MTSU women\u2019s basketball head coach Rick Insell will retire at the end of the season after 21 years at the helm of Lady Raider basketball, according to MTSU Athletics.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Over\u00a0two decades\u00a0at\u00a0Middle Tennessee, Insell\u00a0became the\u00a0winningest\u00a0head coach in\u00a0program\u00a0history,\u00a0racking\u00a0up\u00a0505\u00a0wins,\u00a010 conference championships and\u00a0making\u00a012 NCAA tournament appearances.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cNever in my wildest dreams did I think, well, one day I would be able to walk this floor around here,\u201d Insell said of his time at MTSU. \u201c \u2026 340 some days a year, I walked across that floor out there and thank the good Lord of him blessing me to be the head coach here.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
The nine-time hall of fame inductee\u00a0is the only coach to win 500 games at both the college and high school\u00a0level,\u00a0winning 775 games\u00a0and\u00a010 state\u00a0championships\u00a0at Shelbyville Central High School in Shelbyville, Tennessee.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
Insell, age 74, will finish the season as Middle Tennessee is set to play in the second round of the Women\u2019s National Invitational Tournament at the Murphy Center. The Lady Raiders await the winner of St. Bonaventure University and Drexel University.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI am not going to quit,\u201d Insell said. \u201cNo, no, no, we\u2019re going to go in this WNIT and try to win it.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
What\u2019s\u00a0next for the Lady Raiders?\u00a0<\/p>\n
In the same release,\u00a0MTSU named\u00a0associate head coach Matt Insell,\u00a0Insell\u2019s son,\u00a0the next\u00a0head coach\u00a0of the Lady Raiders. Matt Insell\u00a0joined his father\u2019s staff eight years ago\u00a0after\u00a0serving as\u00a0head coach at the University of Mississippi\u00a0from 2013 to 2018.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
Prior to Ole Miss, Matt Insell was\u00a0an assistant at the University of Kentucky and worked as a\u00a0student\u00a0assistant and video coordinator at the\u00a0University of Tennessee.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
MTSU\u00a0will\u00a0formally introduce Matt\u00a0Insell\u00a0at a\u00a0press conference on\u00a0Tuesday\u00a0at\u00a0the Blue Raider Sports Hall of Fame.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a young man\u2019s game now,\u201d Rick Insell said.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
To contact the sports editor, email\u00a0[email\u00a0protected]<\/a>.<\/p>\n Follow Sidelines on Facebook at\u00a0Facebook.com\/MTSUSidelines<\/a>, on X\u00a0@mtsusidelines<\/a>\u00a0and Instagram\u00a0@mtsusidelines<\/a>. Sign up for our weekly newsletter\u00a0here<\/a>.<\/p>\n