Auburn Parts Ways with Women’s Basketball Head Coach Johnnie Harris

Auburn University has made the decision to part ways with its head women’s basketball coach, Johnnie Harris, after a challenging 2024–2025 season. The athletic department announced the decision earlier this month, marking the end of a four-year tenure that saw a mixture of highs and lows for the program. Harris, who was hired in 2021, now leaves the program after posting a 12–18 record in the most recent season, concluding the campaign with an early exit in the Southeastern Conference (SEC) Tournament.

A Brief Look at Harris’s Tenure at Auburn

Johnnie Harris was appointed as Auburn’s head coach in April 2021, tasked with rebuilding a women’s basketball program that had struggled in the years leading up to her hiring. Harris came to Auburn with a rich coaching background, having served as an associate head coach at Mississippi State and Texas under Vic Schaefer. Her reputation for developing talent and her strategic acumen were seen as key assets for Auburn’s aspirations to return to prominence in the SEC.

Her inaugural season at Auburn in 2021–2022 was a modest success, with the Tigers finishing with a 10–18 record. While this wasn’t a stellar result, it marked an improvement over the previous season’s 5–19 finish. The next season, 2022–2023, saw a notable turnaround as Auburn finished with a 16–15 record, which was enough to earn the team a spot in the National Invitation Tournament (NIT). It was during this period that Harris began to show signs of creating a competitive and resilient squad.

The pinnacle of Harris’s tenure came in the 2023–2024 season, when Auburn secured a 20–12 record and made its first appearance in the NCAA Tournament since 2019. This achievement was a significant milestone for the program, proving that Harris had begun to shift Auburn’s fortunes. However, the 2024–2025 season proved to be a step backward.

The 2024–2025 Struggles

The 2024–2025 season was a disappointing one for the Auburn Tigers. The team finished with a 12–18 record, and despite some strong individual performances, the Tigers could not find consistency. A first-round loss to Florida in the SEC Tournament marked the end of their season, and the team was unable to reach the heights it had hoped for after the success of the previous year.

This setback was likely a key factor in the decision to part ways with Harris. Despite her efforts to rebuild the program, the 2024–2025 season’s struggles seemed to have influenced the athletic department’s view on the long-term trajectory of the team. With Auburn women’s basketball looking to reclaim its position among the top teams in the SEC, a change at the helm became necessary for the program’s future direction.

Statement from Athletic Director John Cohen

Auburn’s Athletic Director, John Cohen, expressed respect and gratitude for Harris’s work during her tenure. In a statement, Cohen said:

“I have a tremendous amount of respect and admiration for Johnnie. Having worked with her for more than a decade at two institutions, I know Johnnie is an exceptional person with a great basketball mind. I thank Johnnie for the way she represented Auburn and for her contributions to our women’s basketball program. While these decisions are never easy, the program must move in a new direction.”

The decision to part ways with Harris was not made lightly, but Cohen emphasized the need for the program to move forward and find a new leader to guide Auburn women’s basketball back to the upper echelons of the SEC.

Financial Details

As part of her contract, Harris is entitled to a buyout clause, which will see Auburn pay 50% of the remaining value on her deal. This buyout amounts to approximately $308,100, a standard financial arrangement in coaching contracts at the collegiate level.

While financial considerations were certainly a part of the decision, they were not the driving force behind the move. Ultimately, the program’s leadership and athletic department felt that a change was necessary to achieve the level of success they expect from their women’s basketball team.

Auburn’s Search for a New Head Coach

With Harris’s departure, Auburn begins the search for a new head coach to lead the women’s basketball program. The program’s future is undoubtedly on the line, and finding a coach who can bring consistent success to the Tigers will be paramount. The new hire will inherit a program that has shown flashes of potential but has yet to find sustained success in one of the nation’s most competitive conferences.

The next head coach will likely face immediate expectations to compete at a higher level in the SEC and restore Auburn women’s basketball to national relevance. Given the rise of programs like South Carolina, LSU, and Tennessee, the challenge ahead will be significant, but not insurmountable for the right leader.

Looking Ahead

Auburn’s athletic department now faces the critical task of finding the right coach to lead its women’s basketball program. The new hire will need to build on the foundation that Harris laid, including developing talent, fostering team chemistry, and making Auburn a consistent contender in the SEC.

Auburn’s women’s basketball program, with its passionate fan base and rich history, remains a program with a lot of potential. While the coaching change marks a new chapter for Auburn, the hope is that the next head coach will be able to lead the Tigers to greater success in the future.

The university will likely move quickly to identify candidates and begin the search process, with the aim of finding a coach who can bring Auburn back to prominence in women’s college basketball. The future of Auburn women’s basketball remains uncertain, but with the right leadership, the program has the potential to once again compete at the highest level.

Johnnie Harris’s departure from Auburn marks the end of an era for the women’s basketball program. Though her time at Auburn was not without challenges, she helped lay the groundwork for future success. As the Tigers now look ahead to a new coach, the hope is that the program will return to its winning ways and become a force to be reckoned with in the SEC and beyond.