TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — The longest tenured women's basketball coach in the Atlantic Coast Conference is retiring.
Florida State head coach Sue Semrau announced her retirement Monday after 24 seasons.
"It's been a joy and a privilege to be the head coach at Florida State University," Semrau said in a statement. "Thank you to the amazing players and the talented and diligent members of our staff. You have given me millions of moments to cherish and friendships for a lifetime. The countless supportive and hard-working administrators, faculty and staff have enriched my life."
MORE: Longtime voice of Seminoles to retire after spring football game
Semrau credited the "excellent camaraderie of the coaches" at FSU who helped shape her into a four-time ACC coach of the year.
"I still remember on my interview (the late football) coach (Bobby) Bowden sitting with me and telling me that we could do this and that he would help me," she said. "And he did. More than I could have imagined."
The Seminoles reached the NCAA tournament 16 times under Semrau, advancing to the Elite Eight on three occasions.
Semrau was 470-271 while guiding the Seminoles to 14 seasons with at least 20 wins, including a string of eight straight from 2012 to 2020. She is the all-time school leader in wins in team history.
"It is hard to put into a few words just what Sue Semrau has meant to our athletics program, our university and the women she has inspired over her career," FSU athletic director Michael Alford said. "I know I speak for the FSU athletic directors who had the opportunity to work with her over her long career in saying that you couldn't find a better representative of Seminole athletics or women's basketball than Sue. She instilled in her student-athletes the qualities that allowed them to be successful on the court, in the classroom and in life. She was also a tremendous mentor not only to the assistant coaches who served under her, but to both head and assistant coaches in our other sports. Sue has represented Florida State masterfully for the last 25 years and we will always be grateful."
Semrau took a leave of absence during the 2020-21 season to be with her mother, who was recovering from ovarian cancer out of state.
She returned this past season and led the Seminoles to the First Four of the NCAA tournament, losing to Missouri State 60-51 last week.
"I walk away eternally blessed by the life I lived while being the head coach of Florida State," Semrau said. "I am 'Nole blooded and am proud to be a Seminole forever."