Larry Vickers draws from HBCU experience as Auburn’s new women’s basketball coach

When Auburn head women’s basketball coach Larry Vickers made the leap in March from mid-major program Norfolk State, he knew the decade he had spent at the historically Black Virginia university would guide him during his next chapter.

Over 10 seasons at Norfolk State, Vickers turned the Spartans into a Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) dynasty, leading the program to three consecutive NCAA tournament appearances and compiling an overall record of 177-99. Now, Vickers is determined to prove the winning formula he curated at an HBCU works in the SEC, the most competitive conference in women’s college basketball.

Vickers is the first HBCU women’s basketball head coach to jump directly to the Power Four level since 2013, when Texas Southern coach Cynthia Cooper-Dyke took the helm at USC.

“People have certain perspectives on our league [the MEAC] and where we should be able to coach next, like, they want you to move from the MEAC to the A-10 [Atlantic 10]. They want you to move from the MEAC to the CAA [Coastal Athletic Association],” Vickers said. “And it’s like, ‘Hold up, we ain’t lost to a CAA team in, I don’t know, five years.’

“So when you get an opportunity like this, it’s very few, you know, at this point, four power conferences. I could have stayed at Norfolk another 10 years and never got another opportunity to coach in the SEC.”

Vickers’ success at Norfolk State captured the attention of his current boss, Auburn athletic director John Cohen, long before he was officially hired.

In December 2023, Vickers’ Norfolk State Spartans played Auburn for the first time in his career, losing 67-39. In December 2024, Norfolk State faced Auburn again, pulling off a 63-57 upset victory.

Cohen was in the stands for that game, watching as Vickers and Norfolk State handed Auburn its first home loss of the 2024-25 season.

“Our president, Dr. [Christopher] Roberts, was at that game. My current boss, John Cohen, was at that game. … They liked our style of play. They liked the intensity that our team played with. They liked how we executed on both ends of the floor,” Vickers said.

When the Tigers had a head coaching vacancy after firing coach Johnnie Harris in March, Vickers found himself on their radar.

“They were like, ‘Hey, this guy with [few] resources could do this. What can you do with a program in the SEC?’”

Vickers, an alum of the Norfolk State men’s basketball program, began his coaching career in 2008 as an assistant before transitioning to associate head coach (2013-16).

“That program kind of built me and made me who I am,” Vickers said.

In 2016, he became the head women’s basketball coach and transformed the struggling program into a powerhouse, ultimately leading the Spartans to three consecutive MEAC tournament titles. The three-time MEAC Coach of the Year also helped develop players such as 2025 MEAC Player of the Year Diamond Johnson and Sixth Player of the Year Anjanae Richardson.

“Norfolk is an HBCU by nature, but at the same time, I think both programs at this stage are recognized more as formidable mid-major programs,” Norfolk State head men’s basketball coach Robert Jones said. “Him elevating Norfolk to a mid-major status just outside of HBCU, by tradition, is going to make the jump easier for everybody. He knows the game of basketball, so the coaching is not going to be a problem.”

When Vickers began upsetting Power Four teams with the Spartans, the opportunity of leading one seemed more in reach.

“I wanted to be there [at Norfolk] 45, 50 years, like [former Norfolk State baseball coach and athletic director] Marty Miller. That was my goal. … I think we accomplished a ton,” Vickers said. “Norfolk’s a special place. You know, a lot of schools preach family, and they really mean it.”

Despite the life the Vickers built for himself at Norfolk State, the Auburn coaching job was something he couldn’t pass on.

“Everybody kind of understood the decision. … They didn’t try and convince me to stay,” Vickers said. “They’re like, ‘This is a great opportunity for you, you know, to show the nation how good of a coach you are.’”

When Vickers inherited Auburn’s program, nearly the entire team was in the transfer portal. Only two players, sophomore guard Syriah Daniels and redshirt junior guard Kaitlyn Duhon, decided to stay. Vickers spent the offseason rebuilding the program, including its coaching staff.

Among his new hires was Candice Jackson, a former assistant coach at Virginia Commonwealth University. Jackson and Vickers have been friends for nearly a decade, since he began coaching women’s basketball, she said.

“When he got this opportunity, he asked if I would be interested in coming and helping in some kind of capacity. And I said, ‘Yeah,’” Jackson said. “I wouldn’t come to Auburn for a whole lot of people. I say that because nothing against Auburn, but I was just very happy and very settled in Richmond.”

Jackson moved 10 hours away from Richmond, Virginia, to join Vickers at Auburn, she said, largely because of his unique coaching style.

“He was an engineering major so, you know, engineers just naturally think differently. The way that he’s able to teach that in a basketball perspective, it’s always been intriguing,” Jackson said. “Engineers kind of take stuff apart first and put stuff back together so that it makes sense, and so that’s the way that he teaches basketball.

“I think our players have learned so much more since they’ve been here in this short amount of time. So seeing that with his team at Norfolk for all those years and then being able to come and help him do it here has been really, really fun.”

Auburn (10-3 overall) opened its season on Nov. 3 with a 71-58 overtime win against Charlotte and head coach Tomekia Reed. Reed took over at Charlotte in April 2024 after spending six years as head women’s basketball coach at Jackson State, where she led the program to five consecutive Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) regular-season titles and three SWAC tournament titles.

The Vickers-Reed matchup showcased two former HBCU coaches who continue to climb the ranks of collegiate basketball.

“We had to play five quarters against a very well-coached UNC Charlotte team. Tomekia [did] an amazing job at Jackson State and everything that she’s done, the amount of championships that she’s won, the amount of championships that [Vickers] won – they both get it,” Jackson said. “It doesn’t necessarily matter what league or what level you’re coaching at, winning is winning.”

Vickers and the Tigers will play their first conference opponent of the season, Mississippi State, on Jan. 1. He acknowledges the challenges that come with being a first-year SEC coach but hopes to accelerate the adjustment process and upset some teams early.

While his primary focus is on Auburn women’s basketball, he continues to cheer for his Norfolk State Spartans family.

“I spent 22 years in green and gold,” Vickers said. “I’m excited to have this blue and orange on. But you know, I’m following everything they [the Spartans] do on social media, and I’ll definitely be popping up to a lot of stuff this year.”

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