After more than 500 career wins – including more than 400 victories in 24 seasons at LSU – Fran Flory, the winningest coach in program history and the school’s longest-tenured head coach, announced her retirement Thursday.
“Fran Flory epitomizes the spirit of LSU,” LSU athletic director Scott Woodward said. “Her passion for coaching and educating student-athletes is unrivaled and has never wavered. She has built a program that stands for everything that is right about collegiate athletics. Her teams have won on the court, thrived in the classroom, and transformed the community. We are grateful for her years of service and the legacy that she has left on our entire department.”
“It has been my life’s calling to coach, mentor, and support incredible student-athletes, and fulfilling that calling at a place like LSU has been a dream come true,” Flory said. “I will forever cherish the time spent, the lessons learned, and the lifelong relationships shared with the coaches, players, and staff I have been blessed to work alongside. This program and this place have unlimited potential, and though it is time for me to begin a new chapter of my life outside of coaching, I will always do everything I can to contribute to the success of LSU Volleyball and our entire athletics community.”
Flory, who first served as an assistant coach at LSU from 1988 to 1991, became the fifth head coach in program history when she returned to Baton Rouge in 1998. Since then, she has led the Tigers to 405 victories, including nine NCAA Tournament appearances, seven 20-win seasons, seven SEC West divisional titles, and the 2009 SEC Championship.
From 2005-2011, Flory led LSU to a conference championship and seven of eight SEC Western Division titles. The seven straight division titles marked the second-longest streak in SEC history, while LSU’s six consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances from 2005-10 remain a program record.
At LSU, Flory has coached 49 All-SEC recipients and 16 AVCA All-South Region selections, including AVCA All-Americans Brittnee Cooper (2007-2009) and Taylor Bannister (2017, 2019). Cooper was also named SEC Player of the Year in 2009, while Elena Martinez won back-to-back SEC Defensive Player of the Year awards in 2007 and 2008.
Flory’s success at LSU hasn’t been solely on the court. The Tigers have registered 126 SEC Academic Honor Roll selections in her tenure, and her senior classes have created and championed their own philanthropic projects to benefit the Baton Rouge community. Those projects have included partnering with the Blue Star Mothers of Louisiana to acquire household goods that were packaged and sent to troops overseas, the “Meals from Mike” initiative that collected hundreds of pounds of food for Baton Rouge area food banks, and the “Geaux Kids” initiative, which collected clothing and other related items for needy children.
A national search for Flory’s successor will begin immediately.
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