Sept. 5, 2002

FORT WORTH, Texas -- TCU women's basketball coach Jeff Mittie has announced the hiring of Sean McShane as the team's first-ever director of women's basketball operations. McShane comes to the Lady Frog coaching staff after previously serving in a number of different roles in the basketball world. With TCU, McShane will be responsible for handling team travel, scouting reports and film breakdown, while also assisting in team scheduling.

McShane is no stranger to the Lady Frog program, as the native of Washington state served as TCU's tour guide on the team's 2001 summer trip to Australia. McShane, who spent five years working as a coordinator for Basketball Travelers, was in charge of the Frogs' itinerary over the two-week trip, and learned a lot about Mittie and the TCU women's hoops program.

"I am very excited to be at TCU," McShane said. "It is a great opportunity for me to work with a top-25 program. I'm looking forward to a great season ahead, and hope to help the team reach its goals. TCU has laid a great foundation, and I believe that this school is ready to take the next step."

For the past six years, McShane has assembled and served as head coach of an Australian team that has played a series of exhibition games in the United States. Previously, McShane spent four years as the general manager/head coach of the Border Basketball Club in New South Wales, Australia, where he was in charge of recruiting and coaching duties for a team that competed in the national Australian Basketball Association (ABA). As general manager, he oversaw all of the club's operations, from sales and marketing to budgeting to public relations.

Prior to his work in Australia, McShane was employed by the Tri-City Chinook of the Continental Basketball Association. He worked in a pair of roles for the Kennick, Washington-based team, gaining experience as a full-time assistant coach while also serving as the team's director of sales.

In the 1992-93 season, McShane worked as the administrative assistant to the men's basketball program for his alma mater, St. Martin's College in Lacey, Wash. There he was responsible for scouting and recruiting prospective student-athletes, organizing practice and travel plans and on-court coaching.

McShane played collegiate basketball for both Whitman College and St. Martin's, and graduated from St. Martin's with a B.A. in psychology in 1992. His playing experience also includes a stint with Australia's Sandringham Basketball Club in Melbourne.

"Sean has a wide variety of experiences, and we felt that he could contribute a lot to our program," Mittie said. "Since our team had the opportunity to work so closely with him on the Australia tour, we felt like he was a very good fit personality-wise. We're happy to have him on board."