Don Landry, former Nicholls head basketball coach and athletic director, is retiring Aug. 1 after a 10-year stint as Sunshine State Conference commissioner. Landry became the second SSC full-time commissioner after a 36-year career in coaching and athletic administration. During his tenure, SSC teams won 25 of the league’s 57 national championships, and SSC, an National Collegiate Athletic Association Division II athletic conference, reached its largest membership with nine Florida schools. “I love all of athletics,” Landry said. “Just getting away from college athletics period is what I will miss the most, not one specific thing.”
Landry said he considers two aspects of his career his greatest accomplishments–one being his overall accomplishments at Nicholls. He served as head basketball coach for 13 years beginning in 1966 and was a two-time finalist for National Coach of the Year. His teams won two conference championships and two NCAA Regional championships. His 1975-76 team was ranked No. 2 in the final national poll after posting a 22-4 record, and his 1978-79 team represented the United States in France where it and won an international tournament.
During his leadership as Nicholls athletic director from 1979 to 1987, the University won two all-sports championships and made a transition to Division I.
“When I came to Nicholls it was a new school with a new, struggling athletics program,” he said. “To see where the program has gone and the small part I’ve played in that is one of my top accomplishments.”
The second aspect Landry is most proud of is being able to stay his entire career in athletics and leave with a good reputation. After 21 years at Nicholls, he became the Southland Conference commissioner for three years before becoming National Cutting Horse Association executive director in 1990. In 1993, Landry became director of special projects for the Texas Rangers.
Landry, a member of the Louisiana Basketball and Nicholls Halls of Fame, has served as president of the Division II Commissioners Association and chair of the NCAA Division II Men’s Basketball Committee. He is also credited to founding the Louisiana Association of Basketball Coaches and the Louisiana Athletic Directors Association.
Landry said his experiences dealing with athletes and coaches at Nicholls helped him to understand problems faced by SSC schools during his time as commissioner. “Having the experience of a coach and athletic director as a result made me a better commissioner because I was one of them before this position,” he said.
Landry said he continues to keep up with Nicholls athletics through local newspaper websites and his son who lives in Thibodaux. Even though Landry and his wife have moved to a retirement community in Florida, he said he will continue to run the Disney Tip-Off Classics, which he founded six years ago, and hopes to remain involved in athletics.
“I am talking to some sports organizations about part time work which I hope will work out,” he said. “I want to keep my hands in athletics.
