Post by pelicanguy on Mar 7, 2007 21:26:23 GMT -5
LSU head women's basketball coach to resign at the end of season
7:17 PM CST on Wednesday, March 7, 2007
WWLTV.com and wire reports
LSU head women's basketball coach Pokey Chatman said she will resign from that position effective the end of the season, according to a press release issued by the sports information department Wednesday.
"I have notified the University today that I will step down as Head Coach of the Women's Basketball program in order to allow me to pursue other career opportunities.
"I will continue to serve as head coach until LSU's participation in the NCAA tournament is concluded. That will allow this team to successfully enter and compete in the upcoming NCAA tournament. I will continue on contract until April 30, 2007."
In her two seasons, LSU has advanced to two NCAA Final Fours, won two Southeastern Conference regular season titles and earned a No. 1 seed in each of the last two NCAA Tournaments.
In Chatman's first 50 games as a head coach, she won an astonishing 47 times. That record of 47-3 is the second best record after 50 games in women's basketball history.
Michael Bonnette, a sports information director at the school, confirmed the resignation and said it was unexpected. "I was stunned," Bonnette said.
"We respect the decision that Pokey Chatman has made regarding her future career opportunities," Athletic Director Skip Bertman said in a news release. "On behalf of LSU, I thank her for her athletic accomplishments as a player and as a coach, and for the community service work she has performed for Baton Rouge and Louisiana."
LSU officials said the media was not permitted to contact any of Chatman's current players until further notice.
The Lady Tigers, currently ranked tenth in the nation, are 26-7 this season after losing to Vanderbilt on Sunday night in the Southeastern Conference tournament championship game.
Chatman is 90-14 as LSU's head coach. Before that, she was 15-5 as acting head coach during the latter stages of the 2003-04 season, when longtime coach Sue Gunter left the team because of lung cancer. That included a trip to the Final Four in New Orleans, where the Lady Tigers fell in the semifinals to Tennessee.
Her decision to leave came as a surprise in light of her long ties to LSU and her never before indicating publicly that she was dissatisfied with her job.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.