re: Pat Murphy changes his mind, will not coach softball team

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LSU HEAD COACH PATRICK MURPHY

Opening Statement ...

"I can't believe I'm standing up here. It's an incredible honor to join the long line of incredible coaches here at LSU. Already it's a family atmosphere. We had a short meeting with the team, and I thought that went incredibly well. It's fitting that I started my career a little bit down the road [at Louisiana-Lafayette], and hopefully I'll finish my career in Louisiana at LSU. Many of you probably don't know this, but when I went to graduate school at USL [now ULL] every Tuesday or Wednesday night when LSU played baseball at home I drove [to Baton Rouge]. I was the biggest Ben McDonald fan, and I loved Todd Walker. I had LSU baseball t-shirts, and I wore them until I wore them out. It's also fitting that I'm back in purple and gold because my alma mater Northern Iowa is purple and gold.

"I need to thank Joe (Alleva) and (Senior Associate AD/Senior Woman Administrator) Miriam (Segar), because this was an incredible opportunity for me. I got a phone call and Joe said 'This is the one call and hopefully it'll be one call only.' That's never happened before in college softball. It showed me right then and there how much LSU really cares about softball. They just set the bar about 15 years in advance for college softball coaches, I truly believe that. You've already given me a shot of confidence, and I really appreciate that because it means a lot.

"I have to thank a bunch of friends and family members in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, because I spent 15 years there and it was an incredible ride. They're some of the best softball fans in the country. I definitely wouldn't be here if it wasn't for my 13 years as head coach and two years as assistant. I really want to say thank you to some individuals that helped me get to this spot. Vann Stuedeman, Kate Petullo, Skip Powers, Marie Robbins, Nick Seiler, Michelle Diltz, Jason Nance, Heather Anders, Matt Self, Dr. Jeff Laubenthal, Ashley Waters, Kimberly Johnson and Beverly Chandler. That was all the support staff at Alabama, and they did a great job for me. I'm really going to miss them. The toughest part of this for me was telling my players [at Alabama] that I was leaving. Believe me when I say it was the toughest thing I've ever had to do. The toughest thing about that is when I would call them the first thing they would say to me is 'Are you doing OK?' That's that type of kids we had at Alabama, and that's the type of kids we want at LSU because they were great people. It's a testament to the type of kids we recruited there.

"One of the cool by-products of this move is an opportunity to bring a young lady home, and half of Crowley is here. I wouldn't be here if it wasn't for Alyson Habetz, who's been with me for 13 years. She actually played for [Yvette] Girouard and I at USL [now ULL]. She actually walked on to the softball team because she was recruited for college basketball. She was a 1,000 point scorer, and she ended up being an All-American first baseman for us. I told the players earlier that they will not have a better female athlete role model than Alyson. I can't tell you how much I appreciate you coming with me and everything that you've done for me the past 13 years because you are the best assistant coach in the country. I truly believe that, I appreciate everything you've done for me.

"One last person I have to thank, and she is the reason I'm here, is Yvette Girouard. She's the reason I got my start in softball. I was actually a Sports Information Director, and I came back from coaching baseball in Iowa and her assistant coach had left. She grabbed me in the hallway and said 'I have a proposition for you. How about taking on another duty? How about assistant coach?' I said 'Sure, I'll try it.' She was the last person I talked to before I accepted this, and I asked her to tell me why I should come here. She told me it's a great city, it's a great university, it's a great athletic department and you have some great kids you're about to work with. Thank you very much, I appreciate it.

"I don't think many coaches in the country can say they coached at Alabama, and definitely not many coaches can say they had the opportunity to not only coach at Alabama, but also coach at a great school like LSU. I can think of one person that has done that [current Alabama football coach Nick Saban], and he's done pretty good. I appreciate everyone being here, thank you very much."

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