn Costenbader earned First Team Verizon Academic All-America District II honors. American led the Patriot League in both steals and turnover-to-assist ratio while finishing second in blocks on the year.

In her first year, American’s last as a member of the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA), Hart helped the team garner the conference’s best free throw percentage on the year and earned her first win of the season over future Patriot League opponent Navy on Nov. 29. The team also picked up a key home win over East Carolina on Jan. 25, which was ranked second in the CAA standings at the time.

Hart arrived at American after leading St. Mary’s College to three 20-win seasons in her four-year tenure. The Seahawks compiled a 77-32 (.706) overall record under Hart to make her the winningest coach in the history of the women’s basketball program.
She transformed a 14-12 program in 1996-97 into a three-time regular-season and two-time Colonial Athletic Conference (CAC) Champion and NCAA Division III Tournament participant.

Hart guided the Seahawks to their first 20-win season and NCAA appearance in school history during the 1997-98 season, starting a tradition that would continue for the next two consecutive seasons. During the 1999-2000 season, Hart’s Seahawks finished 23-4 on the year, second in the Atlantic Region and ranked 18th in the country in Division III.

Under her direction, the Seahawks earned five individual All-CAC accolades and two Kodak All-American Honorable Mentions.

Hart began her collegiate coaching career at the University of Richmond in 1991 as an assistant coach and remained on the staff for five seasons.

She then served as an assistant at the University of Central Florida during the 1995-96 season where she helped guide the Knights to their first ever winning season and Trans America Athletic Conference (TAAC) Tournament Championship and NCAA Championship appearance.

A native of Newport News, Va., Hart attended Norfolk State University from 1984-88 while earning her bachelor’s degree in mass communications and marketing.

After her undergraduate career was completed, Hart returned to the Virginia area and spent five seasons coaching at the high school level. In that time, she led teams from Denbigh and Menchville High School to five consecutive championships.

Off the court, Hart has run numerous summer basketball camps in both Maryland and Virginia. She served as the coach of the 1998-99 Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA) Washington Mystics team tryouts and as a coach for the 1999-2000 Houston Comets team tryouts. Active in the community, Hart is a volunteer at the Salvation Army’s Boys and Girls Clubs. She is also a member of the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association Board of Directors and the Black Coaches Association.