University of Memphis Athletics
Memphis Athletics Mourns the Loss of Joye Lee-McNelis
Jun 25, 2025 | General, Women's Basketball
HATTIESBURG, Miss. – Joye Lee-McNelis, head coach of the Memphis women's basketball program from 1991 to 2004, passed away on Tuesday at the age of 63.
In lieu of flowers and in honor of her fight against lung cancer, the family asks for donations to her personal charity, the Forrest General Patient Navigation Fund. To donate, click HERE. Friends and family interested in sharing their memories of Coach McNelis, including photos, can email mcnelismemories@yahoo.com.
Visitation will take place on Friday, June 27, from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. at Temple Baptist Church (5220 Old Highway 11, Hattiesburg, MS 39402) in Hattiesburg. A funeral service will also be held there on Saturday, June 28, at 1:30 p.m. followed by a graveside service at Lee's Chapel Baptist Church No. 2 (27015 Leetown Road, Picayune, MS 39466).
The second-winningest coach in program history, McNelis led the Tigers to six conference championships, four NCAA Tournament berths and four WNIT appearances, including a WNIT semifinal run in 1999. She won four consecutive conference titles and recorded five consecutive 20-win seasons from 1994 to 1999. She was a finalist for National Coach of the Year in 1995, and her Memphis record was 229-156. Her head coaching record between Memphis and Southern Miss, where she coached from 2004 until her retirement after the 2024-25 season, was 568-464.
On Monday, the Memphis Sports Hall of Fame announced McNelis would be the first member of the 2025 class. She also recently received the 2024 Pat Summitt Most Courageous Award and the 2025 USA TODAY Mississippi Woman of the Year honor.
A former student-athlete at Southern Miss, McNelis was an assistant coach for the Lady Eagles before signing on as the head coach at Memphis at just 28 years old. She coached the only two Tigers to ever play in a WNBA game, LaTonya Johnson and Tamika Whitmore. Whitmore was inducted into the Memphis Sports Hall of Fame in 2023 and saw her No. 44 retired at Elma Roane Fieldhouse in March of this year.
"[There's] not a word to describe how much this lady meant to so many, not just on her team, but in the Memphis community," Whitmore said on Instagram Tuesday. "Coach left her mark in every room she ever entered. I would not have wanted to be coached by anyone else."
A native of Leetown, Mississippi, McNelis accumulated 339 wins as head coach of her alma mater. The Lady Eagles reached the WNIT five times, including as recently as 2023-24 when they reached the Super 16 and achieved back-to-back 20-win seasons.
McNelis is survived by her brothers Louis Dempsey Lee, Jr., and Rico (Trudy) Alphus Lee; her husband Dennis McNelis; her daughter Whitney (Michael) McNelis Wilkinson; her son Connor Lee McNelis; and her two grandchildren Emma Grace Wilkinson and Caroline Lee Wilkinson.