Mesabi Range College hires Tamara Moore, becomes lone current woman head coach of men's college basketball program

Tamara Moore, a former WNBA player from North Minneapolis, has been hired as the head men’s basketball coach at Mesabi Range College in Virginia, Minnesota.

Moore is now the only known current woman to be named the head coach of an intercollegiate men’s basketball program. She's also the first African-American woman to be the head coach of a men's college team.

In an Instagram post Sunday, Moore announced she accepted the job starting in the 2020-2021 season.

“I have been offered the chance to make history by being the 1st women to ever be hired to run a college men’s basketball program and I’m beyond blessed to start this new decade with this amazing honor,” she wrote.

In addition to her duties on the court, Moore will also be the head women’s softball coach for the spring season as well. She said she has already begun the recruiting and staff hiring process.

Moore was a high school star at Minneapolis North before going onto play at Wisconsin. She was the No. 15 overall pick in the 2002 draft played for seven WNBA teams in her professional career. She was most recently the head coach at Minneapolis Edison High School.

Moore takes over a Mesabi team that went 6-19 last season.