UT Martin Athletics Mourns Passing Of Former Women’s Basketball Co-Head Coach Kim Van Atta
5/3/2026 11:57:00 AM | Women's Basketball
MARTIN, Tenn. – The University of Tennessee at Martin department of athletics is saddened to announce the passing of Kim Van Atta, who served as the co-head coach of the Skyhawk women's basketball program from 1996-2004. She passed away on Saturday at 60 years old after an extended illness.
At the time, Kim and her husband Gary became the first collegiate coaches in the state of Tennessee to hold the title of co-head coaches when they joined UT Martin in April 1996. They combined for 105 victories (the second-most in program history) and helped guide the Skyhawks to the program's first-ever Ohio Valley Conference regular season championship in 1998-99. That season also included the program's first postseason victory as NCAA Division I members, knocking off Ole Miss in the first round of the 1999 Women's NIT.
The Van Atta's led UT Martin to the OVC Championship semifinals in four consecutive years from 1998-2001 – advancing to the tournament finals in both 1998 and 1999. They were named OVC Co-Coaches of the Year for the 1997-98 season after the Skyhawks were picked to finish eighth in the preseason standings but finished with 18 wins – the most for the program in 15 years – and a 13-5 league record. The following season, UT Martin posted 22 victories and went 14-4 in league play – shattering school records for both marks at the time.
Overall, Kim coached an OVC Player of the Year (Zabrina Harris), seven All-OVC honorees (including five first-team recipients), four OVC All-Tournament performers and five eventual UT Martin Athletics Hall of Famers (Harris, Kelly Pendleton, Nichole Lockridge, Tessa Fields and Andreika Jackson) during her Skyhawk tenure. She also served as the athletic department's Senior Woman Administrator from 2000-01 and Coordinator of Student-Athlete Academic Services from 2001-04.
A Mt. Juliet, Tenn. native, Kim (maiden name Satterfield) was a decorated collegiate and prep star on the hardwood. She became Lipscomb's first female athlete to be inducted into the school's Athletic Hall of Fame after a trailblazing career that included two NAIA All-American awards, three NAIA All-District accolades and four All-Conference mentions from 1983-87. She graduated as the program's all-time leading scorer with 2,163 points and additionally boasted school records for career free throw percentage (.850), single-season free throw percentage (.877) and most points in a game (37). She helped the Lady Bisons to their first-ever NAIA District 24 Tournament appearance while becoming the school's first women's basketball All-American, claiming those honors in both 1986 and 1987.
At the high school level, Kim was an all-state tournament and All-Nashville Interscholastic League first team performer who led Mount Juliet High School to the Tennessee Class AAA title in 1983. That team finished the season with a whopping 36-1 overall record and was ranked No. 13 nationally in the USA Today's final Super 25 Girls Basketball Poll.
A celebration of life service is scheduled for Saturday, May 16 at 3 p.m. at Lipscomb's McQuiddy Gymnasium in Nashville. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be sent to the Emily K. Center in Durham, NC.
At the time, Kim and her husband Gary became the first collegiate coaches in the state of Tennessee to hold the title of co-head coaches when they joined UT Martin in April 1996. They combined for 105 victories (the second-most in program history) and helped guide the Skyhawks to the program's first-ever Ohio Valley Conference regular season championship in 1998-99. That season also included the program's first postseason victory as NCAA Division I members, knocking off Ole Miss in the first round of the 1999 Women's NIT.
The Van Atta's led UT Martin to the OVC Championship semifinals in four consecutive years from 1998-2001 – advancing to the tournament finals in both 1998 and 1999. They were named OVC Co-Coaches of the Year for the 1997-98 season after the Skyhawks were picked to finish eighth in the preseason standings but finished with 18 wins – the most for the program in 15 years – and a 13-5 league record. The following season, UT Martin posted 22 victories and went 14-4 in league play – shattering school records for both marks at the time.
Overall, Kim coached an OVC Player of the Year (Zabrina Harris), seven All-OVC honorees (including five first-team recipients), four OVC All-Tournament performers and five eventual UT Martin Athletics Hall of Famers (Harris, Kelly Pendleton, Nichole Lockridge, Tessa Fields and Andreika Jackson) during her Skyhawk tenure. She also served as the athletic department's Senior Woman Administrator from 2000-01 and Coordinator of Student-Athlete Academic Services from 2001-04.
A Mt. Juliet, Tenn. native, Kim (maiden name Satterfield) was a decorated collegiate and prep star on the hardwood. She became Lipscomb's first female athlete to be inducted into the school's Athletic Hall of Fame after a trailblazing career that included two NAIA All-American awards, three NAIA All-District accolades and four All-Conference mentions from 1983-87. She graduated as the program's all-time leading scorer with 2,163 points and additionally boasted school records for career free throw percentage (.850), single-season free throw percentage (.877) and most points in a game (37). She helped the Lady Bisons to their first-ever NAIA District 24 Tournament appearance while becoming the school's first women's basketball All-American, claiming those honors in both 1986 and 1987.
At the high school level, Kim was an all-state tournament and All-Nashville Interscholastic League first team performer who led Mount Juliet High School to the Tennessee Class AAA title in 1983. That team finished the season with a whopping 36-1 overall record and was ranked No. 13 nationally in the USA Today's final Super 25 Girls Basketball Poll.
A celebration of life service is scheduled for Saturday, May 16 at 3 p.m. at Lipscomb's McQuiddy Gymnasium in Nashville. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be sent to the Emily K. Center in Durham, NC.
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