The New “Porter”
Brian T. Chan
Assistant Sports Editor

Webster’s Dictionary defines porter as a person who carries burdens. The first-year “porter” in Fairfax will have loads to carry for a team that has only five conference wins in the last two seasons.

In its 35 years of history in women’s basketball, George Mason University is undergoing only their third coaching change since the 1984 season. Mason hired Jeri Porter, the seventh overall head coach in school history, this past April after the predecessor Debbie Taneyhill announced her resignation.

Porter takes over a team that has yet to have recorded a winning record since the 2004 campaign. Porter will have a tough task to get Mason out of the cellar of the Colonial Athletic Conference. On the bright side, Mason’s 7-5 start as of mid-January last season and the returning starters give Porter something to work with in her first year.

“In the short run, we want to be competitive. Our goal is to be better than we were the previous night,” said Porter, “Recruiting is a vital part in the long run and right now we think we have a good team.”

Porter’s basketball days began as a player at Liberty University when she scored 717 points, which ranks among the top 20 scorers in the Lady Flames school history as of this day. After graduating in 1991, Porter immediately became the assistant coach of her alma mater.

“I loved the game, and I wanted the opportunity to interact with the young women as a mentor, both on and off the court,” said Porter.

After a 28-1 season in 1998, Porter landed her first head coaching job at University of North Alabama. From 1998-2002, Porter guided the team to a 64-43 record. Porter’s led the team to a 13-14 record in her rookie season as head coach. An improvement was imminent as the Lions to a 21-win season in 2000, their highest since the 1994 season. Porter was honored Gulf South Coach of the Year for leading the team to a conference championship. In addition to building a successful team, she gained the reputation as a solid recruiter who took academic factors into consideration. Two of her players were named to the all-conference teams in 2000, and in 2002, her team was recognized for maintaining the highest GPA in the athletic department.

“Once students get to college, academics are their top priority. In order to be successful, you need to know what you want to win. We want to recruit the players that fit our style of play. Even though I think the team we have right now is good, we will want to continue to recruit in order to improve,” said Porter.

In 2002, Porter returned to the Big South Conference, where she first played and coached basketball. This time, she was coaching another team. Her second head coaching job was at Radford University. After a rough first season, Porter eventually took the team to a higher level. In the 2007 season, Radford won 20 games, which also marked the first time in fifteen years. Last season, Porter and Co. recorded the second most wins in school history with a record of 23-12. The Highlanders earned an automatic bid to the WNIT, but made an early exit in a loss to CAA foe James Madison, a team Porter will have to face twice this coming season.

Porter comes into Mason with an impressive résumé, a 93-85 record with her previous employer and a 157-128 overall record as a head coach. Mason’s last 20-plus-win season came in 2002, one of only four in school history. Steering a team that went 17-42 in its previous two seasons to a 20-win season will be complicated goal to achieve immediately, but with Porter under the helm, there is a new era in Mason women’s basketball.