Chancellor out at LSU

After a Hall of Fame career, it appears that Van Chancellor is ready to ride off into the sunset.

Chancellor announced last Wednesday that he’s stepping down from his position as the LSU women’s basketball coach.

The Hall of Fame inductee had been the coach of the Lady Tigers for four seasons and compiled a 90-40 record, including one Final Four berth.

“There comes a time in everybody’s lives that you need to move on with your life,” Chancellor said. “I have a lot of things I want to do with grandchildren. Betty and I want to move and go around this country.”

Chancellor originally landed at LSU following the Lady Tigers’ 2006-07 Final Four run that was clouded in controversy when former coach Pokey Chatman resigned before the Southeastern Conference Tournament after allegations of her romantic involvement with a former player.

From that scandal, the four-time WNBA Championship coach restored order within the program and took the team back to the Final Four in his first season.

“Coach has done a tremendous job for us. He came here at a time when we really needed him,” LSU Athletics Director Joe Alleva said. “He came here at a time where we really needed his expertise, his leadership, and his guidance to guide this program.”

But with his own recruiting classes in the program, Chancellor struggled to keep the team going in the right direction in recent years, including this season when LSU missed the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 1998.