Rick Insell vividly remembers being interviewed for the Middle Tennessee State women’s basketball coaching job more than two decades ago.
Insell was trying to jump from the high school coaching ranks to college. MTSU deputy athletic director and senior women’s administrator Diane Turnham used that as a chance to peer inside Insell’s brain.
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“She said, ‘Do you plan on coaching like you did in Shelbyville at the college level?’” Insell remembers. “And my response was, ‘You know, I’m gonna come in and be Rick Insell. I don’t know any other way to coach. So, if the university’s wanting someone that’s going another direction, you might need to hire somebody else. But if you want me to come in and be Rick Insell, then that’s what I’ll do.’”
Turnham laughed and responded, “that’s what we want.”
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Insell, 74, did just fine being himself for over 50 years in coaching. He is the Tennessean’s 2026 Fred Russell Lifetime Achievement Award recipient and will be recognized at the Middle Tennessee High School Sports Awards show on June 9 at Music City Center.
Insell was hired by MTSU in 2005 and retired after the 2026 season with 505 wins and 12 NCAA Tournament appearances, the best women’s basketball totals in school history. Among his TSSAA basketball peers, he’s still renowned for building Shelbyville High School into a powerhouse. In all, he has won 1,279 basketball games.
He’s a member of the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame, National High School Hall of Fame, Blue Raider Sports Hall of Fame, Basketball Coaches of Tennessee Hall of Fame, Tennessee Sports Hall of Fame and TSSAA Hall of Fame, among others. He was inducted to the CUSA Hall of Fame in 2025.
“Decide what you want to do and where you want to go, then find those people and get around them,” Insell said of his secret to success. “Most people who give you advice in the coaching field have never made it. Get around the ones that have made it and find out what their key is.”
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Insell won at least 20 games in 18 of his 21 seasons at MTSU and had nine seasons of 25 wins or more. But his story began with a dominant run at Shelbyville High School in 1978. Insell led the Golden Eaglettes to 10 state championships, 15 state championship game appearances and USA TODAY national titles in 1989 and 1991.
He won 774 games in 28 years at Shelbyville, including a national-record 110 in a row during a streak of four consecutive state titles (1989-92). He was named national coach of the year four times (1989, 1991 by USA TODAY and 1990, 1992 by Converse).
He was also one of the first high school coaches to sign a team apparel deal with Nike, back in 1985.
Insell is still getting used to retirement. Working on his golf game has helped him adjust, he said, but he expects he’ll still attend some MTSU practices.
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Insell’s son, Matt, will succeed him as the Blue Raiders coach and Insell will maintain an office at the university.
“Really, I did feel lost there for a while,” Insell said of retirement. “But then I got to thinking, I’m going to have the best of both worlds.”
Tyler Palmateer covers high school sports for The Tennessean. Have a story idea for Tyler? Reach him at tpalmateer@tennessean.com and on the X platform, @tpalmateer83.
He also contributes to The Tennessean’s high school sports newsletter, The Bootleg. Subscribe to The Bootleg here.
This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Rick Insell named Fred Russell Lifetime Achievement Award winner
