After nine years serving under Gary Blair as Texas A&M women’s basketball’s assistant coach, Bob Starkey will depart the program to step into the same role at Auburn.
Auburn announced the hire via Twitter on Thursday, April 15.
This will be Starkey’s sixth assistant coaching job as he previously spent time at West Virginia State, Marshall, LSU and UCF.
“It has been both an honor and a privilege to coach at Texas A&M,” Starkey said in a message posted to Twitter. “It is an amazing institution and its traditions and spirit of the 12th Man have changed me forever. I have worked with great coaches, a wonderful support staff and committed administrators but above all have been truly blessed to have been able to teach and coach some amazing student-athletes. Off the court, Sherie and I have forged some special friendships that will last us a lifetime. It is time now for us to move on to a new challenge but to again say thanks Aggieland.
In his 33-year coaching career, Starkey has led his teams to 780 wins, 24 NCAA Tournaments, eight Elite Eight appearances and five consecutive Final Four appearances during his time at LSU.
“Thank you for all you have done for our program,” Blair said in a message posted to Twitter. “Good luck and I’m happy you are keeping it in the family.”
Auburn recently hired former A&M assistant Johnnie Harris on April 3. Harris was the Aggies’ assistant from 2007 to 2012. The program also added Ketara Chapel and former A&M forward Damitria Buchanan as assistant coaches on April 13 and 14, respectively.
“I can’t express how excited I am to have Bob Starkey joining our team,” Harris said in a release from Auburn’s program. “Bob is a game-changer for Auburn women’s basketball. His experience building and coaching championship teams will be invaluable to our program. I have known Bob for many years, and there is no better basketball mind that we could have as part of our staff. Our young ladies will benefit greatly from his ability to share his knowledge of the game and his commitment to a championship mentality. We are extremely blessed to have Bob join our Auburn Family.”
During the 2020-2021 season, Starkey helped guide A&M to a 25-3 overall record and its first SEC regular season title in program history.
“I’m extremely excited to be here at Auburn,” Starkey said in a release from Auburn’s program. “First and foremost, I’m looking forward to the opportunity to work with Johnnie Harris. She’s somebody I’ve had a tremendous amount of respect for over the years. To be able to teach with and learn from her is an exciting next step in my career. I’m also old enough to remember the glory days when Joe Ciampi and Auburn went to Final Fours, and I competed against Nell Fortner when they won their last SEC Championship, so I’m aware of the greatness that can be obtained here. I’m looking forward to getting Auburn back to those heights.”