THE ROGER VANNOY ERA 
(1982-present)

After the end of the 1981-82 season, Dave Miller resigned as the Women's Basketball Coach in order to concentrate on the men's program, where he served as the Assistant Coach. Athletic Director Elaine Minton didn't have to look far for his replacement.

Just down the road at Powell Valley High School, Roger Vannoy was building a dynasty as the coach of the Lady Indians. Vannoy, a 1975 graduate of LMU, had taken over the program immediately after he received his degree and proceeded to make it one of the top girls' teams in the state. From 1975-82, Vannoy had compiled a 133-58 record (PDF format) and won several district titles. One notable feature of this period is the transition of Tennessee high school girls' basketball from the three-on-three half-court  game to the "normal" five-on-five played today.

Vannoy inherited an LMU program that had compiled a 52-50 record in the previous four seasons and had just lost what was arguably the two best players on the team in Juanita Hall and Sis Lawhead. His first season saw the Lady Railsplitters endure a 11-14 record, one of only two losing seasons they have had under Vannoy. The next team posted a 14-14 record and showed signs of the greatness to come.

The 1984-85 season saw the Lady Railsplitters make their first appearance on the national stage as they received their first national ranking and had their first All-American in Terry Whitehead. Coach Vannoy also picked up his first 20-win season at LMU, a streak he was to maintain for the next seven seasons. In all, Coach Vannoy has had a 20-win season in ten of his twenty seasons at LMU. The 1986-87 team also had the distinction of overcoming a 1-4 start to win 26 straight games, losing in the NAIA District 24 finals.

During his tenure, the Lady Railsplitters have won three TVAC titles (1986-89, one for every year they were a member) and five straight NAIA District 24-East titles. (1986-91) In 1990, they made the transition from the NAIA to the NCAA Division II level. Since then, the Lady Railsplitters have made their mark, advancing to the Gulf South Conference tournament in their first appearance in the 1993-94 season, winning the 2000-01 GSC Eastern Division title and earning the top spot in the Women's Basketball Coaches Association Academic Rankings as the team with the highest G.P.A. in NCAA Division II (3.620) in the 2000-01 season.

The 2002-03 season saw the team reach new heights in what was essentially a rebuilding year after losing five seniors from the previous season. This team overcame a 2-3 start to not only win the GSC Eastern Division title and make it to the GSC Tournament semifinals, but they also earned LMU's first berth in the NCAA National Tournament (in fact it was the Lady Railsplitters' first appearance in any national tournament.)

As of the end of the 2002-03 season, he has coached five All-Americans, had 16 players named All-Conference, three named Conference or District MVP/Player of the Year, two named NAIA All-District, three named NCAA All-South Region and two named GSC-East Freshman of the Year. He has also graduated over 98 percent of his players who finished their eligibility at LMU.