By Shannon Fagan, WEIS Sports Director

JACKSONVILLE – Walking away from all of the championship success Ricky Austin had in a 30-year coaching career at Spring Garden was tough on him.

Really tough.

But Jacksonville State Athletics Director Greg Seitz knew Austin was the right man for the Gamecock women’s basketball head coaching vacancy. It just took him a couple of weeks convincing Austin of the same.

Finally, Seitz spoke the words that persuaded Austin to commit to his new coaching endeavor.

“Greg said ‘What’s holding you back?’ I really couldn’t tell him,” Austin said. “He got into a richer, deeper conversation and said ‘Coach, there’s only two women’s sports here that haven’t made it to the national tournament.’ He said ‘I know you’re the right guy to get us to March Madness. I want this women’s basketball team to get to March Madness.’ The challenge was on, and I’ve never backed down from a challenge.”

Austin officially accepted that challenge on Monday. The school officially welcomed him on board Tuesday afternoon at an introductory press conference.

“We wanted a leader who understands how to build and sustain success, someone who develops student athletes – not just as players but as people – and someone who truly fits who we are here at Jacksonville State,” Seitz said. “It became very clear very quickly that Ricky Austin was that person.”

But Seitz and the Gamecocks aren’t just getting a successful coach. They’re getting a family tree that includes Austin’s wife Dana, along with her sister Jana McGinnis. The twin sisters helped put women’s basketball and softball on the map at JSU – both as players and coaches.

The two will be consultants of Austin’s, with McGinnis’ role an official one as a working retiree advisor.

Austin’s son, Cooper, is also on the Gamecock staff. Ricky and Cooper Austin recently coached with each other on the Nike Elite Youth Basketball League circuit with the Alabama Stars.

“This is not just a hire. It’s really a continuation of a legacy,” Seitz said. “This is a family who understands what Jax State means. They’ve lived it. They’ve built it, and now Coach Austin has the opportunity to lead it. We believe he is the right leader at the right time for our program. We are incredibly excited about what the future holds.”

Seitz actually owes the Austin family an assist for helping convince Ricky Austin to take the job.

“They had the quickest answer when this come about. Every one of my family members – Riley (son), Cooper, Ace (daughter and current Alabama freshman guard), and Dana – it was like no-brainer to them,” Austin said. “I was like ‘Really? I thought I was getting ready to retire and take it easy for a while.’

“They’ve motivated me with how excited they are for this journey for us. I talked to Ace 10 minutes before I called Greg, and she said ‘I know what the answer better be. This is your time.’ Our family’s all in. That makes it easy and makes it special.”

Cooper Austin said he’s excited to be along for the ride.

“It’s going to be fun,” Cooper Austin said. “It’s going to be a learning curve to navigate he’s not just my dad. He’s my boss. Whatever he asks from me, that’s what I’m going to do, but at the same time, it’s going to be awesome to be able to enjoy this with him. That’s one thing with our family is family means everything. That’s where we’re rooted at. That’s where we begin our beliefs, so to be able to do this with him means the world.”

Dana Austin, a former Gamecock women’s basketball coach for 10 years, said the biggest thing she’s talked to her husband about is compartmentalization.

“Right now, it’s overwhelming to him. When you throw in hiring a staff, meeting the players and building a relationship with them, then recruiting, skill development, getting their schedules, it can be overwhelming,” she said. “We’ve just kind of told him and guided him to today you’re going to do this, tomorrow you focus on that, just try to compartmentalize. If you’re looking at the big picture, you do get overwhelmed, but we’ve given him all kinds of encouragement.”

That kind of encouragement helped Austin earn over 1,000 wins, 17 Final Fours, 12 state final appearances, nine state titles in basketball, and three more in volleyball.

“I’ve never promised anybody a championship,” Austin said. “I want to win every drill, and I want to win every day. I want to make sure when we leave we feel like we have won the day and everybody feels like they’ve accomplished something. That’s the way I worked at Spring Garden, and we hope it gets us in the right direction here.

“To the Jacksonville State players and the Jacksonville State community, my coaching philosophy is deeply rooted in consistency, discipline, and relationships. We will stick with these values, whether we’re on the court, in the classroom, or just out in the community being productive citizens in this great community. I think these values will translate over into the type of game we play.

“I like to play fast pace. I love shooting from the 3-point line. I like to show detail to defense. I think all these values are what you’ll see when you watch us play. I hope to put a product on the floor everybody enjoys watching.”