"I am pleased and excited to extend Andy's contract," Evans said. "His commitment and dedication to the University of Georgia and to our women's basketball program is outstanding. I am confident that he will continue to build on his already impressive resume."
"I appreciate the continued support of the Georgia administration and fans, and I look forward to continuing our quest to win a national championship," Landers said.
Landers was a 26-year-old with four years of junior college experience when he was tabbed at UGA's head coach on April 24, 1979. He quickly turned the Lady Bulldogs into a national power and has kept UGA among the country's elite programs throughout his tenure.
After compiling a 37-85 (.303) record in its first six seasons of intercollegiate competition prior to Landers' arrival, Georgia secured a school-record 16 wins in his initial campaign. The following season, 1980-81, the Lady Bulldogs won 27 games and captured the NWIT Championship. A year later, UGA secured a bid to the first-ever NCAA Tournament. The following spring, Georgia advanced to the 1983 NCAA Final Four. Two seasons after that, the Lady Bulldogs finished as NCAA runners-up in 1985.
Georgia has maintained its stature among the nation's premier programs ever since. UGA is one of only four schools in the country to post a winning record in all 28 seasons since women's basketball came under the auspices of the NCAA in 1981-82. The Lady Bulldogs have received invitations to 26 NCAA Tournaments, the second-most of any school in the nation, and have made the most of those bids. UGA has reached 17 "Sweet 16s," 10 "Elite Eights," and five Final Fours and finished as NCAA runners-up on two occasions (1985 and 1996).
Landers, a 2007 inductee into the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame and a 2009 inductee in the State of Georgia's Sports Hall of Fame, is one of only four major college women's basketball coaches to top the 800-win plateau. He secured that victory midway through the 2008-09 season and did so at the second-fastest progression among the elite group.
A four-time National Coach of the Year, Landers is quick to deflect praise from himself, however, and credits others for the success of Georgia Basketball. He has coached many of the game's greatest players. Most notably, Teresa Edwards, who is the only U.S. basketball player -- male or female -- to participate in five Olympic Games and a four-time Olympic Gold Medalist, was a two-time All-American at UGA. Georgia also has been a leading supplier of players in the WNBA. Nineteen former Lady Bulldogs have gone on to play in the league, including eight in 2009. Headlining that ledger is Deanna "Tweety" Nolan, a perennial All-Star who has led the Detroit Shock to three WNBA titles.
Andy Landers
http://accesswdun.com/article/2009/7/221869