Longtime women's basketball coach Joye Lee-McNelis has died at age 63 after a lengthy illness with lung cancer, the Southern Miss program announced Tuesday.
Lee-McNelis spent the past 21 years at Southern Miss, her alma mater, and retired after the 2024-25 season. Before that, she was Memphis' head coach for 13 seasons, from 1991 to 2004.
Lee-McNelis, a Mississippi native, played for Southern Miss from 1980 to '84 and then was an assistant there and at Texas State before taking over at Memphis when she was just 28 years old. She went 229-156 with the Tigers and made four NCAA tournament appearances.
After being pursued multiple times to return to her alma mater, she did starting with the 2004-05 season and went 339-308 there. Southern Miss played in the WNIT five times, including in 2024.
Lee-McNelis, who was first diagnosed with cancer in 2017, was honored with the Pat Summitt Most Courageous Award from the U.S. Basketball Writers Association in 2024.
"We'll forever cherish the life of Coach McNelis and all she gave to Southern Miss and her Lady Eagles," Southern Miss posted on X. "Her story was an inspiration to countless people around the world."