BATON ROUGE – LSU volleyball coach Fran Flory shared her final thoughts on her stay in a RV Camper Friday. The reigning SEC and AVCA South Coach of the Year spent three days and two nights on campus in an effort to grow the team’s following on Twitter.
During Flory’s stay, @lsuvolleyball, tripled its following and now has 924 followers as of 3 p.m. Friday on the social media site.
LSU is one of only 20 programs to appear in each of the last five NCAA Tournaments under Flory. The Tigers open the 2010 season with Pacific, Siena and Texas A&M on August 27-28 as part of the Texas A&M Invitational. Season tickets for the defending SEC champions are on-sale now at www.lsutix.net starting at $40 for adults and $25 for youth ages 3-12.
Dear Tiger Fans:
I can’t thank you enough for springing me from the RV. This was an amazing experience, and your support has been wonderful. We didn’t just meet or exceed our goal, we smashed it. We’re now over 920 followers and still growing, I appreciate everyone saving me.
My last day in the RV was an eventful one and one that I won’t forget for a long time. It was highlighted by a visit from my neighbor and one of the most amazing coaches at LSU, baseball coach Paul Mainieri. It was great to visit with him and tell stories. He’s such a fantastic person, always very thoughtful and willing to share his expertise. What a privilege to have him visit.
After Paul left, I had a visit from another very special person, Baton Rouge Mayor-President Kip Holden. He brought me a delicious lunch and also a huge surprise when he proclaimed August 4th, 2010 LSU Volleyball Day along with Coach Fran Flory Day. What a great honor for our program and for me personally. Thank you Mayor Holden, you truly made this a special event.
This honor topped off a week that looked to be pretty crazy from the start but ended up being a rewarding and fun experience. The last few minutes I spent in the RV were very meaningful as Sam Dabbs, our senior setter dropped by. She just got into town for her graduation from her coaching job at Appalachian State. I got the opportunity to present her with her SEC Championship Ring in the RV. I’m sure she’ll never forget where she was when she received that ring.
I didn’t know much about social networking at the beginning of this week but by the end of it, I now understand the full scope and the value in using it to share information about our program. There are a few experiences that I have had as a coach that I won’t forget. I have to say living in the RV will now rank among the top few. Thanks to everyone who tweeted and re-tweeted to “Free Flory”. I’m glad to be FREE and I’m excited for what this season will hold for our team. I can’t wait to see you in the PMAC.
Geaux Tigers,
Fran
Day 2
BATON ROUGE – LSU volleyball coach Fran Flory continued her stay in a RV camper Tuesday. The reigning SEC and AVCA South Coach of the Year decided to stay in the camper for the night after the team’s Twitter account, @lsuvolleyball, reached its goal 750 followers in hopes of reaching quadruple digits.
Fans can help Flory reach her new goal by following @lsuvolleyball on the social media site and are encouraged to visit her at the Tiger Stadium’s West Side Parking Lot. Exciting prizes also will be handed out during Flory’s stay. The team’s Twitter page is at 854 followers as of 8:33 a.m. CT on Wednesday.
Under Flory, LSU is one of only 20 programs to appear in each of the last five NCAA Tournaments. The Tigers open the 2010 season with Pacific, Siena and Texas A&M on August 27-28 as part of the Texas A&M Invitational.
Season tickets for the defending SEC champions are on-sale now at www.lsutix.net starting at $40 for adults and $25 for youth ages 3-12. LSU has four matches scheduled against 2009 NCAA Tournament teams highlighted by Sweet 16 participants Florida and Kentucky at the Maravich Center.
Here are Flory’s thoughts from day two in the camper:
“Thanks Tiger faithful for another wonderful and productive day. We have met and surpassed our initial goal and now are on the way to 1,000 twitter followers. I never imagined we could actually make it to 1,000, but that number is now definitely in reach.
This was a great day as I was able to catch up on some work and had some great surprises. My assistants, Jill and Steve, stopped by to visit again and we had a productive meeting planning our preseason camp.
Former Tiger volleyball all-american Lauren DeGirolamo stopped in with a surprise. She baked me a cake with “Happy RVing” on the top. She is known for her funfetti cakes, they’re awesome. Thanks for thinking of me, LD.
Our women’s basketball staff brought over some fruit, water and visited for a bit. It was fantastic to get to see them and hear their perspective on this promotion. Thanks Bobby and everyone.
My favorite cat, Mike the Tiger, brought me an awesome lunch. Even my Mom visited and had a great time hanging out in the RV with me. My husband, Ken, even got to come by for a brief visit. It was nice to see family even if it was only for a short time. Jill’s husband Jared and Steve’s wife Jenn and their kids Bella and Lilly came by too. We have such a great staff.
Lee Feinswog from “Sports Monday” checked in too. Hopefully, he’ll give us a shout out on his show in the next couple of weeks.
The day ended with a tailgate party courtesy of Mary Jane Merrill, our departmental travel coordinator. Mary Jane did a great job of helping us gain more Twitter members as they passed in front of Tiger Stadium. She truly worked hard to “Save Fran!!” We even had purple straws. Nice touch Mary Jane. We all loved it, thanks again.
My day ended with a visit from my dear friend Julie. Nice to have good friends. Gotta go, time for some rest to get ready for another great day. 1,000 here we come!!!
Geaux Tigers,
Fran
Day 1 Recap
LSU volleyball coach Fran Flory started her stay in RV camper Monday. The reigning SEC and AVCA South Coach of the Year is staying on-campus in front of Tiger Stadium until the team’s Twitter account, @lsuvolleyball, reaches 750 followers.
Fans can help free Flory by following @lsuvolleyball on the social media site and are encouraged to visit her at the Tiger Stadium’s West Side Parking Lot. Exciting prizes also will be handed out during Flory’s stay. The team’s Twitter page is at 629 followers as of 9 a.m. CT on Tuesday.
Under Flory, LSU is one of only 20 programs to appear in each of the last five NCAA Tournaments. The Tigers open the 2010 season with Pacific, Siena and Texas A&M on August 27-28 as part of the Texas A&M Invitational.
Season tickets for the defending SEC champions are on-sale now starting at $40 for adults and $25 for youth ages 3-12. LSU has four matches scheduled against 2009 NCAA Tournament teams highlighted by Sweet 16 participants Florida and Kentucky at the Maravich Center.
Flory took time to check in from her camper as she prepares for her first night:
“Today was amazing. First off, I want to thank all of the Tiger fans who have already signed up to follow our team. We’re going to young team this season but very exciting to watch.
My assistant coaches, Steve Loeswick and Jill Wilson, along with our marketing coordinator, Daniel Nunes, helped me move in this morning. We had several visitors during the day, including families from Boston, Houston and Wisconsin.
It was great to have Coach Miles stop by and bring me a delicious tuna sandwich for lunch. He also brought over homemade chocolate chip cookies and tweeted to all his fans to help spring me. Like all of you, I’m extremely excited about the upcoming football season.
Thanks to ESPN Radio’s Matt Moscona for having me on After Further Review and Jacques Doucet of Channel 9 for stopping by for an interview.
My good friend, softball coach Yvette Girouard, came by for dinner. It’s always awesome to hang out with Coach G.
Be on the lookout for a MTV-style Cribs Video tomorrow. Life doesn’t get much better for someone stuck in a camper.
Geaux Tigers,
Fran