Milan Bolden-Morris facts for kids
Milan "Mimi" Bolden-Morris is a talented athlete who played basketball for the Boston College Eagles and Georgetown Hoyas. She also made history as a graduate assistant football coach for the Michigan Wolverines.
Growing Up and School
Mimi Bolden-Morris grew up in Belle Glade, Florida. She went to Cardinal Newman High School. Her dad, Michael, is a police officer, and her mom, Melanie, is a high school principal. Mimi was a great student and was even the president of her school's National Honor Society.
When she was younger, Mimi loved playing sports. She played baseball, softball, and even flag football.
In 2017, during her last year of high school, Mimi wore a special prom dress. The dress had pictures of faces from the Black Lives Matter movement printed on it. These included people like Sandra Bland, Trayvon Martin, Tamir Rice, and Michael Brown. A designer named Terrence Torrence created the dress.
College Life and Basketball
Mimi first went to Boston College. She studied communication there for three and a half years and played basketball.
After Boston College, she moved to Georgetown University for a year and a half. She kept playing basketball there for the Georgetown women's basketball team. As a guard, she was the top scorer for her team, averaging 12.6 points per game. She also made 83 three-point shots! At Georgetown, she won the Most Outstanding Student Award.
Mimi earned a master's degree from Georgetown in sports industry management. Later, she started working on a second master's degree in public policy at the University of Michigan.
Coaching Football
In March 2022, the Michigan Wolverines football team hired Mimi Bolden-Morris. She became a graduate assistant coach, working with the quarterbacks. This was a big deal because it's rare for women to coach football at this level.
Michigan's football coach, Jim Harbaugh, said Mimi is "bright, intelligent and competitive." He believed she would be a great addition to their team. He also mentioned that he likes to give chances to people who are really passionate about football, and Mimi showed that drive. She started her new job in June 2022.
Mimi was very excited about her new role. She said it was a huge honor to be the first female graduate assistant coach in the Power Five conferences, especially in the Big Ten. She felt it showed how much Coach Harbaugh wanted to include everyone. Mimi had always dreamed of being part of a football team, ever since watching her dad coach her brother. She also pointed out that basketball guards and football quarterbacks are similar. Both need to make quick decisions, read defenses, and handle the ball carefully.
Mimi's first game as an assistant coach was when Michigan beat the Colorado State Rams 51-7 on September 3, 2022.
Her younger brother, Mike Morris, also plays for the 2022 Michigan team as a defensive end.
According to the Associated Press, Mimi Bolden-Morris is thought to be the first female graduate assistant football coach at a Power Five school since the 1980s. She is also believed to be the very first in the Big Ten conference.
