Less than 24 hours after his Norfolk State women’s team competed boldly in a first round NCAA Tournament loss at Maryland, head coach Larry Vickers has a new job.
Sunday morning Vickers, who has led the Lady Spartans to unprecedented heights over the last decade, was named head women’s basketball coach at Auburn of the Southeastern Conference (SEC).
This season, his Norfolk State squad won a record 30 games (30-5), went 17-0 against Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) competition and
posted wins over two SEC teams, Missouri (57-54, on Nov. 10) and Auburn (63-57, on Dec. 29). They received a 13 seed, the highest for an HBCU in the last decade, and battled No. 4 Maryland for four quarters Saturday before bowing 82-69.
That win in December, as well as NSU’s outstanding play under Vickers, obviously caught the eye of the Auburn folks.
“Throughout the search process, one name continually rose to the top – Larry Vickers,” Auburn athletic director John Cohen said in a statement released by the university. “Coach Vickers has an incredible technical understanding of women’s basketball. He demands excellence from his student-athletes while fostering an environment for young women to succeed. His understanding of the new landscape of college athletics is impressive. No one has worked harder for an opportunity like this than Coach Vickers. I am excited to welcome LV, Charisse, and their family to the Plains.”
Vickers, a former NSU men’s basketball player and assistant coach, led the women’s program for the past 10 seasons, collecting a 177-99 record and the last three Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) tournament titles and NCAA berths.
“I want to thank President Roberts, John Cohen and the entire search committee for this incredible opportunity to lead the Auburn women’s basketball program,” Vickers said. “Auburn is a great institution with one of the best athletics programs in the country. I am excited to get to work and help bring championship-level success to our women’s basketball program.”
Vickers’ salary at Norfolk State was $214,200, making him the highest- paid women’s basketball coach in the MEAC.
According to recent data, coaches outside of the top women’s coaches in the SEC such as South Carolina’s Dawn Staley ($4 million) and LSU’s Kim Mulkey ($3.26 million), typically earn between $650,000 to $1.5 million annually. Vickers’ salary is likely to fall within that range. Auburn’s previous coach, Johnnie Harris, earned $568,750 per year.