NCAA News feature story on Coach Shirley

Philadelphia University Head Women's Basketball Coach Tom Shirley enters his 21st season with the Lady Rams in 2009-10 and 29th overall season as a collegiate head coach.  During his stellar coaching career, Shirley has compiled a 577-256 (.693) overall record including a 21-10 mark last season, leading his team to a first-ever Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference (CACC) Championship and the first NCAA Tournament appearance since the 2000-01 season. 

Last season, three PhilaU student-athletes were named to the CACC All-Tournament team including Tournament MVP and Daktronics/NCAA Division II All-American candidate junior center Jess Romano.

With their performance under Shirley last year, the Lady Rams earned their 18th consecutive postseason appearance.  As one of the most successful women's basketball coaches in NCAA Division II history- Shirley is currently ranked fourth among active Division II coaches in career victories -his accomplishments have not gone unnoticed, as evidenced by his induction into the DeSales University Athletic Hall of Fame in 2000 as well as his inclusion in the Philadelphia University Athletic Hall of Fame in 2007 class.

Shirley, 55, came to then-Philadelphia Textile in 1989 as both the head women's basketball coach and Associate Director of Athletics. In January of 1992, he succeeded H.R. Ted Taylor as the University's Director of Athletics, a position he still holds today.

In his first season with Textile, Shirley, who has an undergraduate degree in economics and a master's degree in sports administration, led the Lady Rams to the ECAC Tournament after posting a 17-11 record. In the 17 seasons since, Shirley has built one of the nation's premier NCAA Division II women's programs as evidenced by its current streak of 18 straight postseason appearances.

Shirley's postseason appearance streak began in the 1991-92 season when the Lady Rams, coupled with a 26-6 record, received their second ECAC Tournament bid in three years. However, it was the 1992-93 season that put the program on the map when Shirley guided the team to a school-record 27-2 mark. After beginning the season with 22 straight victories, the team received its first-ever NCAA Tournament bid under Shirley. For his efforts, he was named the American Women's Sports Federation (AWSF) Division II National Coach of the Year as well earning the Converse District Coach of the Year award.

Coming off an NCAA Tournament appearance in 2000-01 season, Shirley guided the Lady Rams to a 19-11 mark overall in 2001-02, capping the year with the team's first-ever ECAC title. The following season, Shirley led his team to a second consecutive title, posting an 80-76 win over Bryant (R.I.) College and this past year, the Lady Rams advanced to the 2007 ECAC title game before falling to Dominican College in the championship.

A 1976 graduate of Allentown College (now known as DeSales University) where he was a member of the men's basketball team, Shirley's coaching career began in 1981 at his college alma mater. During his highly successful eight-year tenure with the Centaurs, Shirley guided the program to an overall mark of 149-73 while also serving as the school's Director of Athletics. In his final season at Allentown, Shirley led the team to a school-record 24-6 mark and an eventual berth in the NCAA Division III Sweet 16.

In addition to his duties as coach and administrator at the University, Shirley also serves as president of the CACC and is a member of the NCAA Division II Championships Committee. In 2007, Shirley was also recognized for his administrative efforts at the University as he was named the AstroTurf NCAA Division II Athletic Director of the Year, receiving the award at the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA) annual convention in Orlando, Fla.

Shirley lives in Harleysville, Pa., with his wife, Monica, and daughters Kristen, a Philadelphia University graduate, and Caitlin, a student at St. Joseph's University.

A former standout player for the Lady Rams from 1998 to 2002, Melissa (Kelly) Storm begins her fifth year on head coach Tom Shirley's staff. 

Prior to her return to the University, Storm served as an assistant coach at Chestnut Hill College under another former Lady Rams' alum, Jackie deMarteleire.  In her four years as a player under Shirley, the Norristown High School product was a major contributor on teams that achieved an overall mark of 84-41-a .672 winning percentage.  Storm scored 795 career points, and the former point guard ranks eighth all-time in school history with 193 career steals and ninth all-time in career assists with 347.  As a senior, Storm averaged a career-high 11.0 ppg in leading the Lady Rams to the 2002 Division II Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) Championship.  In doing so, Kelly was named tournament MVP, averaging 19.0 ppg and 6.0 assists per game in the postseason, helping the team to their first-ever ECAC title.

Storm currently resides in Blue Bell, PA with her husband Brett and is a technology teacher at Sun Valley High School.

Jim Munn enters his fifth season as a member of the Philadelphia University women's basketball staff, bringing to the program a wealth of coaching experience.  Munn came to the University from Kennedy-Kenrick High School, where he served as the girls varsity head coach after six years as an assistant coach for the girls varsity at Cardinal Dougherty High School. 

A graduate of La Salle College High School and Penn State University, Munn was instrumental in helping Cardinal Dougherty to three consecutive seasons with 20 or more wins from 2002 through 2004.  This included being ranked #10 in the East Region according to USA Today in 2003 when the team finished with a 21-6 overall record. 

In addition to his work at Kennedy-Kenrick and Cardinal Dougherty, Munn has also been active with the Philadelphia Belles AAU girls basketball team, including leading the team to four Mid-Atlantic Championships.

Munn resides in Plymouth Meeting, PA with his wife Kathy.