Andrew Grady Landers (born October 8, 1952) is an American former
college basketball
College basketball is basketball that is played by teams of Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. In the Higher education in the United States, United States, colleges and universities are governed by collegiate athle ...
coach who was head women's basketball coach at the
University of Georgia
The University of Georgia (UGA or Georgia) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university with its main campus in Athens, Georgia, United States. Chartered in 1785, it is the oldest public university in th ...
from 1979 to 2015.
Landers graduated from Friendsville (Tenn.) High School in 1970, then attended and graduated from
Tennessee Technological University
Tennessee Technological University (commonly referred to as Tennessee Tech) is a Public university, public research university in Cookeville, Tennessee. It was formerly known as Tennessee Polytechnic Institute, and before that as University of D ...
in 1974 with a degree in Physical Education.
In 1975, Landers began his coaching career at
Roane State Community College
Roane State logo
Roane State Community College is a public community college in eastern Tennessee, with its main campus in Harriman in Roane County. It was authorized by the Tennessee General Assembly in 1969, along with two other community col ...
, compiling an 82–21 record over four seasons before
Vince Dooley
Vincent Joseph Dooley (September 4, 1932 – October 28, 2022) was an American college football coach. He was the head coach of the Georgia Bulldogs from 1964 to 1988, as well as the University of Georgia's (UGA) athletic director from 1979 to 2 ...
made the 26-year-old his first hire as athletic director at Georgia.
The Lady Bulldog program Landers inherited had compiled a 37–85 record in its first six seasons and had virtually no budget. However, in his first season, Landers led the Lady Bulldogs to a 16–12 record, and by his fourth year in
Athens
Athens ( ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Greece, largest city of Greece. A significant coastal urban area in the Mediterranean, Athens is also the capital of the Attica (region), Attica region and is the southe ...
, he had taken them to their first of five
NCAA Final Fours. By 1985, the Lady Dogs were in the National Championship game.
During his career at Georgia, Landers was named National Coach of the Year four times and
Southeastern Conference
The Southeastern Conference (SEC) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference whose member institutions are located primarily in the South Central United States, South Central and Southeastern United States. Its 16 members in ...
(SEC) Coach of the Year three times, and led the Lady Dogs to 23
NCAA Tournaments, five Final Fours, seven SEC regular-season titles, four SEC tournament championships, and 21 twenty-win seasons. He coached two
Olympians
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* Twelve Olympians, the principal gods and goddesses in ancient Greek religion
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* ''Percy Jackson & the Olympians'', fiction ...
(who won a combined six Gold Medals), 11 Kodak All-Americans, and 25 future
Women's National Basketball Association
The Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) is a women's professional basketball league in the United States. The league comprises 13 teams (scheduled to expand to 15 in 2026). The WNBA is headquartered in Midtown Manhattan.
The WNBA w ...
(WNBA) players.
Landers was awarded the US Basketball Writers Association (USBWA) Coach of the Year award in 2000.
At the time he retired, Georgia's five Final Four appearances (all under Landers) ranked sixth among all schools.
Landers recorded his 600th career win in just 784 games, which at the time made him the fifth-quickest (out of fourteen total)
NCAA Division I
NCAA Division I (D-I) is the highest division of intercollegiate athletics sanctioned by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in the United States, which accepts players globally. D-I schools include the major collegiate athlet ...
women's basketball head coaches to reach the mark. On February 24, 2013, Landers got his 900th career win in Georgia's 73–54 victory at
Ole Miss
OLE, Ole or Olé may refer to:
* Olé, a cheering expression used in Spain
* Ole (name), a male given name, includes a list of people named Ole
* Overhead lines equipment, used to transmit electrical energy to trams, trolleybuses or trains
Co ...
.
Landers was a member of the ninth group of inductees (the class of 2007) in the
Women's Basketball Hall of Fame
The Women's Basketball Hall of Fame honors those who have contributed to the sport of women's basketball. The Hall of Fame opened in 1999 in Knoxville, Tennessee, USA. It is the only facility of its kind dedicated to all levels of women's bask ...
. He is also a member of the
Georgia Sports Hall of Fame
Georgia most commonly refers to:
* Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus
* Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States
Georgia may also refer to:
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as the state's winningest college basketball coach at any level.
Landers announced his decision to retire on March 16, 2015. He finished his career with 944 total wins, which ranked fifth all-time among women's college basketball coaches.
He was succeeded by his then-assistant coach
Joni Taylor
Joni Taylor (née Crenshaw; born March 7, 1979) is an American college basketball coach who is the head women's basketball coach for Texas A&M. Prior to Texas A&M, she was head coach at Georgia from 2015 to 2022.
Playing history
Born Joni Crensh ...
.
Since his retirement, Landers has worked for
ESPN
ESPN (an initialism of their original name, which was the Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by the Walt Disney Company (80% and operational control) and Hearst Commu ...
and its sister-channel
SEC Network
SEC Network (SECN) is an American multinational sports network owned by ESPN Inc., a joint venture between The Walt Disney Company (which operates the network, through its 80% controlling ownership interest) and Hearst Communications (which hold ...
as a women's college basketball analyst.
Personal life
He married the former Pam McClellan in 1981 and has two children, Andrea Lauren and Andrew Joseph.
Head coaching record
Sources:
See also
*
References
External links
Georgia Bulldogs bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Landers, Andy
1952 births
Living people
American women's basketball coaches
Basketball coaches from Tennessee
Georgia Lady Bulldogs basketball coaches
Junior college women's basketball coaches in the United States
People from Maryville, Tennessee
Sportspeople from Blount County, Tennessee