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{{Short description|American basketball player and coach (born 1975)}}
{{BLP sources|date=August 2023}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=March 2025}}
{{Infobox basketball biography
| name = Beth Cunningham
| image =
| alt =
| caption =
| league = [[Missouri Valley Conference]]
| team = Missouri State Lady Bears
| position = [[Head Coach]]
| height_ft = 6
| height_in = 0
| weight_lb = 150
| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1975|6|5}}
| birth_place = [[Greenville, Ohio]], U.S.
| death_date =
| death_place =
| high_school = [[Bloomington South High School|Bloomington South]]<br/>([[Bloomington, Indiana]])
| college = [[Notre Dame Fighting Irish women's basketball|Notre Dame]] (1993–1997)
| career_start =
| career_end =
| career_position = [[Shooting guard]]
| career_number = 21
| coach_start = 2001
| years1 = 1997–1998
| team1 = [[Philadelphia Rage]]
| years2 = 2000
| team2 = [[Washington Mystics]]
| cyears1 = 2001–2003
| cteam1 = [[VCU Rams women's basketball|VCU]] (assistant/assoc. HC)
| cyears2 = 2003–2012
| cteam2 = VCU
| cyears3 = 2012–2020
| cteam3 = [[Notre Dame Fighting Irish women's basketball|Notre Dame]] (associate)
| cyears4 = 2020–2022
| cteam4 = [[Duke Blue Devils women's basketball|Duke]] (assistant)
| cyears5 = 2022–present
| cteam5 = [[Missouri State Lady Bears basketball|Missouri State]]
| highlights =
'''As player:'''
* 2x First-team All-[[Big East Conference|Big East]] (1996, 1997)
'''As coach:'''
* [[Missouri Valley Conference|MVC]] regular season champion (2025)
* MVC Coach of the Year (2025)
| medaltemplates = {{MedalSport | Women's [[Basketball]]}}
{{MedalCountry | the {{USA}} }}
{{MedalCompetition|[[World University Games]]}}
{{MedalGold|[[USA Women's World University Games Team|1997 Marsala]] | Team Competition}}
{{MedalCompetition|[[Pan American Games]]}}
{{MedalBronze| [[Basketball at the 1999 Pan American Games|1999 Winnipeg]] | Team}}
}}
'''Beth Cunningham''' ({{nee}} '''Morgan'''; born June 5, 1975), is the head coach of the [[Missouri State Lady Bears basketball|Missouri State]] women's basketball team.
==Career==
She was previously an associate head coach at [[Duke Blue Devils women's basketball|Duke]] and [[University of Notre Dame|Notre Dame]] and had been the women's [[basketball]] head coach at [[Virginia Commonwealth University]] and a former women's basketball player.
As Beth Morgan, she played for the [[University of Notre Dame]], the [[Philadelphia Rage|Richmond Rage/Philadelphia Rage]] of the [[American Basketball League (1996-1998)|American Basketball League]] and the [[Washington Mystics]] of the [[WNBA]] before turning to coaching. She finished her playing career as one of the most decorated and top women's basketball players of all time.
She also played on the American teams in [[1997 Summer Universiade]]<ref name="1997 WUG">{{cite web|title=Eighteenth World University Games – 1993|url=http://www.usab.com/history/world-university-games-womens/eighteenth-world-university-games-1997.aspx|publisher=USA Basketball|accessdate=12 October 2015| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20150907193900/http://www.usab.com/history/world-university-games-womens/eighteenth-world-university-games-1997.aspx | archive-date =7 September 2015|url-status=dead}}</ref> and the [[1999 Pan American Games]].<ref name="1999 Pan Am">{{cite web|title=Thirteenth Pan American Games – 1999|date=June 10, 2010|url=http://www.usab.com/history/pan-am-womens/thirteenth-pan-american-games-1999.aspx|publisher=USA Basketball|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150928183613/http://www.usab.com/history/pan-am-womens/thirteenth-pan-american-games-1999.aspx|archive-date=28 September 2015|url-status=dead|accessdate=15 October 2015}}</ref>
Cunningham ranked as number 1 on Notre Dame's all-time scoring list with 2,322 points, until surpassed by [[Skylar Diggins]]. Diggins had played 17 more games than Cunningham did at Notre Dame. During her career, Cunningham set or tied 28 school records. In her final two seasons, she was a first team all-Big-East selection.
Cunningham took over the VCU Rams for the 2003–04 season after serving as assistant coach of the team for two years. During her playing days at Notre Dame (1993–97), Cunningham was a trailblazer, leading the program to its first NCAA Women's Final Four appearance and a 31–7 campaign in her senior season. She was a two-time Associated Press and WBCA honorable mention All-America choice, four-time first-team all-conference selection and two-year team captain. The Irish were 97–32 in her four seasons, including a pair of conference titles and three NCAA appearances. She departed as the all-time leading scorer in Fighting Irish women's basketball history with 2,322 points (which now ranks third), having set or tied 28 school records during her career.
She was also a fixture in USA Basketball circles as both a player and coach, first suiting up for Team USA four times from 1996 to 1999 (winning three medals including a gold at the 1997 USA World University Games) and later serving as the athlete representative on the USA Basketball Women's Junior National Team Committee and the USA Basketball Women's Collegiate Committee.
Following her amateur career, Cunningham spent three seasons playing professional basketball, including two years with the Richmond/Philadelphia Rage of the American Basketball League (ABL) and one year with the WNBA's Washington Mystics in 2000 before embarking on her coaching career.
Her father, Bob Morgan, was the head [[baseball]] coach at [[Indiana University]] for 22 years before retiring in 2005.<ref name="Morgan retires">{{cite web|last=|first=|date=June 5, 2005|title=Head Coach Bob Morgan Resigns|url=http://www.iuhoosiers.com/sports/m-basebl/spec-rel/070805aad.html|work=University of Indiana|publisher=|accessdate=22 Oct 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131023061116/http://www.iuhoosiers.com/sports/m-basebl/spec-rel/070805aad.html|archive-date=23 October 2013|url-status=dead}}</ref>
==Personal life==
She married Dan Cunningham in 1998. Originally from [[Bloomington, Indiana|Bloomington]], [[Indiana]], Cunningham was a standout two-sport performer at Bloomington South High School, earning all-state honors in both basketball and tennis. She was inducted into the Monroe County Sports Hall of Fame in June 2011. She graduated from Notre Dame in 1997 with a bachelor's degree in Marketing from the top-ranked [[Mendoza College of Business]] before going on to earn her master's degree in Sports Leadership from VCU in 2003.
Cunningham and her husband, Dan, have four children.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.ndinsider.com/story/sports/womens-basketball/2017/01/27/otre-dame-to-honor-beth-cunningham-for-impact-on-program/46012521/ | title=Notre Dame to honor Beth Cunningham for impact on program }}</ref>
==Career statistics==
{{WNBA player statistics legend}}
===WNBA===
====Regular season====
{{WNBA player statistics start}}
|-
| align="left" | [[2000 WNBA season|2000]]
| align="left" | [[2000 Washington Mystics season|Washington]]
|21||0||9.4||25.0||24.3||84.2||1.0||0.6||0.1||0.0||0.6||2.8
|-
| align="left" | Career
| align="left" | 1 year, 1 team
|21||0||9.4||25.0||24.3||84.2||1.0||0.6||0.1||0.0||0.6||2.8
{{S-end}}
====Playoffs====
{{WNBA player statistics start}}
|-
| align="left" | [[2000 WNBA Playoffs|2000]]
| align="left" | [[2000 Washington Mystics season|Washington]]
|2||0||6.5||50.0||25.0||0.0||0.0||0.0||0.5||0.0||0.5||3.5
|-
| align="left" | Career
| align="left" | 1 year, 1 team
|2||0||6.5||50.0||25.0||0.0||0.0||0.0||0.5||0.0||0.5||3.5
{{S-end}}
===College===
Source<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://grfx.cstv.com/photos/schools/nd/sports/w-baskbl/auto_pdf/2016-17/misc_non_event/history-and-records.pdf|title=Notre Dame Media Guide|website=|access-date=2017-09-08|archive-date=2017-09-21|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170921223652/http://grfx.cstv.com/photos/schools/nd/sports/w-baskbl/auto_pdf/2016-17/misc_non_event/history-and-records.pdf|url-status=dead}}</ref>
{{NBA player statistics legend}}
{| class="wikitable"
!Year
!Team
!GP
!Points
!FG%
!3P%
!FT%
!RPG
!APG
!SPG
!BPG
!PPG
|-
|1993–94
|Notre Dame
|29
|518
|'''46.8%'''
|37.1%
|78.6%
|4.3
|2.2
|1.1
|0.2
|17.9
|-
|1994–95
|Notre Dame
|27
|482
|44.9%
|38.1%
|80.2%
|4.1
|1.6
|1.4
|'''0.2'''
|17.9
|-
|1995–96
|Notre Dame
|31
|626
|46.1%
|'''39.9%'''
|'''85.4%'''
|5.0
|'''2.6'''
|'''2.1'''
|0.2
|'''20.2'''
|-
|1996–97
|[[1996–97 Notre Dame Fighting Irish women's basketball team|Notre Dame]]
|'''38'''
|'''696'''
|40.9%
|32.6%
|80.9%
|'''6.1'''
|2.6
|1.7
|0.1
|18.3
|-
|Career
|
|125
|2322
|44.4%
|36.8%
|81.4%
|5.0
|2.3
|1.6
|0.2
|18.6
|}
==Head Coaching Record==
{{CBB Yearly Record Start | type=coach | conference= |postseason=}}
{{CBB Yearly Record Subhead
|name=[[Virginia Commonwealth University Rams|VCU]]
|startyear=2003
|conference=[[Colonial Athletic Association]]
|endyear= 2012
|}}
{{CBB Yearly Record Entry
| championship =
| season = 2003–04
| name = VCU
| overall = 14–14
| conference = 10–8
| confstanding = T-4th
| postseason =
}}
{{CBB Yearly Record Entry
| championship =
| season = 2004–05
| name = VCU
| overall = 11–18
| conference = 6–12
| confstanding = 7th
| postseason =
}}
{{CBB Yearly Record Entry
| championship =
| season = 2005–06
| name = VCU
| overall = 13–15
| conference = 6–12
| confstanding = 9th
| postseason =
}}
{{CBB Yearly Record Entry
| championship =
| season = 2006–07
| name = VCU
| overall = 17–13
| conference = 9–9
| confstanding = 6th
| postseason =
}}
{{CBB Yearly Record Entry
| championship =
| season = 2007–08
| name = VCU
| overall = 26–8
| conference = 13–5
| confstanding = T-3rd
| postseason = [[2008 Women's National Invitation Tournament|WNIT 2nd Round]]
}}
{{CBB Yearly Record Entry
| championship =
| season = 2008–09
| name = VCU
| overall = 26–7
| conference = 15–3
| confstanding = 2nd
| postseason = [[2009 NCAA Women's Division I Basketball Tournament|NCAA 1st Round]]
}}
{{CBB Yearly Record Entry
| championship =
| season = 2009–10
| name = VCU
| overall = 22–13
| conference = 12–6
| confstanding = 3rd
| postseason = [[2010 Women's National Invitation Tournament|WNIT 1st Round]]
}}
{{CBB Yearly Record Entry
| championship =
| season = 2010–11
| name = VCU
| overall = 19–12
| conference = 13–5
| confstanding = 4th
| postseason = [[2011 Women's National Invitation Tournament|WNIT 1st Round]]
}}
{{CBB Yearly Record Entry
| championship =
| season = 2011–12
| name = VCU
| overall = 19–15
| conference = 9–9
| confstanding = 6th
| postseason = [[2012 Women's National Invitation Tournament|WNIT 3rd Round]]
}}
{{CBB Yearly Record Subtotal
| name = VCU
| overall ={{Winning percentage|167|115|record=y}}
| confrecord ={{Winning percentage|93|69|record=y}}
}}
{{CBB Yearly Record Subhead
|name=[[Missouri State University|Missouri State]]
|startyear=2022
|conference=[[Missouri Valley Conference]]
|endyear=
|}}
{{CBB Yearly Record Entry
| championship =
| season = 2022–23
| name = Missouri State
| overall = 20–12
| conference = 14–6
| confstanding = T–4th
| postseason = [[2023 Women's National Invitation Tournament|WNIT First Round]]
}}
{{CBB Yearly Record Entry
| championship =
| season = 2023–24
| name = Missouri State
| overall = 23–10
| conference = 15–5
| confstanding = 3rd
| postseason = [[2024 Women's Basketball Invitation Tournament|WBIT First Round]]
}}
{{CBB Yearly Record Entry
| championship = conference
| season = 2024–25
| name = Missouri State
| overall = 26–9
| conference = 16–4
| confstanding = T–1st
| postseason = [[2025 Women's Basketball Invitation Tournament|WBIT Second Round]]
}}
{{CBB Yearly Record Subtotal
| name = Missouri State
| overall = {{Winning percentage|69|31|record=y}}
| confrecord = {{Winning percentage|45|16|record=y}}
}}
{{CBB Yearly Record End
|overall ={{Winning percentage|236|146|record=y}}
}}
==Notes==
<references />
==External
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20080115194707/http://www.nd.edu/~ndmag/wspors98.html Notre Dame magazine article featuring Morgan]
*[http://vcurams.vcu.edu/wbb/0607bios/coaches/cunningham.htm VCU Biography]
{{Missouri Valley Conference women's basketball coach navbox}}{{VCU Rams women's basketball coach navbox}}
{{Missouri State Lady Bears basketball coach navbox}}
{{2018 Notre Dame Fighting Irish women's basketball navbox}}{{Missouri Valley Conference Women's Basketball Coach of the Year navbox}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cunningham, Beth}}
[[Category:
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:American women's basketball coaches]]
[[Category:American women's basketball players]]
[[Category:Basketball coaches from Indiana]]
[[Category:Basketball coaches from Ohio]]
[[Category:Basketball players at the 1999 Pan American Games]]
[[Category:Basketball players from Ohio]]
[[Category:Duke Blue Devils women's basketball coaches]]
[[Category:Notre Dame Fighting Irish women's basketball coaches]]
[[Category:Notre Dame Fighting Irish women's basketball players]]
[[Category:Parade High School All-Americans (girls' basketball)]]
[[Category:Philadelphia Rage players]]
[[Category:Shooting guards]]
[[Category:Basketball players from Bloomington, Indiana]]
[[Category:FISU World University Games gold medalists for the United States]]
[[Category:Summer World University Games medalists in basketball]]
[[Category:VCU Rams women's basketball coaches]]
[[Category:Washington Mystics players]]
[[Category:Medalists at the 1997 Summer Universiade]]
[[Category:Medalists at the 1999 Pan American Games]]
[[Category:Pan American Games bronze medalists for the United States in basketball]]
[[Category:Missouri State Lady Bears basketball coaches]]
[[Category:20th-century American sportswomen]]
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