Coach Irvin begins her 16th year as head coach of the Patriots. Irvin is a native of Laurel County where she lettered four years on the basketball team at Laurel County High School and played on the 1987 Laurel County State Championship team. She was inducted into the Laurel County Hall of Fame in 2001 for her outstanding accomplishments.

Irvin came to Cumberlands after a three-year stint as an assistant coach at the University of Rio Grande. Coach Irvin earned her degree from Cumberlands in 1994 in Business Administration and Secondary Education and has also completed her Masters of Education degree from Cumberlands as well. She recently was inducted into the University of the Cumberlands Phi Beta Lambda Hall of Fame.

While attending Cumberlands, she was a four-year letterman for the Patriots. Coach Irvin's list of accolades includes Cumberlands career records in assists (734 in 124 games) and 3 point shooting percentage (.375 or 153/408) and three years as captain at Cumberlands. Irvin is a member of the Cumberlands 1000 Point Club, the 9th All-Time leading scorer and was a member of the Mid-South All Region Team and KIAC All- Conference Team. In recognition of her outstanding athletic achievements, Cumberlands recognized Irvin by inducting her into the 2007 Athletic Hall of Fame.

Since her debut in 1997 at Cumberlands, Irvin has led the Patriots to eleven 20 win seasons and ten National Tournament appearances. In addition, her teams have been ranked among the top ten in the nation.  In fourteen years, Coach Irvin has coached 25 Mid-South Conference All-Conference recipients, 18 Mid-South Conference Honorable Mention honorees, 35 Mid-South Conference Academic All-Conference students, 1 Mid-South Conference Freshmen of the Year, 8 WBCA Honorable Mention All-American, 13 NAIA Academic All-Americans, 3 NAIA All-American, 1 NAIA All-Tournament Team member, 1 Second Team NAIA All-American, 4 Third Team NAIA All-Americans, and 8 NAIA Honorable Mention All-Americans.