The Quad: Fortner Steps Down at Auburn, Citing Need for Change

Wade Payne/Associated PressAuburn Coach Nell Fortner wants a new challenge.

Veteran basketball coach Nell Fortner announced on Tuesday that she would be stepping down at Auburn at the end of the season, citing a need to try something new. Fortner has coached Auburn for the past eight seasons, and was under contract through the 2014-15 season.

Fortner, 52, said her decision was not made on the fly. Rather, she said it stems from a growing feeling she’s been having about coaching. She has worked the sidelines for 28 years, serving as a head coach for Purdue, the Indiana Fever of the W.N.B.A., the gold medal-winning U.S. team in the 2000 Olympics, and now Auburn.

“I’m going to go down to Florida, jump on my paddleboard and swim around with the dolphins,” Fortner told the Montgomery Advertiser. “I want you to know that today is my decision. Period. I’m just ready to do something else. I’ve got a lot of energy, a lot of enthusiasm for life. I just want to go live it.”

Fortner will continue to coach the the Tigers (11-16 overall, 3-11 in the S.E.C.) through the end of the regular season and in the conference tournament. This is the worst season of Fortner’s career at Auburn, with the Tigers mired in a five-game losing streak and standing second-to-last in the conference.

Auburn said it will start the search process immediately to find a successor.

“She walked in and before I could offer her something to drink, she said, ‘I think I’m done.’ She already knew. I think I asked her, ‘Are you at peace about this?’ and she said, ‘I am,’” Auburn Athletic Director Jay Jacobs told The Birmingham News. ” I just respect her, and when she knew that it was time for her to do something else, that she came and did what she’s always done and what she thought was best for this program and this women’s basketball team.”

Fortner’s best season at Auburn came in 2008-9, guiding the Tigers to the S.E.C. title with a 30-4 record. She was named the conference’s coach of the year. The second-seeded Tigers didn’t do well in the N.C.A.A. tournament though, losing to Rutgers, 80-52, in the second round.

“I haven’t lost my fire,” Fortner said. “We’ve all dug our heels in this year and worked as hard as we can to get the most out of these players, and we’ll continue to do that to the very end,” Fortner said. “We’ll just continue doing what we’re doing and help these kids win a ballgame.”