Carol grew up in Oakland, MS and went to Kirk Academy where she earned All-American honors as a guard. She attended Ole Miss where she played guard from 1977-1981. During her time at Ole Miss, Ross played in 135 games, scored 1,015 points, had 531 assists, and 333 steals. She hold the school record for steals in a career (333), season (135 in 1980), and a single game (11).
Her 24-year college coaching career began in 1983 as a volunteer at Belhaven College. From 1983-1990 Ross was an assistant coach for the Auburn Tigers. After that, Ross served for 12 seasons as the head coach of the Florida Gators where she was selected as SEC Coach of the Year twice. She became the Ole Miss Head Women’s head coach in 2003 and compiled a 77-50 record over her four years there. The WNBA called and she was an assistant in Atlanta before taking over the Los Angeles Sparks and winning the WNBA Coach of the Year award in 2012.
In addition to being inducted into the Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame, she has also been inducted into the Ole Miss Athletic Hall of Fame in 2001 and was the first female athlete to have her jersey retired at Kirk Academy.
