The University of Tennessee at Martin has announced that former women’s basketball coach Kim Van Atta passed away on Saturday at the age of 60.
Van Atta and her husband Gary became the first collegiate coaches in the state of Tennessee to hold the title of co-head coaches when they began in Martin in April of 1996.
During their eight years at UT Martin, they combined for the second most wins in program history with 105, and guided the women Skyhawks to their first ever OVC regular season championship in the 1998-99 season.
Kim Van Atta and her husband were named OVC “Co-Coaches of the Year” for the 1997-98, and led the team to 22 wins the following season.
Kim Van Atta was also a decorated college player at Lipscomb, where she became a two-time NAIA All-American and All-Time leading scorer with 2,163 points.
She was the first female to be inducted into the school’s Athletic Hall of Fame.
A celebration of life service will take place on May 16th at Lipscomb’s McQuiddy Gymnasium in Nashville.
(photo: University of Tennessee-Martin Athletics)
