Wow. Old Dominion coach Wendy Larry is stepping down to take another job within the university.
No title has been mentioned for her new job, but a press release from ODU notes that Larry will have "responsibilities for assisting the Office of Institutional Advancement for athletic related fundraising projects, and Alumni events."
Larry earned her 600th career coaching victory this year. If this closes the book on her career, she will finish with a record of 608-234 in 27 years, highlighted by her 559-203 record in 24 years at ODU. In that time, she took the Lady Monarchs to 20 NCAA Tournaments and 17 (consecutive) CAA titles.
In recent weeks, the relatinship between Larry and athletic director Wood Selig has appeared strained in various media reports involving her contract and the school's unwillingness to extend it beyond next year.
In the release, Selig was quoted: "Wendy and Lady Monarch basketball are synonymous. Wendy has been a consistent thread, as a student-athlete and coach, throughout much of our program's national success. So many people I have met associate ODU with our highly successful women's basketball program. We can all thank Wendy for the role she has played in helping with the national branding of our women's basketball program."
And from Larry: "I was truly blessed to have coached hundreds of student-athletes who wore the Lady Monarch uniform with pride during my tenure at ODU. I am forever grateful that the late President Marchello and Dr. Jim Jarett took a chance on me and brought me home."
Wow. Just wow. Sad to see things end like this.
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