Over 21 years\u00a0leading the Lady Raiders,\u00a0he\u2019s\u00a0earned the title of winningest head coach in basketball\u00a0program history, both men\u2019s and women\u2019s.\u00a0He\u2019s\u00a0captured\u00a010 conference championships\u00a0and reached\u00a012 NCAA Tournaments.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
And his wife of 51 years has been by his side the whole way.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI wouldn\u2019t be here without Deb,\u201d Rick Insell said.\u00a0\u201cI mean\u00a0she\u2019s\u00a0kind of been\u00a0the behind\u00a0the scenes of everything, and I\u00a0don\u2019t\u00a0really\u00a0give\u00a0her enough credit.\u00a0She\u2019s\u00a0there for our family on every issue and\u00a0she\u2019s\u00a0there for\u00a0all of\u00a0the other families in this community if they need help.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
The pair grew up in Woodbury, Tennessee, but never\u00a0knew each other\u00a0in school due to their five-year age gap.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n She was a country girl, and he was a city boy, or as close to a city boy as can\u00a0be\u00a0in\u00a0Woodbury.\u00a0She\u2019d\u00a0often see him around at\u00a0Cannon County\u00a0basketball games, but nothing\u00a0extensive.\u00a0<\/p>\n When the pair\u00a0met\u00a0formally\u00a0for the first time, Rick Insell hardly waited a week to be bold.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cWe met, 10 days later, he\u00a0told me I was going to marry him, and I said yes,\u201d Deb Insell said.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n Following their wedding ceremony, the couple moved straight into merit-based housing in Murfreesboro, Tennessee. At that time, Deb Insell said she\u00a0never could\u00a0have imagined\u00a0her\u00a0husband\u2019s\u00a0success.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s been a journey,\u201d Deb Insell said. \u201cWhen he\u00a0told me I was going to marry him, he said, \u2018You just better hang on, it\u2019s going to be a\u00a0hell\u00a0of a ride.\u2019 And he\u00a0didn\u2019t\u00a0lie.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n While\u00a0Rick\u00a0Insell was\u00a0establishing\u00a0his career at Shelbyville Central,\u00a0Deb Insell\u00a0took care of their growing\u00a0family. The\u00a0two\u00a0had three sons: Tom,\u00a0Kyle\u00a0and Matt,\u00a0who played\u00a0every shape\u00a0of\u00a0ball but football growing up, Deb Insell said.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n Between her sons\u2019 and husband\u2019s games, Deb Insell\u00a0can\u2019t\u00a0quite recall how many years\u00a0she\u2019s\u00a0spent in the bleachers for her family.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cI was a cheerleader in high\u00a0school,\u00a0I was not a player,\u201d Deb Insell said. \u201cThey don\u2019t think I was an athlete, but I said that I\u2019m still a cheerleader, I\u2019m a lifetime cheerleader.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Even though her husband\u2019s days of roaming the sideline will soon come to an end, Deb Insell\u2019s\u00a0nights in the gym are far from over.\u00a0She and Rick Insell have 13 grandchildren,\u00a0ranging from age four to 22,\u00a0to keep them busy as they hope to\u00a0make\u00a0more of their games\u00a0post-retirement.\u00a0<\/p>\n Deb Insell\u00a0works as a State Farm agent\u00a0based\u00a0in Shelbyville, Tennessee, but\u00a0hopes to travel more with her longtime girlfriends.\u00a0She said\u00a0her husband\u00a0isn\u2019t\u00a0interested in using his passport anytime soon, though.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cHe\u2019s going to play\u00a0golf, and\u00a0be perfectly happy if I go do whatever I want to do,\u00a0because he\u2019s going to play golf,\u201d Deb Insell said.\u00a0<\/p>\n Regardless of any golf or\u00a0vacations,\u00a0both Rick and Deb Insell will still be around\u00a0the MTSU women\u2019s basketball program\u00a0in the coming years.\u00a0Their youngest son, Matt Insell, is set to take over<\/a> as the Lady Raiders\u2019\u00a0next\u00a0head coach\u00a0following the\u00a0team\u2019s\u00a0run\u00a0in\u00a0the WNIT.\u00a0<\/p>\n Matt Insell\u00a0joined his father\u2019s staff eight years ago and was eventually named\u00a0Middle Tennessee\u2019s\u00a0associate head coach, following five seasons as the head coach\u00a0at\u00a0the University of Mississippi.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n Prior to his time at Ole Miss, Matt Insell served as\u00a0an assistant at the University of Kentucky and worked as a\u00a0student\u00a0assistant and video coordinator at the\u00a0University of Tennessee under the likes of men\u2019s basketball coach Buzz\u00a0Peterson and legendary women\u2019s coach Pat Summitt.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n Matt Insell is his own man, but attributes much of his success to his family \u2013 especially his mother,\u00a0who\u2019s\u00a0helped\u00a0keep\u00a0peace between him and his father\u00a0while\u00a0working together, he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThe\u00a0biggest thing she brought to the\u00a0table\u00a0the last eight years is to make sure dad and I\u00a0didn\u2019t\u00a0get in a fistfight at some point,\u201d Matt Insell said jokingly\u00a0in his introductory press conference.\u00a0\u201cShe mediated a lot of arguments because\u00a0we\u2019re\u00a0both\u00a0very competitive\u00a0and both\u00a0very strong\u00a0willed, and both want our way done.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n As\u00a0she\u2019s\u00a0done\u00a0for most of her life, Deb Insell will continue to show up and support\u00a0as her son\u00a0adds\u00a0to the family\u2019s legacy.\u00a0But she might just have to move from her Murphy Center seats behind the MTSU bench.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cI have a lot of coaches that sit behind me, and I\u00a0don\u2019t\u00a0mind them talking about Rick, because he chose that profession a long time ago, but\u00a0I birthed\u00a0that other one,\u201d Deb Insell said. \u201cAnd I just\u00a0don\u2019t\u00a0know if I can take people critiquing\u00a0him\u00a0right in my ear, so I may have to go to a safer zone,\u00a0and I mean safer because I\u00a0don\u2019t\u00a0want to say something I shouldn\u2019t.\u201d\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 ![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/RICKINSELL500-05-576x600.jpg\")
MTSU head coach Rick Insell (left) and Deb Insell (right) watch a recap of Insell\u2019s career highlights with MTSU during the post game ceremony of Insell\u2019s 500th career win after a 63-54 victory over Liberty inside the Murphy Center on Jan. 23, 2026. (Ephraim Rodenbach<\/a>)<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/MATTINSELLPC-4-600x314.jpg\")
MTSU head coach Rick Insell (right) speaks while incoming head coach Matt Insell (left) watches during the Matt Insell introductory press conference inside the Rose and Emmett Kennon Hall of Fame on March 24, 2026. (Ephraim Rodenbach<\/a>)<\/p>\n