The Servant Leader Coaches Bible Study

Coach Chelsea speaks with Jeri Porter on her faith and love for God and Servant Leadership. 

Porter was named to the position on May 11, 2015, and made an immediate impact.  Inheriting a squad that lost 20 games the year before and was picked to finish next to last according to the pre-season Peach Belt Conference coaches' poll, she directed the Patriots to a 24-9 record, a No.23 national rankings, and an appearance in the NCAA Division II Elite Eight.  That squad produced one All-Conference performer and one PBC All-Academic Team selection.

During her second year, FMU went 18-12 and placed second in the Peach Belt Conference's East Division.  The Patriots advanced to the PBC Tournament semifinals, one player earned All-Conference honors, and one garnered Academic All-Conference recognition.  In 2017-18, the Patriots posted a 16-12 mark and saw two players earn All-Conference honors and one pick up All-Region and All-America accolades. In 2018-19, FMU went 12-15 with one player gaining All-Conference and All-Region honors, and during the 2019-20 season the Patriots were 14-13 and featured a pair of All-PBC performers.

Altogether, Porter has 21 years experience as a collegiate head coach – 11 at the NCAA Division I level and 10 at the Division II level – and has recorded a 294-300 career mark. 

She came to Florence after spending the 2014-15 season at Georgia State University as an assistant on the Panthers’ staff.

Porter’s first head coaching position was at Division II University of North Alabama, where she posted three winning marks in four seasons, including a 21-7 record in 1999-2000. That squad captured the Gulf South Conference East Division title, while Porter garnered conference Coach of the Year recognition.

She was named the head coach at Radford in 2002 and led the Highlanders to 93 wins in six seasons, including a pair of 20-win campaigns and two second-place finishes in the Big South Conference. Her 2007-08 squad was 23-12 and earned a WNIT invitation.

In 2008, she accepted the head coaching position at George Mason University, where she remained until 2013.  Porter increased the Patriots’ win total over her first four seasons (from four to 15 wins).  During her time in Fairfax, she also created and directed the Jeri Porter Girls’ Basketball Camps.  Her final two squads posted a cumulative team grade point average of 3.09.

Porter is a 1991 graduate of Liberty University, where she earned a B.S. degree in psychology. She garnered first-team All-Big South Conference honors as a senior and was twice named her squad’s most valuable player. She was inducted into the university’s Lady Flames Hall of Fame in 1998.

She began her coaching career at her alma mater serving as an assistant coach for six seasons, during which time the Lady Flames won two conference tournament championships and advanced to the 1997 and 1998 NCAA Tournaments.

She married Michael Porter of Manassas, Va., in 1997 and the couple has a son (EJ, age 20) and a daughter (Jada, 11). Her son plays basketball at Messiah College in Mechanicsburg, Pa.

Porter is the 13th head coach in the storied history of the Francis Marion program.

The Francis Marion program has an all-time record of 897-499 in 48 seasons and ranks 12th among all NCAA Division II institutions in total wins.  The Patriots have captured two national championships, the 1982 AIAW Division II title and the 1986 NAIA title, and also advanced to the 1998 NCAA Division II Final Four.  The program made five straight NCAA Division II Tournament appearances between 1997 and 2001, and four consecutive appearances between 2008 and 2011.