Kellie Harper fired as Lady Vols basketball coach after five seasons at Tennessee

Kellie Harper's time to restore Lady Vols basketball to glory is up after five seasons.

Athletic director Danny White announced Harper's firing Monday, one week after the Lady Vols lost 79-72 to NC State in the NCAA Tournament second round.

"Decisions like these are never easy to make, especially with someone who has done so much for the Lady Vols as a three-time national champion student-athlete," White said in a school release. "Her love and passion for Tennessee and the Lady Vols is second to none. She has invested so much heart and soul into our program and truly has given her all for Tennessee. I thank Kellie for her stewardship of our women’s basketball program and wish her and Jon well in the next chapter of their lives.

"After seeking input from our student-athletes, I will begin an aggressive search process to find the next leader for our iconic women’s basketball program. To protect the integrity of this process, you will not hear from me until we are ready to announce our new head coach."

Tennessee was consistently one of the top teams in SEC under Harper, but it couldn't get over the hump to achieve the success of the past.

Harper left Tennessee better than she found it – a program in decline after legendary coach Pat Summitt's retirement and passing – but she struggled to win against top competition and couldn't break through the Sweet 16. Harper's record at UT was 108-52 and 53-24 in conference play.

Harper, 46, was under contract through April 14, 2028, and because she was fired without cause, she is owed $2,222,916.

Harper's buyout dropped Monday. It went from 100% of her annual compensation through April 14, 2027 to 50% of her annual compensation through the end of her contract.

"It has been an honor to serve at my alma mater and to coach a Lady Vol program I love so dearly," Harper said in a school release. "I am grateful for the opportunity my staff and I have had to lead an amazing group of young women and to mentor them on the court as well as provide them with life skills that will benefit them far beyond the game of basketball."

Kellie Harper's contract

Harper earned three contract extensions over the last three years. The first came after her first two seasons, and then she signed one after each of her runs to the Sweet 16.

Harper's contract ran through April 14, 2028 after her third contract extension in April 2023, which followed Tennessee's second straight trip to the Sweet 16. The extension also included a raise, bringing her annual compensation to $1.1 million. She was the fourth-highest paid women's basketball coach in the SEC in 2023-24 season.

The last season of the Kellie Harper era at Tennessee

The Lady Vols had pieces for a successful season, but it was quickly derailed when star forward Rickea Jackson was sidelined with an injury two games into the season. Tennessee went 4-4 without her, a stretch that included three losses to ranked opponents and the program's first-ever loss to Middle Tennessee State.

The Lady Vols eventually hit their stride, though they went 10-6 in SEC play with Jackson back in the lineup. It was their worst finish in conference play under Harper (tied for fourth), though they came close to upsetting No. 1 South Carolina twice. But they couldn't pull off the wins, which was a consistent theme against top competition in Harper's last two seasons.

Tennessee only recorded one win against a ranked opponent for the second straight season, which was a stark turnaround from the five wins over ranked opponents in the 2021-22 season. Harper went 12-37 against ranked opponents at UT.

The Lady Vols finished 20-13 this season. It was only one win better than Holly Warlick's last season as coach in 2018-19 when they went 19-13, their worst season in the NCAA Tournament era.

Tennessee's .606 winning percentage this season was its worst under Harper as it barely reached 20 wins. It took a step back in the postseason, exiting the NCAA Tournament in the second round after two straight trips to the Sweet 16 in 2022 and 2023. The Lady Vols were a No. 6 seed, their worst seeding in Harper's tenure and the first time under Harper they hadn't been at least a No. 4 seed with hosting privileges.

Harper's high school recruiting caught up to her this season. She didn't sign any recruits in the 2023 class, marking the first time in program history the Lady Vols didn't have any incoming freshmen. Tennessee's success this season was too dependent on Jackson, and when she was injured, it couldn't overcome her absence. Harper struggled to gain traction with elite high school recruits and only signed two high school players over the last three recruiting cycles.

Harper produced four first round draft picks in her tenure at Tennessee. Three Lady Vols were drafted to the WNBA the last three years, and Jackson will make it four in a row in April.

Kellie Harper year-by-year record

Below is Kellie Harper's year-by-year record with the Lady Vols.

• 2023-24: 20-13, 10-6 SEC (NCAA second round)
• 2019-20: 21-10, 10-6 SEC (NCAA Tournament canceled)
• 2020-21: 17-8, 9-4 SEC (NCAA second round)
• 2021-22: 25-9, 11-5 SEC (NCAA Sweet 16)
• 2022-23: 25-12, 13-3 SEC (NCAA Sweet 16)
• Overall: 108-52

Harper's best season was in 2021-22. It was her first 25-win season at Tennessee, which ended in its first trip to the Sweet 16 since 2016. The Lady Vols rose to the top five of the national polls in January, where they stayed for three weeks before their first SEC loss.

They ended the season ranked No. 17 in the USA TODAY Sports coaches poll and No. 18 in the AP Top 25. Since being ranked the entire 2021-22 season, Tennessee has only been ranked for a combined 14 weeks in the AP Top 25 and 11 weeks in the coaches poll the last two seasons.

That season also marked the beginning of injury trouble that has plagued Tennessee for three seasons. Key starters like Jackson, Jordan Horston, Tamari Key and Destinee Wells have been sidelined for a significant part of the season the last three years, which impacted the Lady Vols' success.

But Harper restored some respectable success to the program. Tennessee hadn't made the Sweet 16 for the last three seasons before she was hired, and even lost in the first round of Warlick's last season. The Lady Vols made two straight trips to the Sweet 16 in 2022 and 2023, and they consistently finished third in the SEC before this season. Harper led Tennessee to the 2023 SEC Tournament Championship game, the program’s first appearance since 2015.

Kellie Harper was national champion at Tennessee

Harper, a Sparta native, made history as a player at Tennessee under Summitt. She won three national championships from 1996-98 before graduating in 1999, which included going 39-0 en route to the Lady Vols' third straight championship in 1998.

Harper left with her name in the history book, finishing her career in the top 10 for assists, assist average, 3-point attempts and 3-point percentage. She still ranks eighth in career assists.

Before Tennessee, Harper coached at Missouri State from 2013-19. She led the Bears to the Sweet 16 in 2019 before she was hired to coach the Lady Vols.

Her first Power Five coaching job was at NC State from 2009-13. She was fired in 2013 after the Wolfpack missed the NCAA Tournament three seasons in a row. Her first head coaching job was at Western Carolina, which made the NCAA Tournament in her first and last seasons there. She spent four seasons as an assistant at Auburn and Chattanooga before getting hired at WCU.

Cora Hall covers University of Tennessee women’s athletics. Email her at cora.hall@knoxnews.com and follow her on Twitter @corahalll. If you enjoy Cora’s coverage, consider a digital subscription that allows you to access all of it.