STARKVILLE, Miss. – Mississippi State has hired longtime Louisville assistant Sam Purcell as head coach of its women’s basketball program to succeed interim coach Doug Novak.
Purcell, a native of Dalton, Georgia, and a graduate of Southeast Whitfield High School, has spent the past nine seasons with the Cardinals, including the past five as associate head coach to Jeff Walz. Considered one of the nation’s best recruiters, talent developers and game scouts, Purcell has helped Louisville go 262-47 during his time there and 147-19 since the promotion to his current role.
The program has reached the NCAA tournament all nine years with Purcell on board, with a Final Four appearance in 2018 among four Elite Eight and six Sweet 16 berths. The 19-year coaching veteran said in a release that he was honored to become head coach at Mississippi State and “thrilled” to come to Starkville. Purcell added the program “is synonymous with winning, and I fully intend to continue that winning culture. Hail State!”
Known for wearing colorful and clever suits on the sideline, he has also worked at Georgia Tech, Tulsa and Auburn, his alma mater. He will continue coaching Louisville through the rest of the postseason.
Mississippi State athletic John Cohen said Purcell had emerged as a “terrific fit to lead our program” and expressed confidence he’ll elevate the Bulldogs.
The school hired Novak as associate coach in September before promoting him to interim coach the following month when Nikki McCray-Penson stepped down for health reasons after one season. The Bulldogs finished the regular season 15-13 overall and 6-10 in Southeastern Conference play, then lost in the second round of the SEC tournament in Nashville, 83-67 to eventual league champion Kentucky.