LeDawn Gibson appointed women's basketball coach at FAMU
May 7, 2008
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Florida A&M University has announced that LeDawn S. Gibson, the former head girls basketball coach at nationally-regarded Winter Haven (Fla.) High School had been appointed the school’s new women’s basketball coach.
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| (L-R) Hayes, Gibson and Ammons |
The official announcement was made by FAMU President James Ammons during an early morning press briefing in the lobby of historic Lee Hall on the FAMU campus, tabbing Gibson, the most successful girls basketball coach in Polk County (Fla.) history to the coaching post left vacant following the release in March of Debra Clark.
“We are pleased that we found someone that we believe is a good fit for our program,” said Athletic Director Bill Hayes. “She is a talented coach who has demonstrated from year-to-year that she has what it takes to lead us to a championship.”
The FAMU Board of Trustees on Wednesday approved a three-year contract for Gibson with an annual salary of $90,000.
Gibson, 39, who led Winter Haven High for 12 seasons, elevated the Blue Devils’ program to a perennial contender for the state honors and vaulted them to Top 25 status in the USA Today National High School rankings.
The Blue Devils were ranked No.1 in the State of Florida for nine straight seasons (2000-08), while finishing in the USA TODAY Top 10 High School National rankings this past season (2007-08).
Winter Haven’s clubs were ranked in the USA TODAY Girls High School Basketball Top 15 in both 2004-05 and 2006-07.
The 2006-07 Class 5A Coach of the Year, Gibson was a six-time Lakeland Ledger Coach of the Year and was cited by the Winter Haven News Chief as its’ Girls Coach of the Year from 1999 through 2008.
In her 12 seasons at Winter Haven, the Blue Devils compiled a scintillating 331-48 record, highlighted by two state championships in 2005 (Class 4A) and 2007 (Class 5A), seven Finals appearances, eight Final Four appearances overall, plus nine district and eight regional titles.
This past March, Winter Haven finished 30-3 overall, reaching the State finals for the fifth consecutive season, dropping a hard-fought decision to Naples Barron Collier High, just a year after winning the state title.
Twenty-seven (27) of her players advanced to collegiate basketball careers, twelve (12) playing on the NCAA Division One level for such programs as Connecticut, Kentucky, Memphis, South Florida and Indiana.
Two of her players – LaQwesha Gamble (2005) and Tiffany Hayes (2008) were named Florida Miss Basketball.
Gibson is a graduate of Winter Haven High School and she holds an A.A. in Elementary Education from Polk Community College, a B.S. degree in Organizational Management from Warner Southern College in Lakeland, and an M.S. in Educational Leadership from Argosy University in Tampa.
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