Tennessee announced Monday it's moving on from women's basketball coach Kellie Harper.

"After a thorough review of our women's basketball program, I have informed Kellie we are making a change in leadership," athletic director Danny White said. "Decisions like these are never easy to make, especially with someone who has done so much for the Lady Vols as a three-time national champion student-athlete.

"Her love and passion for Tennessee and the Lady Vols is second to none. She has invested so much heart and soul into our program and truly has given her all for Tennessee. I thank Kellie for her stewardship of our women's basketball program and wish her and Jon well in the next chapter of their lives."

The Lady Vols went 108-52 in Harper's five seasons at the helm. After reaching the Sweet 16 in 2022 and 2023, they were knocked out by North Carolina State in the second round of the 2024 NCAA tournament.

The school is continuing to chase the heights it enjoyed under Hall of Fame coach Pat Summitt.

Longtime assistant Holly Warlick had the thankless task of succeeding Summitt in 2012. After guiding Tennessee to the Elite Eight in three of her first four years, Tennessee began seeing diminishing on-court returns that led to Warlick's ouster in 2019.

Harper returned to Knoxville to great fanfare. A three-time national champion as a player with the Lady Vols, she had already cut her teeth as a head coach at Western Carolina, NC State and Missouri State. In her final season at Missouri State, the Lady Bears went 25-10 and advanced to the Sweet 16 for the first time since 2001.

Tennessee was hiring from within the family and getting a candidate with head-coaching experience, the latter being something that wasn't true with Warlick. That White is moving on from a Lady Vols legend with a .675 winning percentage is a sign of his exacting standards for the coach of the women's team.

White said he will speak with current players and embark on "an aggressive search process" to identify Harper's replacement.

It will be fascinating to see how the search evolves because Tennessee has a rich history that makes it still one of the most recognizable brands in women's basketball. Whoever takes over for Harper, however, will not only be working in the shadow of Summitt but also have to compete directly against two of the top coaches in the country: South Carolina's Dawn Staley and LSU's Kim Mulkey.

The Lady Vols may also be a case where their opinion of themselves doesn't align with how they're viewed outside of the circle. Harper failed to land a single recruit in HoopGurlz's Top 100 ranking for 2023 and Justine Pissott was the only player ranked from the 2022 class. Pissott subsequently transferred to Vanderbilt after her freshman season.

Recruits who are entering the frame now will have almost no memory of Candace Parker carrying Tennessee to its last two national titles in 2007 and 2008.

LSU's turnaround under Mulkey is a prime example of how the right sideline leader can revive a dormant power. Poaching a coach that good from a major program could be a challenge for White given the factors working against Tennessee.