NACOGDOCHES, Texas — Former LSU women’s basketball coach and Naismith Basketball Hall of Famer Sue Gunter will be honored after another one of her former schools, Stephen F. Austin.
The women’s basketball office suite at SFA will be renamed the Sue Gunter Basketball Office Suite to honor of the legend.
Gunter, the third most-winning women’s basketball coach in NCAA history was head coach of the Ladyjacks from 1965 to 1980, and brought national recognition to the university in the early years of women’s basketball.
In 1979 and 1980, her teams were ranked fifth nationally. She also held two other Top-10 rankings, led five teams to the Association of Intercollegiate Athletics for Women playoffs and won four state titles and a regional crown. Her record as Ladyjack coach was 266-87.
Gunter also coached tennis, track and softball, and served as director of women’s athletics for two years.
After leaving SFA, she continued her coaching career for 22 years at LSU. She was named Louisiana Coach of the year in 1997, 2002 and 2003.
Gunter also coached the silver medal-winning team in the 1976 Olympics, which were the first to include women’s basketball as an event. She was to serve as head coach in 1980, but the U.S. team boycotted the games due to the Soviet Union’s occupation of Afghanistan. She coached the U.S. national team three times. Her career record was 708-308.
She was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2005 and into the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame in 2000.
As an athlete, Gunter played from 1958 until 1962 for Nashville Business College, helping lead the team to two Association of American Universities national championships, earning individual All-American honors in 1960. From 1960 to 1962, she was a member of the U.S. national team.
Gunter was a native of Walnut Grove, Miss., and earned her bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Peabody College.
She died of respiratory problems in August, 2005 at age 66.
A formal dedication of the women’s basketball office suite will be held at SFA during the 2007-2008 season to honor Gunter for her accomplishments.