With a reputation of winning and 18 years of head coaching experience, Vanessa Taylor was announced as the eighth head women's basketball coach at North Carolina Central University on Wednesday, April 18 during a press conference in the Emma Marable Conference Room of the William Jones Building on the NCCU campus.

Taylor hangs up her blue and gold for maroon and gray after 11 seasons as head coach at Johnson C. Smith University and seven seasons as head coach at Elizabeth City State University. During that time, her teams posted 13 consecutive winning seasons, including six campaigns with 20-plus victories.  She was selected as the Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association (CIAA) Coach of the Year on three occasions (1998, 2000, 2011).

She guided JCSU to its first CIAA tournament title in 2009, while finishing as conference tournament runners-up on five occasions (2003, 2006, 2008, 2011 and 2012).  Under Taylor's leadership, the Golden Bulls made five NCAA tournament appearances (2006, 2008, 2009, 2011 and 2012) and garnered top 25 national rankings in four seasons (2004-05, 2009-10, 2010-11 and 2011-12).

Taylor is the all-time winningest women's basketball coach at JCSU with a school record of 215-112 and career record of 298-207.

"We have selected a true winner to lead our women's basketball program.  Coach Taylor is a genuine person who is passionate, empathetic, charismatic, and very successful in the field of developing young women to become scholars, winners, and most importantly leaders," said NCCU Director of Athletics Dr. Ingrid Wicker-McCree.  "Her philosophy statement, which governs her personal and professional life, is focused on four principles: character, courage, competitive greatness and passion.  She is exactly the type of leader we want for our women's basketball student-athletes."

Prior to joining the JCSU program, Taylor tallied seven seasons as the head coach at Elizabeth City State (1994-2001) and two seasons as an assistant coach at Hampton University (1992-94).

Under her direction at ECSU, the Lady Vikings won the regular-season Eastern Division championship in 2000 and 2001.  She was selected as the 1997 and 1998 CIAA Coach of the Year with the Lady Vikings.

In her two seasons at Hampton, Taylor helped guide the Lady Pirates to the 1994 CIAA Tournament Championship and a regional playoff appearance.

Taylor is the daughter of Joe Van Taylor and the late Mattie Taylor, a former high school coach for 30-plus years, whom she credits everything she has learned.

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