Breaux retires after 43 years; longest tenured SEC coach

BATON ROUGE - It does not matter what sport you coach, doing that job for 43 years is a long time.
That is how long LSU’s Sara “D-D” Breaux’s tenure has lasted at the flagship university of Louisiana.
On Tuesday, the coach who built one of the powerhouse programs in the nation made the announcement that she is retiring from her position as head gymnastic coach at LSU. Breaux, who retires as the longest tenured head coach in the Southeastern Conference, will be replaced by Co-head coach Jay Clark.
During her time as the head coach of LSU gymnastics, Breaux has led her team to over 800 wins (816-427-7) and six SEC championships, including a three-peat in 2017, 2018 and 2019.
Her guidance helped LSU to eight NCAA championship finals Appearances (2008, 2009, 2013, 2014, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019), 35 Consecutive NCAA regional appearances, and 30 NCAA championships appearances Breaux’s gymnasts have combined to win 15 individual national titles and 44 SEC titles. There have been 266 All-America and 91 All-SEC honors earned in 43 seasons.
More importantly, under Breaux, LSU gymnastics has produced 160 Scholastic All-Americans and her teams have won the Tiger Cup in 2013, 2014, and 2015, an award given to the LSU team with the most community service hours, the highest GPA and the highest national placement in postseason competition.
Breaux has been named the SEC Coach of the Year on nine occasions (1990, 1993, 1994, 1995, 2000, 2005, 2015, 2017 and 2019) and NCAA Central Regional Coach of the Year nine times (1999, 2002, 2005, 2006, 2010, 2013, 2014, 2015 and 2017).
Breaux was also honored with being voted into the USA Gymnastics Region 8 Hall of Fame. She was named National Coach of the Year twice (2014, 2017). Breaux was inducted into the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame in 2017.
Before her coaching career, Breaux competed at Southeastern Louisiana and was considered one of the top 15 gymnasts in the country. Her career ended with a knee injury, stopping her from competing at the 1972 Olympic Trials.
“I’ve always told myself that I would know when it would be time to make this most difficult decision,” Breaux said. “This program was not built easily, but it is now in the most secure and positive position it has been since its inception. LSU Gymnastics is one of the best and most powerful programs in the country with, most importantly, the most incredible fan support.”
“I just think this whole last year, ending the way it did with Covid-19 and dealing with it this summer, it will take someone with a younger spirit to bring this team through it,” she continued. “Looking at what we’ve accomplished in gymnastics, it’s time. We’ve done a lot of great things and things have never been better. I think it’s a great time to step away.”
LSU Athletic Director Scott Woodward weighed in on Breaux’s announcement.
“D-D Breaux’s contribution to this university, this community and to our athletic program is simply immeasurable. She has had a generational impact on the student-athletes she has coached and mentored over her 43 years of service, not to mention all of the rest of us she has taught along the way. With hard work and pure force of her will, D-D built a gymnastics program from the ground up into one that is now recognized worldwide for elite-level excellence.”