Anne Donovan

Anne Donovan
Donovan in 2008
Personal information
Born(1961-11-01)November 1, 1961
Ridgewood, New Jersey, U.S.
DiedJune 13, 2018(2018-06-13) (aged 56)
Wilmington, North Carolina, U.S.
Listed height6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)
Career information
High schoolParamus Catholic
(Paramus, New Jersey)
CollegeOld Dominion (1979–1983)
PositionCenter
Coaching career1989–2015
Career history
As coach:
1989–1995Old Dominion (assistant)
1995–1998East Carolina
1998Philadelphia Rage
2000Indiana Fever (interim)
20012002Charlotte Sting
20032007Seattle Storm
2009New York Liberty (assistant)
2009–2010New York Liberty
2010–2013Seton Hall
20132015Connecticut Sun
Career highlights and awards
As player:

As coach:

Basketball Hall of Fame
Women's Basketball Hall of Fame
FIBA Hall of Fame
Medals
Women's basketball
Representing  United States
Olympic Games
Gold medal – first place 1984 Los Angeles Team competition
Gold medal – first place 1988 Seoul Team competition
Pan American Games
Gold medal – first place 1983 Caracas Team competition
Gold medal – first place 1987 Indianapolis Team competition
Jones Cup
Gold medal – first place 1984 Taipei Team competition
Head coach for  United States
Olympic Games
Gold medal – first place 2008 Beijing Team competition
FIBA World Championship for Women
Bronze medal – third place 2006 Sao Paulo Team competition
Assistant coach for  United States
Olympic Games
Gold medal – first place 2004 Athens Team competition
FIBA World Championship for Women
Gold medal – first place 2002 China Team competition
Gold medal – first place 1998 Berlin Team competition

Anne Theresa Donovan (November 1, 1961 – June 13, 2018) was an American women's basketball player and coach. From 2013 to 2015, she was the head coach of the Connecticut Sun.

In her playing career, Donovan won a national championship with Old Dominion University, won two Olympic gold medals, and went to three Final Fours overall. She was enshrined in the Basketball Hall of Fame in 1995, and became a member of the FIBA Hall of Fame in 2015. Donovan was inducted in the inaugural class at the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame in 1999.

As a professional basketball coach, she guided the Seattle Storm to their first title in 2004, becoming the first woman to coach a WNBA Championship team (as well as the youngest person to coach a WNBA champion, at age 42). She is the only person to have both played for a national women's college title and coached a team to a professional title.

After coaching the Indiana Fever and the Charlotte Sting earlier in her career, Donovan joined the New York Liberty as an assistant coach in the spring of 2009, then took over as interim head coach of the Liberty on July 31, 2009. She then went back to college to Seton Hall for two seasons before resigning to take the Connecticut Sun head coaching job for two seasons. Donovan was also the coach of the Olympic gold medal-winning 2008 United States Women's Basketball team.