Sue Semrau, the all-time winningest coach in Florida State women's basketball history, announced Monday that she is retiring after 24 seasons with the Seminoles.
"Thank you to the amazing players and the talented and diligent members of our staff, you have given me millions of moments to cherish, and friendships for a lifetime," Semrau said in a statement. "The countless supportive and hard-working administrators, faculty and staff have enriched my life."
Semrau took over the program in 1997 and led the Seminoles to the NCAA tournament 16 times, including this season when they played in the First Four. Florida State made it to the Elite Eight in 2010, 2015 and 2017. Semrau was ACC coach of the year four times.
Semrau, 60, went 470-271 with 14 20-win seasons. Florida State had just four 20-win seasons before Semrau took over. She was president of the Women's Basketball Coaches Association from 2013 to '15. She was the Associated Press, WBCA and espnW national coach of the year in 2015.
Semrau inherited a team that had gone 5-22 in 1996-97 and hadn't reached double figures in wins in four years. By her fourth season, Semrau had led the Seminoles to a 19-12 record and their first NCAA tournament appearance in a decade.
"It is hard to put into a few words just what Sue Semrau has meant to our athletics program, our university and the women she has inspired over her career," Florida State athletic director Michael Alford said. "I know I speak for the FSU athletic directors who had the opportunity to work with her over her long career in saying that you couldn't find a better representative of Seminole athletics or women's basketball than Sue.
"She instilled in her student-athletes the qualities that allowed them to be successful on the court, in the classroom and in life. She was also a tremendous mentor not only to the assistant coaches who served under her, but to both head and assistant coaches in our other sports."
Semrau took a leave of absence last season to care for her mother, who had cancer, and associate head coach Brooke Wyckoff filled in as interim head coach. Wyckoff, who played for Semrau at Florida State from 1997 to 2001 and then spent eight seasons in the WNBA, is expected to be considered to replace Semrau.
"The excellent camaraderie of the coaches I worked with at FSU shaped me," Semrau said. "I still remember on my interview, Coach [Bobby] Bowden sitting with me and telling me that we could do this, and that he would help me. And he did. More than I could have imagined.
"I walk away eternally blessed by the life I lived while being the head coach of Florida State."