LSU gymnastics coach D-D Breaux announces retirement after 43 years

Breaux is officially departing from the program.

LSU gymnastics coach D-D Breaux announced her retirement on Tuesday after 43 years, effective immediately.

Tigers co-head coach Jay Clark will replace Breaux beginning next season.

Called the ”Dean of LSU Coaches,” Breaux leaves as the longest tenured coach in any sport in the SEC. She has built the LSU gymnastics program into a national powerhouse over the course of her nearly half-century career.

During her time as coach, Breaux has coached over 200 gymnasts and led the program to 15 individual NCAA Championships. The gymnasts she has coached have won 44 SEC titles, with 266 All-Americans and 91 All-SEC honors.

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Over 43 years, the Tigers’ leader has amounted over 800 total wins and the program has placed in the top-10 nationally 31 times during her tenure.

The Tigers’ gymnastics team finished in second place in 2016, 2017, and 2019, third place in 2014, fourth in 1988 and 2018, and fifth place nationally in 2008 and 2013.

Breaux leaves an LSU program that has won the SEC title three years in a row. She led the Tigers to the inaugural SEC Championship in 1981, and then led them to three straight conference titles in 2017, 2018, and 2019.

She has won the SEC Coach of the Year Award nine times in 1990, 1993, 1994, 1995, 2000, 2005, 2015, 2017, and 2019. Breaux has also been awarded the NCAA Central Regional Coach of the Year nine times in 1999, 2002, 2005, 2006, 2010, 2013, 2014, 2015, and 2017.

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During her final four seasons, the Tigers averaged at least 10,000 fans at every home meet and finished top five nationally over the past seven years in attendance. The gymnastics program owns two sellouts and four meets with 13,000-plus fans in the history of the Pete Maravich Assembly Center.

Her coaching career ends with eight NCAA Championship Finals Appearances, 35 consecutive NCAA Regional Appearances, 19 regional titles, seven SEC gymnasts of the year, six SEC Championships, and many more accolades.

Breaux’s legacy at LSU will last forever. While she won’t be seen coaching the gymnastics program anymore, she plans to remain at LSU as an ambassador with the athletics department.

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