Larry Vickers will be the next head coach of Auburn's women's basketball team, the school announced Sunday.
SB Nation I reported it on Saturday The Vickers were in the mix to lead the Southeastern Conference program. In the release that announced his employment, Auburn did not reveal any details about his contract.
The Vickers will come to Auburn after leading their alma mater Norfolk State to compete in three consecutive NCAA tournament appearances from the historic Black college and university Division I league, Mid Eastern Athletic Conference. Playing for the Norfolk state men's team, the Vickers led the Spartans to a 177-99 record in nine seasons, recording part of one as interim coach. He's 83-13 in the past three seasons.
Norfolk, the crazy 13 seed this March, led Maryland to fourth place at halftime before the 82-69 drop at halftime on Saturday. Asked about his future following the game, Vickers said, “I don't know. I'm not talking to the team. We all have visions and goals.
At Auburn, the Vickers will replace Johnny Harris. Johnny Harris was fired earlier this month after four seasons with a 58-63 overall record. Harris played the NCAA tournament last season, but lost the first four. The Tigers won just 12 games this season. This included the Vickers' 63-57 home loss to Norfolk. She never finished the season with a victory record in SEC play.
The Tigers' coaching search, led by athletic director John Cohen, has put on a lot of twists, with the help of the search company's turnkey. Initially, Auburn had the idea of wanting to hire “fantastic and famous” people, according to situation-savvy sources. But when it came down to the brass tuck, the Tigers didn't want to pay an expensive acquisition for the sitting Power 4 head coach, like Arizona's Adia Burns.
In addition to Barnes stalling, Cohen also kicked Kelly Harper's tires before accepting a job in Missouri — and Former Kentucky coach Matthew Mitchell. Eventually he was pivoted to hire a young, successful coach from a mid-major rank that doesn't break Auburn's bank.
“Coach Vickers has an incredible technical understanding of women's basketball,” Cohen said in a statement. “He demands excellence from student-athletes and his understanding of the new landscape of university athletics is impressive, whilst fostering the environment for young women to succeed.
The Vickers will certainly see a pay rise in Auburn. Harris was the second-lowest paid SEC coach with a total annual compensation of $568,000, but the Vickers won less than a third of that in Norfolk State for $178,627. He was selected as the MEAC Coach of the Year three times.
This opportunity is unusual for Vickers. This is very rare to see a Power 4 school in almost all sports, but certainly soccer and basketball, to hire a head coach in two Division I HBCU leagues, which are MEAC or SWAC head coaches. For example, Tomekia Reed was a huge success at Jackson State, winning five regular season titles and taking part in three NCAA tournaments in six seasons, but he had no chance to make a big leap from job to job. She interviewed for a Power 4 position, but was eventually hired at Charlotte last season. If Vickers succeed at Auburn, they can fill in more major conference programs to get opportunities for good HBCU coaches.
For now, all the openings in the SEC are filled – Missouri, Arkansas, Auburn – but the Power 4 head coaching job remains open in Houston, BYU and Wisconsin.
