THE SULLIVAN FILE

Personal Information

Name: Jennifer Sullivan
Birthday: June 4, 1983
Hometown: Jonesboro, Ark.
High School: Jonesboro High School
Education: B.A. (Communications), Memphis, 2005

COACHING EXPERIENCE

OVERALL

Career record as an assistant is 257-227 in 16 years
Has helped programs to five postseason berths (3 WNIT/2 NCAA)

TENNESSEE

Assistant Coach (2019-present)
Two-year record: 38-18
Helped UT post back-to-back third-place SEC finishes in 2019-20 and 2020-21
Program remained perfect in NCAA Tournament appearances with its 39th in 2021
Served on head coach Kellie Harper’s staff

OHIO STATE

Assistant Coach (2018-19)
One-year record: 14-15
Served on head coach Kevin McGuff’s staff

MISSOURI STATE

Assistant Coach (2013-18)
Five-year record: 93-69
Four postseason appearances (3 WNIT/1 NCAA)
Served on head coach Kellie Harper’s staff

LOUISIANA

Associate Head Coach (2012-13)
One-year record: 10-21
Served on head coach Gary Brodhead’s staff

ARKANSAS STATE

Assistant Coach (2009-12)
Three-year record: 43-50
Served on head coach Brian Boyer’s staff

MCNEESE STATE

Assistant Coach (2008-09)
One-year record: 14-16
Served on head coach Brooks Donald-Williams’ staff

MEMPHIS

Assistant Coach (2007-08)
One-year record: 11-20
Served on head coach Blair Savage-Lansden’s staff

RHODES

Assistant Coach (2005-07)
Two-year record: 34-18
Served on head coach Matt Dean’s staff

COLLEGIATE PLAYING EXPERIENCE

Memphis (2001-05)
2004-05 Team MVP
Four-year letterwinner

Jennifer Sullivan spent two seasons at Tennessee and 16 years overall as an assistant coach, serving for a second time as a member of Kellie Harper's staff.

During Sullivan's two seasons on Rocky Top, UT forged a combined 38-18 overall mark and 19-10 record in SEC play, notching a pair of third-place league finishes and advancing to the SEC Tournament semifinals in 2021 for the first time since 2016. UT defeated four ranked opponents in 2020-21, including No. 2/3 South Carolina, and earned a No. 3 seed in the NCAA Tournament. The Lady Vols finished 17-8 overall and 9-4 in SEC games, ending the year ranked No. 14 in the AP Poll and 16th in the USA TODAY Coaches Poll.

UT's staff has developed players who also have earned recognition for their performances. Rennia Davis earned All-SEC First Team and All-America honorable mention from AP, USBWA and WBCA the past two seasons. Rae Burrell picked up All-SEC Second Team accolades in 2021, while Jordan Horston (2020) and Marta Suárez (2021) made the SEC All-Freshman Team, and Tamari Key became UT's first member of the SEC All-Defensive Team since 2012 with her recognition in 2021.

The first recruiting class signed by the current staff, which was amazingly wrapped up during the midst of the pandemic in 2020, produced 2020-21 starters in true freshman forward Marta Suárez, graduate transfer post Keyen Green from Liberty and graduate transfer point guard Jordan Walker from Western Michigan. The four-player signing group in 2021 was been rated No. 9 by ProspectsNation.com and No. 15 by HoopGurlz/espnW and should contribute significantly to the Lady Vols' upward mobility.

Tennessee's pursuit of excellence does not all take place on the court. The program, which has an all-time 100-percent graduation rate, put eight on the SEC Academic Honor Roll in 2020 and has displayed an improved overall team GPA the past two seasons.

Sullivan was officially announced as a member of the Lady Vol staff on April 15, 2019. She was previously an integral part of Kellie Harper's program at Missouri State from 2013-18, serving as an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator there alongside current UT colleague Jon Harper before spending the 2018-19 season at Ohio State as an assistant coach.

After five seasons in Springfield, Mo., at MSU, Sullivan joined the OSU women’s program in 2018. Her lone year in Columbus found the Buckeyes mixing together five graduate transfers and three freshmen with four returning players. Sullivan played an instrumental role in developing chemistry throughout the campaign. The Buckeyes started the year 4-8 but went on to win 10 of their final 15 regular season games to finish fifth in the Big Ten with a 10-8 mark.

At Missouri State, Sullivan played a significant role in the Lady Bears landing stellar recruiting classes each of her five seasons there. In her first recruiting class at MSU, Sullivan helped land a trio of all-state players from Missouri and another from Illinois that helped the Lady Bears to 79 wins and four postseason appearances during the careers, combining for 439 career games, more than 3,100 points and nearly 1,500 rebounds.

Missouri State’s subsequent recruiting classes reinforced the school’s strong presence in the region, with players from Missouri, Iowa, Kansas, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Illinois and Minnesota signing National Letters of Intent.

Prior to making the move to Springfield, Sullivan spent the 2012-13 season as associate head coach for Garry Brodhead at the University of Louisiana in Lafayette, serving as the team’s recruiting coordinator while handling guard development and scheduling.

Prior to her stint with the Ragin’ Cajuns, Sullivan was an assistant at Arkansas State in her hometown of Jonesboro for three seasons. Sullivan served as ASU’s recruiting coordinator in addition to duties with summer camps, academic monitoring and opponent scouting.

Sullivan’s strong southern ties date to her playing days at Memphis from 2001-05, where she was a three-year starter and helped the Tigers to the second round of the WNIT in 2004. She finished her Memphis career with 800 points, 310 rebounds and 99 steals, graduating in 2005 with a communications degree after being named team MVP her senior season.

Sullivan remained in Memphis upon graduation as an assistant for the Rhodes College women and followed that by spending the 2007-08 season on the Memphis sideline before becoming an assistant at McNeese State for the 2008-09 campaign.