| Biographical details | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Born | (1939-05-22)May 22, 1939 Walnut Grove, Mississippi, U.S. | ||||||||||||||
| Died | August 4, 2005(2005-08-04) (aged 66) Baton Rouge, Louisiana, U.S. | ||||||||||||||
| Coaching career (HC unless noted) | |||||||||||||||
| 1962–1964 | Middle Tennessee | ||||||||||||||
| 1964–1980 | Stephen F. Austin | ||||||||||||||
| 1982–2004 | LSU | ||||||||||||||
| Head coaching record | |||||||||||||||
| Overall | MTSU 44–0 (1.000) SFA 266–87 (.754) LSU 442–221 (.667) NCAA 708–308 (.697) All 752–308 (.709) | ||||||||||||||
| Accomplishments and honors | |||||||||||||||
| Championships | |||||||||||||||
| 2×SEC tournament champion (1991, 2003) WNIT champion (1985) | |||||||||||||||
| Awards | |||||||||||||||
| 2×SEC Coach of the Year (1997, 1999) | |||||||||||||||
| Basketball Hall of Fame Inducted in 2005 | |||||||||||||||
| Women's Basketball Hall of Fame | |||||||||||||||
Medal record
| |||||||||||||||
Sue Gunter (May 22, 1939 – August 4, 2005) was an American women's collegebasketball coach. She is best known as the head coach of theLouisiana State University (LSU)Lady Tigers basketball team. Gunter was inducted into theWomen's Basketball Hall of Fame in 2000.
A fine player in her own right, Gunter playedAmateur Athletic Union (AAU) basketball for Nashville Business College from 1958 to 1962 earning AAUAll-America honors in 1960.[1] She attendedGeorge Peabody College for Teachers (now part ofVanderbilt University), withNera White. Gunter obtained both a bachelor's and a master's degree from Peabody in 1962.[2] George Peabody did not have a women's basketball team, so she played for the AAU team in Nashville sponsored by Nashville Business College.[3] She was also a member of the U.S. National Team, which competed against theSoviet Union, from 1960 to 1962.
Gunter began her coaching career atMiddle Tennessee State University where she led the Blue Raiders to undefeated seasons in both of her years there (1962–1964). Gunter then had a very successful coaching stint atStephen F. Austin State University (SFA) inNacogdoches, Texas. While at SFA, Gunter led the LadyJacks to a 266-87 mark in 16 years as head coach (1964–1980). In addition, she led SFA to four top 10 national rankings, including top 5 final rankings in 1979 and 1980. While at SFA, Gunter coached four sports—women's basketball, softball, tennis and track. Her basketball teams went to fiveAssociation of Intercollegiate Athletics for Women (AIAW) playoffs, won four state titles, and earned a regional crown. In 1980, she stepped down as coach at SFA and moved into the position of Director of Women's Athletics where she served two years before returning to the coaching ranks at LSU.[4]
In Gunter's 22 years as the head coach at LSU (1982–2004), the Lady Tigers played in 14NCAA Tournaments and twoWNITs. Gunter ledLSU to oneFinal Four in 2004 and to theElite Eight in 1986, 2000 and 2003. She led the Lady Tigers to a championship at theWNIT in 1985 and toSEC Tournament Championships in 1991 and 2003. In addition, Gunter directed LSU to 14 seasons of 20 or more wins, including one 30-win season.
Gunter took a medical leave of absence in the middle of the 2003-2004 season. She was later diagnosed as havingemphysema andpneumonia. Assistant head coachPokey Chatman, who had played for Gunter from 1987 to 1991 and had been an assistant since 1991 (the first year as a student assistant), became interim coach for the rest of the season. The Tigers went 15-5 under Chatman's watch and reached the Final Four for the first time in school history. However, LSU credits the entire season to Gunter. When it was apparent that Gunter would not be able to return, she formally announced her retirement on April 27 and Chatman was named her successor.
Gunter completed her career as the third winningest women's basketball coach inNCAA history (at the time) with an overall record of 708-308 (behind onlyJody Conradt andPat Summitt). Gunter'sLSU record was 442-221, making her the winningest coach in school history. She completed her career among the leaders in severalNCAA coaching categories: seasons coached (No. 1 - 40); games coached (No. 3 - 1,016); wins (No. 3 - 708); and 20-win seasons (No. 4 - 22).
| Season | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Postseason | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders()(1962–1964) | |||||||||
| 1962–1964 | Middle Tennessee | 44-0 | |||||||
| Middle Tennessee: | 44–0 (1.000) | ||||||||
| Stephen F. Austin Ladyjacks()(1964–1980) | |||||||||
| 1968–1969 | Stephen F. Austin | 6-4 | |||||||
| 1969–70 | Stephen F. Austin | 12-2 | |||||||
| 1970–71 | Stephen F. Austin | 19-9 | |||||||
| 1971–72 | Stephen F. Austin | 19-7 | |||||||
| 1972–73 | Stephen F. Austin | 21-6 | AIAW Elite Eight | ||||||
| 1973–74 | Stephen F. Austin | 27-7 | AIAW Elite Eight | ||||||
| 1974–75 | Stephen F. Austin | 32-8 | AIAW Sweet Sixteen | ||||||
| 1975–76 | Stephen F. Austin | 20-13 | |||||||
| 1976–77 | Stephen F. Austin | 28-6 | |||||||
| 1977–78 | Stephen F. Austin | 25-14 | AIAW Elite Eight | ||||||
| 1978–79 | Stephen F. Austin | 30-5 | |||||||
| 1979–80 | Stephen F. Austin | 27-6 | AIAW Elite Eight | ||||||
| Stephen F. Austin: | 266–87 (.754) | ||||||||
| LSU Lady Tigers(Southeastern Conference)(1982–2004) | |||||||||
| 1982–83 | LSU | 20–7 | 6–2 | ||||||
| 1983–84 | LSU | 23–7 | 5–3 | NCAA Sweet Sixteen | |||||
| 1984–85 | LSU | 20–9 | 4–4 | NWIT Champions | |||||
| 1985–86 | LSU | 27–6 | 6–3 | NCAA Elite Eight | |||||
| 1986–87 | LSU | 20–8 | 6–3 | NCAA 2nd Round | |||||
| 1987–88 | LSU | 18–11 | 6–3 | NCAA 1st Round | |||||
| 1988–89 | LSU | 19–11 | 5–4 | NCAA Sweet Sixteen | |||||
| 1989–90 | LSU | 21–9 | 4–5 | NCAA 1st Round | |||||
| 1990–91 | LSU | 24–7 | 4–5 | NCAA 2nd Round | |||||
| 1991–92 | LSU | 16–13 | 4–7 | ||||||
| 1992–93 | LSU | 9–18 | 0–11 | ||||||
| 1993–94 | LSU | 11–16 | 2–9 | ||||||
| 1994–95 | LSU | 7–20 | 1–10 | ||||||
| 1995–96 | LSU | 21–11 | 4–7 | NWIT Third Place | |||||
| 1996–97 | LSU | 25–5 | 9–3 | NCAA Sweet Sixteen | |||||
| 1997–98 | LSU | 19–13 | 7–7 | WNIT Final Four | |||||
| 1998–99 | LSU | 22–8 | 11–3 | NCAA Sweet Sixteen | |||||
| 1999–00 | LSU | 22–8 | 11–3 | NCAA Elite Eight | |||||
| 2000–01 | LSU | 20–11 | 8–6 | NCAA 2nd Round | |||||
| 2001–02 | LSU | 18–12 | 8–6 | NCAA 2nd Round | |||||
| 2002–03 | LSU | 30–4 | 11–3 | NCAA Elite Eight | |||||
| 2003–04 | LSU | 27–8* | 10–4* | NCAA Final Four* | |||||
| LSU: | 442–221 (.667) | 132–111 (.543) | |||||||
| Total: | 708-308 (.697) | ||||||||
National champion Postseason invitational champion | |||||||||
* Gunter went on medical leave in the middle of the 2003-04 season. AssistantPokey Chatman coached the final 20 games of the season, but LSU credits the entire season to Gunter.
In 1980, theUnited States Olympic Team selected Gunter as the head women's basketball coach.[4] Gunter guided her team to the title at the Olympic Qualifying Tournament prior to the Games, however, they did not compete for agold medal due to the United States'boycott of the Olympic Games inMoscow.
Gunter shared success at theOlympics, however, as an assistant coach of the1976 U.S. Team which captured thesilver medal inMontreal.[5]She has also served as head coach for the U.S. National Team three times in 1976, 1978 and 1980.[4]
While atLSU, Gunter was named theSEC's Coach of the Year in 1997 and 1999.[4] She was also the Converse Region IV Coach of the Year in 1983; the Basketball News National Coach of the Year in 1983; the Louisiana Coach of the Year in 1983, 1997, 2002, and 2003; the Carol Eckman Award recipient in 1994;[6] and theWomen's Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) Regional Coach of the Year in 1999 and 2003.
In 2000, she was elected to theWomen's Basketball Hall of Fame, located inKnoxville, Tennessee.[7] On April 4, 2005, Gunter was elected into theNaismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame inSpringfield, Massachusetts.[8] She was enshrined posthumously in September 2005.
In 2005, Gunter, along with timber industrialist Roy O. Martin Jr.,civil rights pioneerAndrew Young, musicianKix Brooks, andLouisiana State University football legendPaul Dietzel were named a "Louisiana Legend" byLouisiana Public Broadcasting.[9]
Gunter died at her home in Baton Rouge on August 4, 2005, of respiratory problems andemphysema. She was 66.
