Linda K. Sharp
Encyclopedia
Linda K. Sharp is a former collegiate women's basketball
coach
. Her coaching career spans 31 seasons with stints on all levels from elementary, junior high and high school to the collegiate and professional ranks, and she was inducted into the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame
in 2001.
Sharp served as the Head Coach at the University of Southern California
(USC) women's basketball team, known as the Women of Troy, or simply Trojans, for 12 years, compiling a 271-99 won-loss record. She guided the Women of Troy to back-to-back NCAA
national championships in 1983 and 1984, and a total of three appearances in the Final Four of the NCAA Women's Division I Basketball Championship
. She earned WCAA Coach of the Year honors, the Wade Coach of the Year, and Sporting News Coach of the Year in 1984. While at USC, she was selected as the Pac-10 Conference "Coach of the Year" three times.
Sharp compiled a 138-85 record in eight seasons at Southwest Texas State University.
Sharp served on NCAA
Basketball Rules Committee for seven years.
Sharp's involvement with USA Basketball includes coaching in the 1979 Olympic Festival (silver medal), the 1981 Jones Cup (silver medal) and the 1987 World University Games.
In 1997, she became the first head coach of the Los Angeles Sparks
of the Women's National Basketball Association
. Sharp later assisted her former pupil at USC, Cheryl Miller with the Phoenix Mercury
in 2000. Coach Sharp became the Head Coach of the Phoenix Mercury during the remainder of the 2002 season after Cynthia Cooper
resigned from the position.
In 2001, Sharp was hired as the Head Coach of the women's basketball team at Concordia University in Austin, Texas
. She coached the team for seven years and to 87-87 won-loss record. On September 2008, Sharp announced that she was resigning from the position.
Sharp's career head coach record is 496-271 after 27 years coaching NCAA women's basketball.
Women's basketball
Women's basketball is one of the few women's sports that developed in tandem with its men's counterpart. It became popular, spreading from the east coast of the United States to the west coast , in large part via women's colleges...
coach
Coach (sport)
In sports, a coach is an individual involved in the direction, instruction and training of the operations of a sports team or of individual sportspeople.-Staff:...
. Her coaching career spans 31 seasons with stints on all levels from elementary, junior high and high school to the collegiate and professional ranks, and she was inducted into the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame
Women's Basketball Hall of Fame
The Women's Basketball Hall of Fame honors men and women who have contributed to the sport of women's basketball. The Hall of Fame opened in 1999 in Knoxville, Tennessee, USA...
in 2001.
Sharp served as the Head Coach at the University of Southern California
University of Southern California
The University of Southern California is a private, not-for-profit, nonsectarian, research university located in Los Angeles, California, United States. USC was founded in 1880, making it California's oldest private research university...
(USC) women's basketball team, known as the Women of Troy, or simply Trojans, for 12 years, compiling a 271-99 won-loss record. She guided the Women of Troy to back-to-back NCAA
National Collegiate Athletic Association
The National Collegiate Athletic Association is a semi-voluntary association of 1,281 institutions, conferences, organizations and individuals that organizes the athletic programs of many colleges and universities in the United States...
national championships in 1983 and 1984, and a total of three appearances in the Final Four of the NCAA Women's Division I Basketball Championship
NCAA Women's Division I Basketball Championship
The NCAA Women's Division I Championship is an annual college basketball tournament for women. Held each April, the Women's Championship was inaugurated in the 1981–82 season...
. She earned WCAA Coach of the Year honors, the Wade Coach of the Year, and Sporting News Coach of the Year in 1984. While at USC, she was selected as the Pac-10 Conference "Coach of the Year" three times.
Sharp compiled a 138-85 record in eight seasons at Southwest Texas State University.
Sharp served on NCAA
National Collegiate Athletic Association
The National Collegiate Athletic Association is a semi-voluntary association of 1,281 institutions, conferences, organizations and individuals that organizes the athletic programs of many colleges and universities in the United States...
Basketball Rules Committee for seven years.
Sharp's involvement with USA Basketball includes coaching in the 1979 Olympic Festival (silver medal), the 1981 Jones Cup (silver medal) and the 1987 World University Games.
In 1997, she became the first head coach of the Los Angeles Sparks
Los Angeles Sparks
The Los Angeles Sparks is a professional basketball team based in Los Angeles, California, playing in the Western Conference in the Women's National Basketball Association . The team was founded before the league's inaugural 1997 season began...
of the Women's National Basketball Association
Women's National Basketball Association
The Women's National Basketball Association is a women's professional basketball league in the United States. It currently is composed of twelve teams. The league was founded on April 24, 1996 as the women's counterpart to the National Basketball Association...
. Sharp later assisted her former pupil at USC, Cheryl Miller with the Phoenix Mercury
Phoenix Mercury
The Phoenix Mercury is a professional basketball team based in Phoenix, Arizona, playing in the Western Conference in the Women's National Basketball Association . The team was founded before the league's inaugural 1997 season began; it is one of the eight original franchises...
in 2000. Coach Sharp became the Head Coach of the Phoenix Mercury during the remainder of the 2002 season after Cynthia Cooper
Cynthia Cooper
Cynthia Lynne Cooper is a former American basketball player who has won championships in college, the Olympics, and in the Women's National Basketball Association . She is considered by many as one of the greatest women's basketball players ever. In 2011, she was voted in by fans as one of the...
resigned from the position.
In 2001, Sharp was hired as the Head Coach of the women's basketball team at Concordia University in Austin, Texas
Austin, Texas
Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of :Texas and the seat of Travis County. Located in Central Texas on the eastern edge of the American Southwest, it is the fourth-largest city in Texas and the 14th most populous city in the United States. It was the third-fastest-growing large city in...
. She coached the team for seven years and to 87-87 won-loss record. On September 2008, Sharp announced that she was resigning from the position.
Sharp's career head coach record is 496-271 after 27 years coaching NCAA women's basketball.