Tennessee State fires women's basketball coach Tracee Wells

Tennessee State University is looking for a women’s basketball coach after it announced Tuesday that Tracee Wells, who guided the program for eight seasons, was fired.

Wells was 77-157 overall, 55-103 in Ohio Valley Conference games, including 9-20 and 5-11, respectively, during the just-completed 2011-12 season.

"We are grateful for Tracee's dedication and truly appreciate what she has done for our student-athletes and the University," Teresa Phillips, the TSU athletics director said in a release announcing the move. "However, we feel it's time to go in a new direction for the women's basketball program."

The search for a new coach will begin immediately.

Wells, a TSU graduate, was named interim coach in 2004-05 and took the job full time the following season. She was named the OVC coach of the year in 2007-08 and the following year led the Tigers to their first winning season in 14 years.

Wells also coached at Wright State and Chicago State.