A first for University of Windsor women's basketball coach Chantal Vallee.
She's become the first woman in basketball history to be named both head coach and general manager of a men's professional basketball team.
Vallee has been tabbed to run the Hamilton Honey Badgers of the fledgling Canadian Elite Basketball team, which begins play next May in six cities with a 20-game schedule.
Vallee says she's looking forward to the challenge.
"Certainly coaching men's professional is going to be something different. The exciting part for me is the fact that it's going to be a faster game, it's going to be a higher level just by the fact that they're older and more experienced athletes," says Vallee. "And that part of it is super exciting."
Vallee says she has the full support of the university and will continue coaching the Lancers.
She says Hamilton's president, John Lashway reached out to her to see if she would be interested in being considered for the positions.
"I was really surprised, but I talked to my boss in Windsor and we decided it was a good idea and just kept my name in the pot," says Vallee. "Later on, he kept calling and told me that I was their prime candidate and they wanted to offer me a job."
Vallee says she's honoured and hopes she can inspire other women to do big things in life.
"I think the interesting point is that when we discussed role it was never brought to me by the president or anyone else the fact that I was a woman," says Vallee. "We really talked business from the beginning and I really appreciated their professionalism and their trust in my capacity and what I could in that role for the club."
The Canadian Elite Basketball League will have teams in Hamilton, Guelph, St. Catherines, Edmonton, Saskatoon and Abbortsford, B.C.
Vallee is in her 14th year as head coach of the Lancers and has amassed a career winning percentage of .791 (351-93) and guided the university to a record five straight national championships from 2011-15. Her teams have made 11 straight trips to the OUA Final Four, earning medals nine consecutive times.