Coach pens farewell letter to Monarchs’ players, fans
NORFOLK — Mississippi State announced Saturday that Nikki McCrayPenson had been hired as its women’s basketball coach.
Later Saturday, she released a letter to Old Dominion fans, players and administration, thanking them for her three seasons as the Monarchs’ coach. McCray was 53-40 in three seasons with ODU, and the Monarchs were progressively better in McCray’s three seasons, going 8-23 and 21-11 before this year’s 24-6 mark.
A copy of McCray’s letter, released by the ODU athletic department, is below: Dear ODU,
I want to say THANK YOU from the bottom of my heart. The past three seasons have taught me so much, and have brought me some of the most rewarding memories of my life. I can’t imagine a better community to start my career as a head coach. My experience at ODU helped prepare me for this moment and I will forever be grateful for starting my head coaching career with you.
To my team: I thank each and every player who gave me the privilege of coaching you over the past three seasons. You worked hard. You believed in the process. You got better each and every day. You taught me so many lessons and you made me a better coach. Each one of you will hold a special place in my heart forever. I’ll always be here for you. And I expect each of you to approach your next season with the same hard work and determination. You know I’ll be watching.
To my fellow coaches and the ODU administrators especially President Broderick and Athletic Director Wood Selig. Thank you for giving me a chance. Thank you for believing in me. The support I received from each of you helped me so much every single day. ODU is a special place. The students are lucky to have such strong leadership guiding them and truly caring about them. I know I was lucky to have such great supporters around me.
And to the fans: Your unwavering support of our program was truly appreciated. You helped us grow and get better and was important to our success. From the beginning, I realized what a privilege it was to lead this historic basketball program. Your support through the victories and challenges was appreciated. This is a special community and I appreciate each one of you who supported our team.
Thank you, ODU. Continue to empower one another.