Nell Fortner​

Nell Fortner was a standout high school athlete at New Braunfels and went on to play for a national championship team in volleyball at Texas.  Later, she became one of the nation’s leading coaches in women’s basketball, guiding Team USA to the gold medal in the 2000 Olympics. Fortner was a 1977 graduate of New Braunfels High School.  She made all-state in basketball and helped the volleyball team to the state finals in 1976.​

Fortner attended the University of Texas, becoming one of the basketball program’s all-time scoring leaders and leading them to their first national ranking. She also won an AIAW volleyball title in 1981. After graduating, she worked four years as a graduate assistant for Stephen F. Austin, leading the Ladyjacks to an 87-12 record and three straight tournament appearances. She then worked five years as a basketball assistant coach under Leon Barmore at Louisiana Tech. She then got an opportunity at USA Basketball, where she worked under Tara VanDerveer on a team that ultimately won the 1996 Olympic gold medal in Atlanta. Taking over the USA program as head coach in the next quadrennial, she led the team to a World Championship in 1998 in Germany and then an Olympic gold in 2000 in Australia. Her record was 101-14. Fortner then moved to the WNBA where she coached the Indiana Fever from 2001-2003.​

As a college head coach, Fortner was National Coach of the Year in her one and only season at Purdue in 1996-97.   She recently completed her eighth season at Auburn, where she won 30 games and the SEC championship in 2008-09, which was the first time in 20 years. She was named SEC Coach of the Year for the 2008-2009 season as well as being named Basketball Times National Coach of the Year. In 2019, Fortner was hired as the head coach of Georgia Tech, where she has already led the Yellow Jackets to one Sweet Sixteen appearance. She was inducted to the Texas Sports Hall of Fame in 2001.​