Funeral arrangements have been announced for legendary Southern Miss women’s basketball coach Joye Lee-McNelis.
Services for McNelis, who passed away Tuesday at 63 after a long battle with lung cancer, will be held in Picayune and in Hattiesburg – where her journey through college basketball spanned nearly 45 years. Visitation is scheduled for Friday at Temple Baptist Church in Hattiesburg from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. A funeral service will be held Saturday at 1:30 p.m. at Temple Baptist Church, followed by a graveside service at Lee’s Chapel Baptist Church in Picayune.
McNelis, a Leetown native, led the Lady Eagles for the past 21 seasons ahead of her retirement from coaching this past February. She is the second-winningest coach in program history and received numerous honors over the course of her career, including being named USA Today’s Mississippi Woman of the Year and earning the Pat Summitt Most Courageous Award from the United States Basketball Writers Association.
She began her run in Hattiesburg as a star player, landing in the record books with the second-most points scored in program history and leading the Golden Eagles to their first postseason appearance in 1981. McNelis returned to her alma mater in May 2004, becoming the fourth head coach in program history. Across the stretch spanning more than two decades, McNelis guided Southern Miss to more than 300 wins, a regular season title, and multiple postseason appearances.
McNelis also spent time as the head coach at Southwest Texas State (now Texas State) and Memphis State (now Memphis). She got her first head-coaching gig at the age of 28. Her all-time record is 568-464.
In lieu of flowers and in honor of her fight against lung cancer, the family of McNelis is asking for donations to her personal charity, the Forrest General Patient Navigation Fund. Donations can be made here.
