Coach Fortner is in it to win it.
"I'm a highly competitive person," said Nell Fortner, Auburn women's basketball head coach since 2004. "I want to win everything."
Fortner came to Auburn after coaching the Indiana Fever in the WNBA. Previously, she held jobs as an ESPN analyst for college basketball, head women's basketball coach at Purdue University and a gold medal-winning women's basketball coach during the 2000 Olympics in Sydney, Australia.
"For three years we trained that team," Fortner said. "In that time span I traveled the world, over and over, playing in countries all over the place. So that was a very unique experience, with all the travel."
But after her stint with WNBA, Fortner said she was ready for something else.
"I could have stayed on at ESPN and just continued being an analyst," Fortner said, "but I wasn't done coaching. I wanted to get back into college."
Fortner said her love for the SEC and the belief that Auburn was a tremendous opportunity brought her to the Plains.
"I love it," Fortner said. "I can't even imagine doing anything else. I've never worked a day in my life."
Confidence is the most important thing for an athlete to have, Fortner said, and that's an area where she leads by example.
"She's a very confident person," said Carla McGhee, Lady Tigers assistant coach.
But confidence is not the only thing Fortner brings to the court.
"She just has a passion and a drive that's refreshing," McGhee said. "I think why I really like working for her is that I know that she's in it for the right reasons. She cares about the kids; she cares about the game."
The student athletes are Fortner's favorite part about coaching.
"I love all their energy and everything they're going through," Fortner said. "It's just really fun being around them and helping them through some things, and then helping mold them into the best team and have the most success that they can."
Alli Smalley, guard and senior in elementary education, said Fortner is a fun and energetic coach.
"She's just always really enthusiastic and excited, and she loves the game of basketball," Smalley said. "It doesn't matter who we're playing, what drill we're running in practice, no matter what we're doing, she wants to win."
During the 2008-2009 season, Fortner led the Lady Tigers to their first Southeastern Conference title since 1989.
Fortner said she knew ever since high school that she wanted to be a basketball coach.
"I had dreams of being the Olympic coach before I even knew how in the world you became the Olympic coach," Fortner said. "I knew I wanted to coach at the highest level. So I've been very fortunate in the places I've been and the athletes I've been able to coach. I feel very blessed in my career."
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