When Betsy Harris was hired as the head coach of the Florida Southern women’s basketball team in 2014, the college’s athletic director at the time asked her if she thought she could win a national championship.

Harris said yes.

Six years later and the Decatur native is still grinding toward that goal, a feat she said has been, and continues to be, her only focus. After reaching as far as the quarterfinals in the NCAA Division II Tournament back in 2016, Harris’ squad was selected to compete in their fifth straight tournament and was preparing to make their return to the event when the NCAA canceled its winter sports championships due to the COVID-19 pandemic. 

But before Florida Southern’s season was suddenly halted, preventing Harris from even attempting to accomplish her ultimate objective, she managed to pick up a milestone that, to her, has significant meaning because of how it came about. 

Playing on the road Feb. 26 against conference foe and No. 14 nationally ranked Tampa, Florida Southern eked out a 56-51 upset victory to hand the Spartans their first, and what wound up being their only, loss in Sunshine State Conference action.  

The Moccasins’ performance marked Harris’ 200th career win as a head coach, achieved in just nine years.

“Being against the team that we beat, it was pretty huge. Beating them on their home floor to get it was pretty special, and seeing how happy my team was afterward made it all worth it,” Harris said. “It’s a milestone either way, but it’s a lot more memorable with how you get it, and to feel like the team really wanted it for you, it means a lot. We try to get the very best out of them, and if we can, then special moments like that happen.”

For Drew Howard, who took over as athletic director a year ago, the timing of the win in relation to where Florida Southern was in the season made it all the more crucial. 

“To get such a big win and have it be a milestone win, I think makes it that much more special for Betsy when she gets time to reflect on some of those things,” Howard said. “I was able to go to that game, and to watch the team and Betsy just enjoy the emotion of such a big victory — because at that point they were still playing to make the postseason, and it was a win that I think they felt put them in the postseason — it was big.”

The Moccasins finished the regular season 18-10 overall and 15-5 in conference play, earning them the No. 3 seed in the Sunshine State Conference Tournament. They fell out of the event in the semifinals but made the NCAA Tournament via selection committee as a No. 7 seed. 

Over her six years at Florida Southern, Harris has racked up three 20-win seasons — including a 25- and 27-win season — a 30-win season, two conference championships and three SSC Coach of the Year awards. In 2016, her squad reached the NCAA Division II Elite Eight.

Prior to her tenure with the Moccasins, she served as head coach at Coastal Georgia of the NAIA Division I association, where she earned 68 wins in three seasons. She also spent time as an assistant at East Central Community College and Meridian Community College.

As a player, Harris led the Decatur High School basketball team to the 2A state title in 1990 and went on to compete at Alabama from 1990-94, where she set school records in 3-pointers made in a career, season and a game, and was nominated for Division I Player of the Year. After graduating, she competed professionally in Europe for four years and participated in training camp with the WNBA’s Detroit Shock in 1998. 

Harris said her success as a head coach is reflective of the assistants with whom she’s collaborated and the student-athletes with whom she’s worked. She knows she’s demanding and pushes her program to reach its full potential, but added that the players of Florida Southern and the school administration has allowed her to continue that mantra. 

“It’s a winning mentality. It’s consistency. We’ll see a lot of coaches and a lot of programs find some success, but it’s really hard to find that on a regular basis,” Howard said “You can tell with Betsy it’s not a flash in the pan, it’s what she brings day in and day out. It’s the energy and passion she brings to her team. It’s just really special.”

Securing her 200th career win this season is especially meaningful, Harris said, because it came during a campaign she didn’t initially anticipate as being so prosperous. Losing two All-Americans to graduation last year, and equipped with eight freshmen, she still guided the Moccasins to a 63% winning percentage.

“We probably shouldn’t have done as well as we did this year, but I’m never going to expect less just because of who we may lose,” Harris said. “For us to do as well as we did this season, even though I expect it, it felt like we overachieved, so it was really special for (the 200th win) to be with this team.” 

Being unable to compete for a national championship on the heels of her milestone has been tricky for Harris to grapple with, she said. With the demands of coaching and the time-consuming nature of the job, for it to abruptly end without a true conclusion, a final game, is difficult to absorb. 

“Especially as coaches, you’re constantly on the go. You’re constantly thinking about the next opponent and you’re thinking about your team,” she said. “You’re stressed over it, and the next thing you know is everything stops all of a sudden, and it feels like you’re stuck. It’s hard to even explain.”

Howard said he feels for Harris and her senior athletes, and it’s unfortunate that her younger players will miss out on the experience of playing in the NCAA Tournament. He knows, however, that Florida Southern will be back in that position under its current leader.

“When you win that many games that quickly, it’s not luck or good timing,” he said of Harris. “It’s hard work and a lot of ability.”