Former Lady Vols basketball national champion forward under Pat Summitt, Alex Simmons, has been fired as the head coach of Memphis women’s basketball, the school announced. She led the Tigers program since the 2023-24 season, but recorded just a 30-61 record before being let go.
Simmons led the team to a 13-17 (9-9 AAC) mark in her first season, before dropping to 7-23 (5-13) the following year. This past season, she finished 10-21 (4-14). She played UT in a home-and-home, but lost both matchups. The first was in Knoxville to Kellie Harper and the second in Memphis at FedEx Forum to Kim Caldwell.
Shalon Pillow will lead the program during the transition to the next head coach.
“Following a comprehensive evaluation of our women’s basketball program, we believe this is the right time for a leadership change,” Athletic Director Ed Scott said. “We remain committed to building a program that competes at the highest level of our conference and reflects the pride and passion of the University of Memphis community. We have made meaningful investments in women’s basketball and are grateful for the strong support from our fans and donors. I want to thank Coach Simmons for her dedication to our student-athletes and for her service to the University of Memphis, and we wish her and her family the very best in the future.”
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Simmons played at Tennessee from 2004-09. During that time, she claimed a pair of national titles while playing under Summitt and alongside legend Candace Parker.
After Simmons’ playing days, she instantly went into coaching. She joined Kansas as a graduate manager before heading to MTSU as an assistant in 2010. In 2013, she joined Ole Miss as an assistant. She stayed in that role until 2018.
That’s when Simmons earned her first head coaching gig. She led Gardner-Webb from 2018-23. There, she went 89-58 while winning the Big South in 2023 and making the NCAA Tournament.
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