FLORENCE, SC – Francis Marion University athletic director Murray Hartzler announced on Wednesday (March 21) the hiring of Heather Macy as the university’s new head coach for women’s basketball. The announcement was made at a news conference at the Cottage on the FMU campus.

Macy, 28, replaces Valecia Tedder, who resigned on March 5 after five seasons on the Patriot bench. Macy becomes the 10th head coach in the storied history of the Francis Marion program, and the youngest new coach since Sherri Tynes took over the coaching reigns as a 27-year-old in 1988.

The Hamptonville, N.C., native comes to Francis Marion after two seasons as head coach at Pfeiffer University in Misenheimer, N.C. This past season, she guided the Falcons to a 26-5 record, the CVAC regular-season and tournament championships, and an appearance in the NCAA Division II national tournament. She was named the CVAC Coach of the Year, and her squad led the nation in scoring offense (83.8 ppg) at the end of the regular season.

In her first season, she guided Pfeiffer to a 14-15 mark after inheriting only four returnees from an 8-20 squad. Her Pfeiffer squad represented the United States in the Barbados vs. USA Friendship Basketball Tour during the summer of 2006.

Her coaching resume also includes stints as an assistant coach at two Division I institutions, University of Maryland-Baltimore County and High Point University, and a pair of Division II schools, Lenoir-Rhyne College, and Catawba College. In her six seasons as an assistant, her teams’ combined records were 84-60.

She served as head coach for a USA Athletes International squad that toured Australia in 2004 and won a gold medal with a 7-0 mark at the Australian Youth Games. She is founder of The Focused 50 Basketball Camp.

“We are extremely excited to have Heather join our staff,” Hartzler said. “She was identified early in the search process and was our number one choice. She has a background both at the Division I and II levels, and in just a short time, turned the Pfeiffer program into a national contender. We feel she possesses all the qualities needed to guide our program into the upper division of the Peach Belt Conference while recruiting quality student-athletes.”

“I am very excited about this new challenge,” Macy said. “I want to express my gratitude to (FMU president) Dr. Carter, athletic director Hartzler, and the administration for this opportunity. The emphasis they have placed on the women’s basketball program was one of the drawing points for me. The successful history of the program was also very appealing.”

“I look forward to establishing the program at a level of national prominence. The Peach Belt is one of the top Division II conferences, with top quality coaches and student-athletes.

“Because I am joining the program so early in the spring, I look forward to working with the players during off-season workouts and laying a foundation for 2007-08. It will give me a chance to introduce new terminology for the system we will utilize, and the core group of returning seniors has me excited about the possibilities next season.”                                                                     

Macy received a B.S. degree in sport and exercise studies (cum laude) from Greensboro College, where she was a four-year letterwinner on the basketball court. She ended her career 11th on The Pride’s career scoring list (707 points) and in the top 10 for assists (207). In 2002, she earned a master’s degree in human performance and recreation from the University of Southern Mississippi.

Upon her graduation, she quickly moved into the coaching ranks, accepting the position at Catawba.

The Francis Marion program has an all-time record of 675-335 in 34 seasons. The Patriots have captured two national championships, the 1982 AIAW Division II title and the 1986 NAIA title, and also advanced to the 1998 NCAA Division II Final Four. The program made five straight NCAA Division II Tournament appearances between 1997 and 2001.

Francis Marion loses only one senior from this past season’s 6-22 squad that finished 3-13 in PBC play and placed sixth in the North Division standings.