Everything From Georgia Tech Head Coach Nell Fortner's Retirement Press Conference

In a bit of a surprise yesterday, Georgia Tech Women's Basketball Head Coach Nell Fortner announced her retirement. Fortner had signed an extension earlier this season, but opted to retire. Today, she held her retirement press conference and here is everything that she had to say.

Opening Statement...

"Thanks to everybody that's here today, really appreciate y'all coming out. It's nice seeing a lot of familiar faces on this day. Look, I guess some people would say this is bittersweet. I mean, it's the end of a college coaching career for me, but not the end of doing something, because I got a lot of energy left. I don't know what that looks like for me, but I know it won't be a college basketball coach. Being here at Georgia Tech has been a phenomenal experience. You know, what's really interesting is six years ago, almost to the day, close to it, I became the coach at Georgia Tech on a flight coming here from Tampa, Florida from the Final Four. And the Final Four is back in Tampa, Florida this year, so kind of has come full circle. But it's been a great experience here, Georgia Tech is a phenomenal place, and I appreciate so much the support that women's basketball was given from the administration that hired me here to the administration that is here now. J Batt, thank you so much for taking a job and embracing women's basketball. Really appreciate that. So it's President Cabrera. Look, I'm not sure there's been a more supportive president that I've ever worked with in a university setting than Angel Cabrera. and I thank him very, very much and his wife, Beth. But as we've navigated through the last six years, y 'all realize how much change has happened in the last six years? When I took this job in 2019, it was pretty much normal college athletics as it goes. And in a year's time, COVID hit. And then we were pretty much saddled with that for about two years, which was really hard to navigate, but we did. And then not only that happened, but in the middle of that came the transfer portal and NIL. So it's really some difficult times in the last six years, but we navigated it and we did it through tremendous people working.

And I've been blessed with great staff, great staff. And most of them are here right here today. And I can't thank them enough for everything they've done in the past six years, three years, however long they've been here. Ashley Villarreal has been here all six years. Rachel's not here. Our trainer's been with us all six years. Really appreciate that. Then I have some three years on here. So thank you all very much for everything you've done and all your support. And of course, tremendous players. These athletes. They come here. They have to study. They have to a rigorous academic schedule and they do so, so good. I'm so proud of them and what they've done in that area. This team this past year was incredibly fun to coach. They worked hard and we, we accomplished something that we've this program's never done before. I'm so proud of that. And it feels really, really good to know that we took it to that level and and I know that there's great things in the future for this program because we're proving we proved that we can do that here at Georgia Tech. So I am able to walk away from this program and from college athletics feeling very proud about what we've accomplished here at Georgia Tech. Super proud, really proud of the and proud of, of everyone that had a part in what we did here. So it's a it's a, it's a happy day for me. It's a it's a maybe a little bit of a sad day. It's kind of a mixture but I feel so grateful that I had the opportunity here."

1. On why the timing was right to step away...

"I'm old Chad. Oh man, I'm getting up there. At some point you got to hang it up, you know. Yeah, age is a number, absolutely, because I don't feel like I'm old. I feel like I've got a lot left in the tank, but you know, the atmosphere today in college athletics, it's not for me and it's changing so, so much. I've been blessed to have come through it and had a career that wasn't so difficult with how the NCAA is trying to run things now, so I'm just blessed. I don't have, you know, it's just time. It's time. It's a new era. It's time for a new voice. There's a lot to learn and navigate in this new era, and I'm just not ready to do that."

2. On if NIL or the transfer portal played a major role in her decision to step away...

"You know, not really because actually I mean there comes a point time when you are, you did, it's time to step away, you know just you've been in it for a long time. I've been coaching over 30 close to 40 years. So at some point it's just time. Is the atmosphere, is it pleasant in my eyes? No, it's not but I can't say it's the absolute thing that makes me walk away. I mean I was trying to navigate it, you're trying to learn it, and all that kind of stuff, but do I like it? No, and it was just, it just feels like the right time. We ended it on a really fantastic season, a fantastic season, and that feels good. And to be able to walk away on my terms feels really good. And that's what I'm doing."

3. On if here decision was recent or something she had been contemplating...

" I can say contemplating, because it's just as, yeah, I can say contemplating. But I think that it just happened that it just felt right now."

4. On what changes she would want to see in college athletics...

"Look, I... We don't have enough time to talk about that. You know, and I don't want to use this platform to talk about that. It's not my space. It's not my lane right now. Maybe later on it will be. Who knows, you know, But there's a lot of things, I think, that need to get fixed. But it's not for me to talk about right now. But I appreciate the question."

5. On what she will miss the most...

"The kids, the players. And I think probably every coach in the country, if you ask them that question, it would be that because they're energy They're, everything that they bring to the table, they're funny, they're interesting, all those things, there's so many things about them. And then the competition, you know, I've always been a very competitive person, so the players and the competition, the camaraderie of an excellent staff, you can't beat it. I mean, that's just a fun combination."

6. On how her staff and players handled the news...

"Well, that's the hardest thing about doing what I'm doing, is because you have a group of people who really depend on you. And that's absolutely one of the hardest parts about this. And because now they are in a place where they've been very loyal and worked hard, and now they've got to find jobs. And it's very difficult. And I'll do whatever I can to help each one of them find their way and find a place. But they're excellent. They're going to find some place. They won't be out there long by themselves."

7. On if she wants to have any input on who the next coach should be...

"Yeah. That's a smart man right there. He knows what he's doing. He knows what he wants. And no, I have no input. I have no idea who the next coach will be. But I will tell you this, I'll be incredibly supportive. And if that person wants any to talk to me, pick my brain about anything, I'll help them in any way I can. I will be a huge Georgia Tech women's basketball fan. Georgia Tech athletics fan, period. But no, I have no idea what's coming."

8. On if she has talked to the players and advised them to wait and see who the new coach is...

" Yeah, and I hope they do. I hope that's exactly what they do."

9. When did she feel like it was time...

"Yeah, I think in the you know the season winds down you have some time to really kind of absorb it and and see where you are and where you stand and what it feels like and talk to people, talk to people that you value their opinions and things like that and so this was the right time. I'm extremely grateful for that contract extension and it meant a lot to me, and it definitely shows in the world of recruiting that what we have going on here is a good thing. But at the end of the day, I know J Batt, then they want what's best for the program. So to let them know in time so they can go and find the next person to lead this program was very important to me I didn't want to drag this on I didn't want to you know come up in at the end of April and all the sudden and then that's that's not good so I knew if I was gonna do it I needed to do it and and it felt it."

10. On what is next for her...

" I really don't. I really don't know. Look, it felt so good waking up this morning, and I was just like, you know, I didn't have a phone call to make. I didn't have anybody tell me, you know, it was, I really don't. It's just, you really have to just kind of decompress a little bit. I mean, this is a, it is a strong, fast, 365 -day sprint with every day something's going on every day something's happening and it's so no I'm just gonna kind of decompress and enjoy my time and but again always be ready to help in any way I can and then just see what comes what comes my way and if something comes my way I'll contemplate it and see but but I'm not out looking."

11. On her favorite memories at Georgia Tech...

"Oh, gosh. So you should have asked me that about an hour ago, so I could have thought about it. There's a lot of favorite. There's a lot of great memories here. There's no doubt. I can tell you one from this year. So we went to Hawaii. What a great trip, Hawaii. That was one one heck of a trip and it was just so fun getting that team ready and to play South Dakota State. Y 'all remember my staff said that was just getting them ready for that game because that was a, that was a big game. South Dakota State was a really strong mid -major team that if you beat them it definitely looks good on your resume and boy we won that game the excitement about that game. Okay now we're gonna go play Oregon and it was just you know getting them ready for Oregon because the reputation of Oregon and we just kicked them man it was so much fun. The feeling after that game was so good and like all of our staff we were looking around going oh we might be pretty good. I think we might be pretty good and that was really really cool and then when we went to North Carolina and played them at North Carolina you just don't go there when that's a hard one and we played so so well and we won that game and then we looked at each other the staff were like oh y 'all we're, we're like legit, we're really good so those are times there were some great moments during this season that I can look back on and just feel really really good about and I know we all can"

12. On what lies ahead for the rest of the team...

"Yeah, well, the staff is still here. And LaSondra Barrett has been elevated to interim head coach. And so she is in charge of running the program right now. And everybody else is still doing what they've done, and then waiting to see the next coach that gets brought in. But like players like Inez Noguero who is here. And Inez is a phenomenal teammate, such a hard -working kid, and I think they're all just waiting to see what comes, you know, who is hired and what that feels like and and what that how that coach embraces them, you know."

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Georgia Tech Women's Basketball Coach Nell Fortner Announces She Is Retiring