Auburn women’s basketball has officially found its new head coach, as the Tigers held an introductory press conference for Larry Vickers following his arrival Monday afternoon.
“I’d like to thank Dr. Roberts, the board of trustees, John Cohen, the entire search firm,” Vickers said in his opening statement. “Everybody’s just been great.”
Formerly the head coach at Norfolk State, Vickers carried the Spartans to unexpected levels of success, including three consecutive MEAC tournament championships and NCAA tournament appearances. Additionally, he has also won four straight regular season conference titles dating back to 2021-22.
“Larry Vickers built something special from scratch at Norfolk State with precision and focus,” said athletic director John Cohen. “He clearly understands the new landscape of student-athlete evaluation, recruitment, and roster management.”
“Former student-athletes, coaches and administrators along with industry experts all concur that Larry Vickers is a man that cares about his players both on and off the court,” Cohen added.
Vickers and company have boasted winning seasons in six of the last eight years, most recently finishing 30-5 (14-0 MEAC) this past season before falling to Maryland in the first round of the NCAA tournament just a few days ago.
“I checked everything on my Norfolk State bucket list except one thing: we wanted to win an NCAA tournament game,” Vickers said. “That’s the only thing we didn’t check off. And there are things on that bucket list that we did that I would’ve never planned. I would’ve never planned for a low-major team to win 30 games.”
“So for me, it’s what’s next. There’s no better league that’s going to test your X’s and O’s (and) your ability to recruit than this one,” Vickers said.
Although his role is “head coach,” Vickers is also dedicated to the betterment of his players’ personal development and emphasizes the importance of his athletes enjoying life outside of basketball.
“I think some of my core values – the reason why I’m sitting here today – is because we always try to focus on the student-athlete experience. We want our players to work extremely hard on the floor but we also want them to enjoy college, as well. You know, the social piece, the athletic piece, and the academic piece.”
Along with a significant effort to help craft successful and high-quality women in life and around campus, Vickers’ eyes are undoubtedly set are one thing in particular when it comes down to success on the court.
“Championships. Championships are key. They’re important. If we don’t win championships, all of my hair is going to be gray. We’re going to look to win championships and look to put a quality product on the floor.”
For Vickers, Auburn basketball isn’t too unfamiliar, as his favorite player growing up happens to have a statue right outside of Neville Arena.
“Charles Barkley was my favorite player until I was 10 years old. And if everybody knows what happened in 1992, he left Philadelphia to go to Phoenix, so he couldn’t be my favorite player anymore,” Vickers said jokingly. But from ‘82 to ‘92, when I started watching the game, he was definitely my favorite player.”
In regards to Vickers’ values and mindset, it seems he is already meshing well with the historic culture, tradition and morals that come with being at the helm.
“I’ve had some time to get on YouTube, and on YouTube, that Auburn Creed pops up. And as you listen to that Auburn Creed, you get to that second line, and it’s like ‘I believe in work, hard work.’ And as y’all get to know my story, y’all know I’m only here because of hard work. And hopefully our hard work can lead to some championships, hopefully our hard work can lead to that celebration of rolling Toomer’s Corner, hopefully our hard work can lead to 100% graduation rate. That’s one thing that I can promise – we’re going to work hard in the classroom and we’re going to work hard on the floor. And they’re going to meet me halfway in everything we do,” Vickers said.
When asked about his message to recruits and current players, Vickers had a simple, but complex, answer.
“Auburn is an amazing place. Facilities, people, quality basketball, the best league in the country. There’s a lot of stuff as far as ‘why Auburn.’”
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Gunner is a freshman majoring in journalism. He started with The Plainsman in the fall 2024.
You can follow him on X (Twitter) at @norene_gunner10
