Susie Gardner gets contract extension from Mercer

Mercer announced Thursday that it has agreed to a contract extension with women’s basketball head coach Susie Gardner.

Gardner’s contract now runs through the 2022 season.

Gardner is the third winningest head coach in the program’s history with 114 wins. She has led the Bears to four postseason tournament appearances, and the team has won back-to-back Southern Conference regular-season titles.

“I would like to thank President Bill Underwood, Jim Cole and Sybil Blalock for their continued support of the Mercer women’s basketball program,” Gardner said. “We have worked extremely hard to put a competitive team on the court, and with back-to-back regular-season championships, I am very proud of the strides we have made in this area. I am equally proud of the students that we recruit as they excel in the classroom and represent this university in the Macon community.

“I am excited about our team as we continue to work towards our goal of the NCAA tournament.”

Gardner is entering her eighth season with the program and has a 114-107 record. Gardner’s first team won just two games, and the Bears were 8-50 in her first two seasons.

Since then, however, Mercer has gone 106-57 and has won at least 20 games in four of the past five seasons. The Bears are 49-16 the past two seasons.

Gardner has coached three conference players of the year, three conference freshmen of the year, one defensive player of the year and six first team all-conference members.

“I am excited to extend the relationship between Coach Gardner and Mercer athletics,” Cole said. “Her commitment to our student-athletes, both on the court and in the classroom, is an example to all of our coaches and staff here at Mercer. I look forward to the future success of our women’s basketball program with Susie at the helm.”

Mercer opens practice Sunday as it prepares for its season open Nov. 10 at Central Florida.

This story was originally published October 5, 2017 at 12:24 PM with the headline "Susie Gardner gets contract extension from Mercer."