Jamelle Elliott and head coach Geno Auriemma celebrate the 1995 Women\u2019s Basketball NCAA Championship, the first in school history, at a welcome home rally in Gampel Pavilion. (Athletic Communications)<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n
Former teammate Kara Wolters once described Elliott as a great role model, “[because] she\u2019s so intense on the court, and a teddy bear off the court.\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n
After completing her playing career, Elliott served as a UConn Women\u2019s Basketball assistant coach (1997-2009), and then as the head coach at the University of Cincinnati (2009-2018).<\/p>\n
She returned \u201chome\u2019\u2019 to UConn in July 2018 as associate athletic director for the UConn National \u201cC\u2019\u2019 Club, which connects the University\u2019s 7,000 former student-athletes with current students seeking networking, mentorship, and job opportunities.<\/p>\n
In addition to that role, Elliott has taken on administrative duties for lacrosse, softball, and some sports clinics, and is involved in diversity and inclusion initiatives at UConn.<\/p>\n
Q: Coach Auriemma once said, ‘I\u2019ve coached a lot of bright players, but Jamelle is the smartest and the toughest.’ Why the toughest?<\/strong><\/p>\nI think that came from my upbringing in the inner city of Washington, D.C. I grew up in an environment surrounded by drug dealers, women who ended up pregnant \u2013 or killed \u2013 at a young age. My parents instilled in me that I had options. Luckily for me, basketball was the outlet. As a player I was undersized. I won\u2019t say my height, but I\u2019m less than 6 foot. I made up for it with strength, and the determination to stay one step ahead. I knew I had to earn<\/em> my time on the floor. My competitive spirit gave me a niche in the program.<\/p>\nI believed in Coach Auriemma and his vision for the women\u2019s basketball program. Through UConn I was able to travel, win a championship, make lifelong friends, and become the first college grad in my family. Never in my wildest dreams did I think this would happen. I\u2019ve lived a life other people dream about.<\/p>\n
Q: You earned two degrees from UConn, a bachelor\u2019s degree in business administration in 1996 and a master\u2019s degree in sports management in 1997. What did you take from your business training into your coaching career?<\/strong><\/p>\nAs a graduate of the business school, I think I\u2019ve always approached work as if I were a CEO. If I was coaching the post players, I was the CEO of post players. I had to get results. Then when I went to Cincinnati, I had seven or eight staff members and 13 or 14 players, and, again, I had the mindset I took from the business school. How did I want to run the operation? I\u2019d find people I could trust and who wanted to be the best they could, and I\u2019d surround myself with them.<\/p>\n
Q: Which is the better job \u2013 basketball player or basketball coach?<\/strong><\/p>\nI think you have more of an impact on the outcome of the game as a player. No matter your position, you\u2019re determining the success of the game. When you\u2019re a coach, your impact is more on preparation. Once the game starts, you\u2019re supportive and you\u2019re assisting, but at that point, it\u2019s in the players\u2019 hands.<\/p>\n
Q: Tell me about your current role and what you enjoy about it.<\/strong><\/p>\nMy job is associate athletic director of the National C Club for alumni student-athletes. We\u2019re like a LinkedIn for athletes, serving our alumni and our student-athletes with resources. Our student-athletes are looking for advice, mentoring, internships, and jobs, and our goal is to make them as prepared as they can be for their life after sports.<\/p>\n
I\u2019m gaining experience as an administrator. It\u2019s very rewarding. It makes me happy to impact students in the way that others impacted me. As a former athlete, who wouldn\u2019t want to help a current athlete? So far, the people I\u2019ve met have been very willing to do so.<\/p>\n
Q: At 45, what do you know now that you wish you knew at 20? <\/strong><\/p>\nAt 45, I would tell my younger self to just be my authentic self. Be who you are, have values, and stick to them. Life gives you ups and downs and you get through them. At 45, I have what I call my \u2018board of directors,\u2019 who I can talk to about any situation. They are people who will give me advice and direction. I am happy now to be able to offer some of that guidance to the next generation.<\/p>\n
Q: What was the best lesson you learned from your UConn basketball coaches?<\/strong><\/p>\nFrom Chris Dailey I learned how to present myself. She taught us that how you spoke, how you dressed, whether you made eye contact, your body language \u2026 all of that was important. At 18, I started to understand the importance of making a good first impression.<\/p>\n
From Coach Auriemma, I learned that what you think is your best is not good enough. There\u2019s always something you can do better, whether in a drill, in a game, or in life. You can practice harder, do it better, and accomplish more than you originally thought you could.<\/p>\n
Q: What was it like to coach Cincinnati when your team played UConn?<\/strong><\/p>\nThe first time I returned to Gampel, as the head coach at Cinncinati, I shed a few tears when I walked in. But soon reality set in, and I realized that Geno was going to try to beat my team by 100 points, like he does with everyone else. I thought, \u2018Oh, he\u2019s not going to go easy on me!\u2019<\/p>\n
So you try to find small victories in the game. Once, he had benched all his starters and we played so well against the bench that he had to bring the starters back out. I never won the ultimate victory against him, but I did get under his skin a few times!<\/p>\n
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