Pokey Chatman resigns as women's coach at LSU

BATON ROUGE — LSU women's basketball coach Pokey Chatman, who took over as head coach in 2004 and twice took the Lady Tigers to the Final Four, announced her resignation Wednesday.

"I have notified the university today that I will step down as head coach of the women's basketball program in order to allow me to pursue other career opportunities," Chatman said in a prepared statement.

She did not say what those opportunities are. She said she would stay with the team through its run in the upcoming NCAA tournament and will be under contract until April 30.

"To eliminate any further distraction from our preparation for and participation in the NCAA Tournament, I will have no further comment and answer no questions on this subject," she added.

Michael Bonnette, a sports information director at the school, confirmed the resignation and said it was unexpected. "I was stunned," Bonnette said.

"We respect the decision that Pokey Chatman has made regarding her future career opportunities," Athletic Director Skip Bertman said in a news release. "On behalf of LSU, I thank her for her athletic accomplishments as a player and as a coach, and for the community service work she has performed for Baton Rouge and Louisiana."