Florida A&M has made a splash hire, signing NCAA champion Bridgette Gordon as the next women's basketball coach.

FAMU athletics held a press conference on Friday afternoon announcing the hire of Gordon as the eighth Lady Rattler's coach in the team's history. Gordon is a University of Tennessee basketball great, heralded as one of the Volunteers' best women's basketball players in history.

“It's a tremendous honor to be selected to lead a group of young ladies from this prestigious university,” Gordon said at the press conference Friday afternoon.

As a player, Gordon was pivotal to Tennessee's first NCAA women's national championship in 1987. She also led the team to a second championship in 1989. She is top-10 in Vols history in points per game (18 PPG, sixth all-time), made field goals (1,017, second all-time), and made free throws (423, seventh all-time).

Gordon also won numerous accolades at Tennessee, being named NCAA Final Four MVP, SEC Female Athlete of the Year and SEC Player of the Year as a senior. She also won an Olympic gold medal as a member of Team USA's women's basketball team in 1988.

Bridgette Gordon has served as an assistant coach at Stetson, Georgia State, Wichita State, her alma mater Tennessee and Cincinnati. She appears ready to take on the challenge of being coach of the Lady Rattlers, as evidenced by the confidence she displayed in the press conference.

“When teams come in this building, they're gonna recognize what they're about to feel. And it's gonna be pressure. And if you're going to be able to explain and determine who we are, it's gonna be pressure,” Gordon said.

Gordon takes over for Shannon Pillow, who resigned from her position on July 6th. Under Pillow's leadership, the Lady Rattlers had two losing seasons. Gordon looks to turn around the program, which has had six consecutive losing seasons since the 2015-2016 season when they went 15-14 and 9-7 in the MEAC.

Gordon is set to start her duties on August 14th.