Through her years as a student-athlete, coach, instructor and administrator, if anyone understands the day-to-day schedules of a student-athlete, Kara Phillips does.

Entering her second season as an academic advisor in Tennessee Tech’s Athletic Academic Counseling Department, Phillips works with the Golden Eagle football and volleyball team as she tries to guide the Tech players to new heights in the classroom.

Her efforts helped pay off in Spring 2020 as in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Tech football team collected a combined 3.12 grade point average – the highest for the program since 1971 – with 78 Golden Eagles earning spots on the Tech Athletic Director’s Honor Roll and 10 with a perfect 4.0 GPA. Tech Volleyball posted a 3.68 spring GPA – the highest in program history -- with seven student-athletes with a perfect 4.0.

A former student-athlete herself, Phillips played four seasons of volleyball as the starting setter at the University of the Cumberlands. She ranks third all-time in career assists there with 3,482, including the third-best single-season in 2001 with 1,240 and the most career per-game with 8.9 during her career from 1998 to 2001.

After graduating from UC in 2002 with her bachelor’s degree in psychology, the former Kara Clemenz then earned her master’s degree in industrial/organizational psychology from Chattanooga in 2004.

She spent a year with the Chattanooga Housing Authority as a Section 8/HVCP Customer Information Verification Specialist, then returned to her alma mater as a graduate assistant coach for two seasons. Phillips also became an adjunct psychology instructor.

Phillips was promoted to the head coaching post in February 2007 and led the Patriots for six campaigns. During her tenure, UC earned 14 MidSouth Conference honorable mentions, four All-MSC 1^st-team selections and an AVCA Honorable Mention All-America. The team also made major academic strides with 15 of 20 eligible players earning Academic All-Conference nods and four NAIA Scholar-Athlete awards.

She joined the Tennessee Tech administration in May 2013 as she became the assistant director of admissions, a position she held for three years, then moved into the academic advisory role in June 2016 with the College of Education’s Student Success Center.

Phillips joined Dr. Leveda Birdwell’s staff in October 2019 and uses her background to mentor and support Tech’s student-athletes toward their academic and athletic success.

Phillips and her husband, Andy, have three children and six grandchildren. When away from the office, Phillips and her family spend time outdoors hiking, biking, rollerblading and at the lake.