The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
Fran Harris named to inaugural Dallas ISD Athletic Hall of Fame Class
12.20.2017 | Women's Basketball
Harris was a standout on Texas' 1986 NCAA Championship team.
Fran Harris, a UT Women's Athletics Hall of Honor inductee, standout on Texas' 1986 NCAA Championship team and current Women's Basketball Community Engagement Coordinator, has been selected for induction into a decorated inaugural class of the Dallas ISD Athletic Hall of Fame, it was announced Wednesday.
Harris is one of 10 members of the inaugural class, which also includes Ernie Banks, Tim Brown, Michael Carter, Chryste Gaines Courtney, Freddie James, Larry Johnson, Davey O'Brien, Jerry Rhome and Dave Stallworth. Harris is a 1982 graduate of South Oak Cliff High School in Dallas.
The Dallas ISD Athletic Hall of Fame acknowledges those who have raised the level of public awareness and appreciation for high school athletics through their distinguished achievement and excellence, both on and off the field of competition. Each living inductee will attend a special induction ceremony this spring to honor the Hall of Fame Class of 2018. The event is set for 6 p.m., Friday, May 4, 2018, at Ellis Davis Field House.
"I'm excited to be included among the esteemed honorees in the DISD's inaugural Hall of Fame class," Harris said. "I look forward to thanking those who helped an awkward, late-blooming athlete carve out a niche in a sport that's helped change my life."
The Dallas native was a student-athlete for hall-of-fame coach Jody Conradt from 1982-86 during the most successful era women's basketball at The University of Texas. Harris was named Southwest Conference Player of the Year in 1984-85 and was team MVP of the historic 1985-86 squad, which became the first women's college basketball team to go undefeated (34-0) and win the NCAA title.
Harris' 1,798 career points at Texas currently ranks seventh in program history.
After graduating with a communications degree from UT, Harris played professional basketball in more than 30 countries while based with teams in Italy and Switzerland and as part of USA Basketball national teams. In between seasons of her professional playing career, Harris served as a graduate assistant on Conradt's coaching staff during the 1988-99 season and attained a master of arts in journalism from The University of Texas in 1991.
Harris played two seasons in the WNBA. The first with the Houston Comets on the inaugural WNBA championship team in 1997, and the second with the Utah Starzz in 1998.
Harris' many accomplishments in the business industry include over 15 years of experience as a corporate trainer and speaker, former account executive at Procter & Gamble (1991-95), 10 years of live broadcast experience with the ESPN family of networks (1994-2001; 2011-present), host of HGTV's Home Rules (2010), 'advice guru' for ABC's Good Morning America (2010-11), and adjunct professor of advertising at The University of Texas at Austin (2011-13).
In 2007, Harris was inducted to the UT Athletics Women's Hall of Honor. She is currently completing a Master of Science degree in Technology Commercialization from the University of Texas McCombs School of Business, with a projected graduation date of May 2018.
DALLAS ISD INAUGURAL ATHLETIC HALL OF FAME CLASS
Ernie Banks; Booker T. Washington High School ('50); baseball
Tim Brown; Woodrow Wilson High School ('84), football
Michael Carter; Thomas Jefferson High School ('79); football
Chryste Gaines Courtney; South Oak Cliff High School ('88); track and field
Fran Harris, South Oak Cliff High School ('82); basketball
Freddie James; David W. Carter High School, head football coach
Larry Johnson; Skyline High School ('87); basketball
Davey O'Brien; Woodrow Wilson High School ('35); football
Jerry Rhome; Sunset High School ('60); football
Dave Stallworth; James Madison High School ('61); basketball
