Not one for the fanfare, Jessie Ivey quietly goes through the day doing more for others than for herself. As the newly appointed assistant women’s basketball coach at the University of West Florida, she is always being asked to assist in some endeavor. A product of Jay, Florida, she might not have moved far from home, but her impact spreads far and wide. In her young career, she has already been a positive influence on University of West Florida and local high school athletes.
A Jay High School graduate, Ivey was a star player for the Lady Royals. She wrapped up her career as the third all-time leading scorer in the school’s history, amassing a total of 1,616 points. Her talent led her to the University of West Florida, where she continued her basketball career for the Argonauts. In her time in the blue and green, she played both on the perimeter and in the post. She started all 28 games her senior year and averaged over 30 percent from beyond the three-point arc. It was an easy transition from playing to coaching at her alma mater; for the last five years, she has been a vital member of the coaching staff. The last two years have seen some of the team’s greatest accomplishments, due in part to Coach Ivey’s hard work.
Anytime she is not too busy with UWF activities, Coach Ivey works with local youth basketball teams, including the Pensacola Flames 16U AAU team. This past spring, she participated in the United States Marine Corp Coaches Leadership Workshop in Quantico, Virginia. After returning from Quantico, she attended the Center for Coaching Excellence for Assistant Coaches in Atlanta, Georgia, which was an invitation-only event for 50 collegiate assistant coaches. She has obtained her master’s degree and is currently completing an Educational Specialist degree.
In the offseason, you might find Coach Ivey on the beach or paddleboarding in the bay. Otherwise, she is spending her downtime with family and friends. Family is big to Jessie, and she remains close with her parents, Toddie and Simon Milstead and Mike and Pamela Ivey, her brother, Ryan Ivey, and his wife Tiana, and especially her grandmother, Maxine Ivey.
“The only thing that surpasses her work ethic is Jessie’s heart; it’s the size of Texas,” says Stephanie Yelton, head coach of UWF women’s basketball team. “She is an integral part of the program and one of the up-and-coming minds of the sport.”
Day-in and day-out, Coach Ivey is working on making not just the women’s team better, but assisting other programs on campus as well. She never hesitates to help other coaches and athletes with whatever they need, and you will rarely see her without a smile on her face.
Giving is a way of life for the Coach Ivey. She is never one to make a scene or draw attention to herself, and she is always doing what it takes to be successful and help others to succeed. She is hopeful that the 2015-16 season includes another conference championship and a third-straight appearance in the NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament for the Argonauts. No one knows what the future holds for Coach Ivey, but you can be sure she will be blazing a trail for other young women to follow as a Legend of the Game.
Northwest Florida / December 2015
Jessie Ivey
Legend of the Game
written by: Arnold Gamber
photography by: UWF Media Relations
