University of South Alabama Athletics

Rick Pietri will enter his 13th year at South Alabama during the 2012-13 season.  In his 12 previous seasons at the helm, Pietri has turned the Jags into a league contender, capturing back-to-back Sun Belt Conference West Division titles in 2003 and 2004. USA also made consecutive WNIT Postseason appearances those same seasons, hosting Florida State in 2004.  

He is currently the fifth-longest tenured coach in the Sun Belt Conference entering the 2011-12 season, has the fourth-most wins overall and conference wins among the rest of the league’s coaches.

Against Troy on Feb. 9, 2011, the USA alum added one more milestone to his coaching resume` as he surpassed former Lady Jag head coach Charlie Branum to become the program’s all-time wins leader with a 72-62 victory over the Trojans.  He tied the mark versus Louisiana-Lafayette on Jan. 30 with an 82-66 win.  Against Western Kentucky on Feb. 4, 2012, Pietri recorded the 200th win of his career with a 56-52 victory and in his very next game against Arkansas State on Feb. 8, 2012, Pietri recorded his 100th career Sun Belt victory with a 68-39 win over the Red Wolves.  The win at WKU was also the program’s first-ever win against the Toppers in Bowling Green. Pietri is one of only three coaches at USA with a career winning percentage over the .500 mark, as he stands at 203-154 for a 56.8 percent.   The New Orleans, La., native also moved into first place in the program’s history in Sun Belt Conference wins with 33 during the 2003-04 season, passing Branum’s mark of 27.  He now stands at 101 league wins.

Despite losing two starters to injuries midway through the 2008-09 campaign, Pietri still was able to guide USA to a second-place finish in the SBC’s East Division. The 21 wins by the Jags marked just the eighth 20-win season by a South Alabama squad, and the program’s first back-to-back 20-win season in 21 years.  Pietri also captured his 150th collegiate victory and the 300th victory of his career at any level during the 2008-09 season.  South Alabama advanced to the semifinal round of the Sun Belt Tournament, nearly pulling off the upset of top-seeded and eventual champion Middle Tennessee.  

In 2008-09, South Alabama picked up honorable mention votes in the ESPN/USA Today Coaches Poll for two-straight weeks - Weeks 6-7 (Dec. 22-29), marking the second consecutive year Pietri and the Jags had done so. The season prior, USA earned honorable mention votes in the national poll for three weeks - Weeks 5-7 (Dec. 10-24).  During Pietri’s time, South Alabama has also received votes in a national poll in the 2004-05 ESPN/USA Today Coaches Preseason Poll, the Jan. 19, 2004, Associated Press Poll and the Jan. 20, 2004, ESPN/USA Today Coaches Poll.

Pietri’s turnaround of the South Alabama program started with his first team, during the 2000-01 season. The Jags finished with a record of 13-16, which was the most wins for the program since the 1990-91 team finished 13-15. It was also just two wins fewer than the 15 wins combined over the previous two seasons. The turnaround continued the next season, as USA raced out to a 16-5 record in its first 21 games. South Alabama finished with a 17-11 record, the first winning season since the 1989-90 season. In 2002-03, the win total continued to increase as the Jags compiled a 19-11 record and tied for the Sun Belt West title.

Things continued to improve at USA in 2003-04 under Pietri’s direction as the Jags accumulated a 22-7 record, the best mark in 15 years. USA also got off to the best start in school history with a 14-1 record, which included 14-straight victories. For the second-straight season, South Alabama captured the division crown, this time winning it outright.  That same season, USA set a school record for conference victories with 11.  During the 2006-07 season, Pietri became just the second Jag coach to eclipse the 100-win mark at USA with a season-opening victory over Spring Hill.

During Pietri’s tenure, the Jags have held a huge home-court advantage. Under Pietri, USA has amassed an incredible 119-50 (.704) record at the Mitchell Center. The 14 home wins during the 2008-09 campaign were the most ever during a single season at the arena, and tied with the 1979-80 squad for the second-most home wins in USA’s history.

Defense has played a huge role in the success of the Lady Jags.  In his 12 years, USA has ranked in the top three of the league in that category in all but three seasons - leading the conference for four consecutive years (2002-2005) and during the 2011-12 season.  While at USA, the Lady Jags have a 157-47 (.770) record under Pietri when holding opponents to 60 points or less.  In fact, South Alabama has held 118 opponents to 60 points or less at the Mitchell Center and holds a 98-20 (.831) record in those games.

One of USA’s best defensive club was the 2003-04 squad, which finished the campaign ranked eighth in the nation in scoring defense (55.0 ppg) and led the Sun Belt in that category for the third straight year.  This past season, South Alabama once again led the league and ranked 11th nationally with allowing a school-record low 52.8 ppg.

While at USA, Pietri has had 13 players earn all-Sun Belt honors - the most recent being Mansa El, who earned third-team honors this last season. During the 2008-09 campaign, both Jessica Starling and Shakira Nettles were selected second-team all-conference, the ninth time ever and first time since 2006 that USA had had two players earn all-conference accolades in the same season. For her play in the league tournament, Nettles also became just the sixth Jag to earn all-tourney honors in the program’s history - the second to do so under Pietri (Taneisha Russell, 2003). Whitney Woodard was selected as the league’s Freshman of the Year in 2004, only the second Lady Jag player to earn the honor and in 2005, JoAnna Williams became the first player from South Alabama to be named SBC Newcomer of the Year.

A South Alabama alum, Pietri brought in an established pattern of winning and success to the South Alabama program in the spring of 2000. In only his second season at St. Paul’s High School in Mobile, his 1999-2000 boys’ team finished with the school’s best record, 26-5, and first playoff win in the history of the program. After that season, he was voted Mobile County Private School Coach of the Year by local coaches, his fifth county Coach of the Year award in six years. The boys’ teams Pietri coached at Mobile’s B.C. Rain High School all finished with a winning percentage above 75 percent. He led his four B.C. Rain teams to four consecutive appearances in Alabama’s Final Four. His 1997 squad finished 28-7 and won the 5A championship, while his teams finished as runner-up in 1996 and 1998. His 1995 team reached the state semifinals. Pietri was named 1998 5A State Coach of the Year by the Alabama Sports Writers Association and was also named Press Register Coach of the Year for Southwest Alabama each season he coached at B.C. Rain.

Pietri’s seven years as a men’s assistant coach prepared him well to be a head coach. He spent the 1993-94 season with Birmingham Southern College and helped the team to a 22-8 record and a National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics ranking as high as sixth. Before his stop in Birmingham, Pietri spent four years as an assistant at Spring Hill College in Mobile. He helped the 1992 team reach the NAIA National Tournament for the first time in school history. Spring Hill repeated as conference champions in 1993 and returned to the national tournament. Over his four years at Spring Hill, the 1990-1993 teams finished a combined 80-47.  Prior to Spring Hill, Pietri’s first coaching job was as a boys’ assistant coach at St. Paul’s High School in Covington, La. In two years with St. Paul’s, he helped the Wolves to the 1988 district title. His job at St. Paul’s followed his 1987 graduation from South Alabama, where he served as a manager for the men’s basketball team from 1983-87.  Before attending South Alabama, Pietri was a 1983 graduate of De La Salle High School in New Orleans, La.  Pietri is married to the former Suzanne Odom, a Mobile native. They have two sons, Wesley and Jordan.


The Pietri File
Hometown
New Orleans, La.

Education
Bachelor of Arts in Communication
University of South Alabama, August 1987 - Mobile, Ala.

Masters Degree in Education
University of South Alabama, June 1991 - Mobile, Ala.

Coaching
Women’s Head Coach - University of South Alabama - Mobile, Ala.
2000-Present

Boys’ Head Coach - St. Paul’s High School - Mobile, Ala.
1998-2000

Boys’ Head Coach - B.C. Rain High School - Mobile, Ala.
1994-98

Men’s Assistant Coach - Birmingham-Southern College - Birmingham, Ala.
1993-94

Men’s Assistant Coach - Spring Hill College - Mobile, Ala.
1989-93

Boys’ Varsity and Head Junior High Coach - St. Paul’s High School - Covington, La.
1987-89

Season	School	Overall	Pct.	SBC	Pct.	Notes
2000-01	South Alabama	13-16	.448	5-11	.313
2001-02	South Alabama	17-11	.607	7-8	.467	First winning season for the program since 1989-90
2002-03	South Alabama	19-11	.633	10-5	.667	Co-Sun Belt Conference West Division Champions/WNIT Tournament
2003-04	South Alabama	22-7	.759	11-4	.733	Sun Belt Conference West Division Champions/WNIT Tournament
2004-05	South Alabama	13-15	.464	7-8	.467
2005-06	South Alabama	15-14	.517	8-7	.533
2006-07	South Alabama	14-16	.467	7-11	.389	Earned 100th career win
2007-08	South Alabama	20-11	.645	10-8	.556
2008-09	South Alabama	21-11	.656	10-8	.556	Earned 150th career win
2009-10	South Alabama	15-16	.484	9-9	.500
2010-11	South Alabama	17-13	.567	8-8	.500
2011-12	South Alabama	17-13	.567	9-7	.563	Earned 200th career win and 100th Sun Belt Conference win
Career	12 Seasons	203-154	.568	101-94	.518

As a High School Head Coach

Season	School	Overall	Pct.	Notes
1994-95	B.C. Rain	24-8	.750	Region Champion/5A State Semifinals
1995-96	B.C. Rain	27-9	.750	Area Runner-up/Region Champion/5A State Runner-up
1996-97	B.C. Rain	28-7	.800	Area Runner-up/Region Champion/5A State Champion
1997-98	B.C. Rain	27-8	.771	Area Runner-up/Region Champion/5A State Runner-up
1998-99	St. Paul's (Mobile, Ala.)	16-14	.533	Area Champion
1999-00	St. Paul's (Mobile, Ala.)	26-5	.839	Area Champion/Region Semifinals
Career	6 Seasons	148-51	.744

As a Collegiate Assistant Coach

Season	School	Overall	Pct.	Notes
1989-90	Spring Hill	17-15	.531	Gulf Coast Athletic Conference Semifinals
1990-91	Spring Hill	17-12	.586
1991-92	Spring Hill	24-11	.686	NAIA National Tournament, Sweet Sixteen
1992-93	Spring Hill	22-9	.710	NAIA National Tournament
1993-94	Birmingham Southern	22-8	.733	Team ranked high as sixth nationally
Career	5 Seasons	102-55	.650