ELON, N.C. – Former University of North Carolina women’s basketball standout Charlotte Smith has been named the new Phoenix head women’s basketball coach, Elon University Director of Athletics Dave Blank announced today, June 22. An assistant coach at UNC for the last nine seasons, Smith becomes only the sixth head coach in Elon women’s hoops history.

“We want a leader with character, integrity and enthusiasm, but I think the number one thing that our players want is a players coach and someone that would really relate to them and continue good strong relationships and unite them as a group,” Blank said. “We wanted a coach who was committed to the coexistence of academic and athletic excellence, as well as a familiarity with the recruiting footprint of Elon University and also the state of North Carolina. We wanted someone that had a background that demonstrated an ability to create a winning and successful basketball program. We landed on Charlotte Smith for a number of reasons and from our conversations it was pretty clear to me that she’s prepared to become a head coach.”

Over the last nine seasons as an assistant coach at UNC, Smith helped the Tar Heels to a 257-54 record, including a 100-30 mark in the Atlantic Coast Conference. UNC won four ACC titles over the last nine seasons, making seven appearances in the top-25 national rankings. The Tar Heels made the NCAA Tournament all nine seasons during Smith’s tenure, making two trips to the Final Four as well as six Sweet 16 and four Elite Eight appearances. From 2005-2008, North Carolina earned a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament.

“The Elon experience is like no other and you have to be a part of it to understand it,” Smith said. “When I was reading through some different information, I saw the U.S. News and World Report ranks Elon as the nation’s top school to watch, not the region, but the nation to watch. And I said ‘why watch when I can be a part of it’.”

The most decorated player in North Carolina history, Smith was a four-year letterwinner for the Tar Heels from 1992-95 and is one of only two UNC women’s basketball players to have had her jersey retired. The 6-foot forward who wore No. 23 was named National Player of the Year by ESPN in 1995 following a career in which she scored 2,094 points (fifth all-time at UNC) and grabbed 1,200 rebounds (second all-time at UNC).

Smith is perhaps best known for her performance in the 1994 NCAA Championship game, when her buzzer-beating three-pointer gave UNC the national crown with a 60-59 win over Louisiana Tech. She also had a championship-record 23 rebounds in the game and was named the Final Four's Most Outstanding Player.

The ACC Rookie of the Year in 1992, Smith earned All-ACC and ACC Tournament MVP honors in her junior and senior seasons as the Tar Heels claimed back-to-back conference crowns.

As a senior, she was named All-America by Kodak, the Associated Press and the U.S. Basketball Writers Association. In 2002, she was named to the ACC's 50th Anniversary team as one of the top players in conference history. She also was honored as the 10th-best female athlete in the history of the league. Early in her senior season, she became just the second collegiate women's player to dunk in a game when she did so against North Carolina A & T on Dec. 4, 1994.

Following her collegiate career, Smith played professional basketball in Italy, where she was MVP of the Italian All-Star Game for the 1995-96 season. She also spent the 1999-2000 season there.

The Colorado Xplosion picked Smith in the third round (17th overall) of the initial American Basketball League draft in 1996. She spent two-and-a-half seasons in the league, playing for Colorado and the San Jose Lasers and earning All-Star honors.

Smith was the 33rd pick in the 1999 WNBA draft by Charlotte and played six seasons for the Sting before moving to Washington in 2005 then to Indiana in 2006.

Smith has made numerous international appearances for U.S. teams. She was MVP of the 1996 USA Basketball Jones Cup squad, which won a gold medal. She also has played for the 1997 USA Basketball Women's International Invitational team, the 1995 World University Games team (coached by Hatchell), the 1994 US Select Team, the 1993 U.S. Olympic Festival South team and the 1992 Junior World Championship Qualifying team.

A native of Shelby, N.C., she graduated from Shelby High School, where she earned all-state honors and was her team's MVP all four years. Smith completed her UNC bachelor's degree in sociology in 1999. In addition to playing professional basketball, she has interned in the Charlotte Sting offices and has worked for US Sports Management, Inc.