Sharon Fanning-Otis is the former head women's basketball coach at Mississippi State. In 17 years as the head coach of the Bulldogs, she compiled a 281-229 record. During her tenure, she has compiled 6 winning seasons, and 7 postseason appearances. She led MSU to its first ever appearance in the AP Final Poll, and to its first two 20 win seasons. Her 2003 team went 24-8, and finished in the Top 10. During the 2004 season, MSU set a school record for longest winning streak at 12 games. She has announced that the 2011-2012 season will be her last at Mississippi State. She attended Chattanooga High School, and later University of Tennessee at Chattanooga where she played both basketball and volleyball. She started her career at Tennessee as a graduate assistant coach in 1975. From 1976 to 1978, she served as the head volleyball coach at UTC. During that time, she also served as the head women's basketball coach there all the way to 1987. From 1987 to 1995 she served as the head coach of the Kentucky Wildcats women's basketball team. Her overall career record is 597-449. [More at Wikipedia]

December 14th, 1953 in (Age 70)