Nicholls women’s head basketball coach Dobee Plaisance now holds the program record for most wins.

After two wins her first year on campus, Plaisance and her teams have collected 88 wins in seven years, another accolade to add to her list of program records which includes three straight winning seasons, a 19-win season and a seven-game winning streak. When talking about her success, Plaisance gives all the credit to God first and her assistant coaches and players second.

“I truly believe that the stronger the people you have working around you are, puts you in a better position to succeed,” Plaisance said. “All of the accolades I have received here have been through the grace of God along with super players.”

While Plaisance attributes her success to the efforts of others, only she is responsible for her significance as a coach. According to Plaisance, when you’re significant you’ve taken the success God has blessed you with and made a difference in someone else’s life. She considers her job as a coach a success when women leave her program feeling empowered.

“When I recognize that in my former players, that’s bigger than any championship, any big win,” Plaisance said. “I feel like God’s purpose for me in this position isn’t about winning basketball games, it’s about serving.”

For most of her players, they will only play under her tutelage for four years, but Plaisance’s feels that her job does not end there. For her, it is not about those four years, but how she has impacted them for the next 40 years.

Plaisance built her program around a base of principles that guided her through her life thus far.

“The big three for me is God, family and education,” Plaisance said. “Whether I’m a basketball coach or a mom, those three things are my fundamentals.”

Although Plaisance grew up in Marrero, she was no stranger to Lafourche Parish when she arrived in 2008. Her grandparents are from the bayou area and are buried on Canal Street at St. Jospeh’s Co-Cathedral. Plaisance said she always remembered the charm of Thibodaux when she would, “go visit maw-maw and paw-paw to the country.”

Before her career at Nicholls began, Plaisance led a similar resurgence in the women’s basketball program at Loyola University in New Orleans. During her time in New Orleans, her last two years saw the Lady Wolfpack win back-to-back Gulf Coast Athletic Conference regular season championships and make an Elite eight run in the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics National Championship.

Plaisance always enjoyed the connection between New Orleans and Thibodaux, and uses the region as part of her recruiting. What she loves about this city is the same thing that draws people to the big city: the food, the music, the art and the very eclectic people.

“If you need to quiet down and enjoy the crawfish and the Mardi Gras, you can do it right here,” Plaisance said. “If you want it a little bit more electrified, you can drive 45 minutes down the road.”