Georgia Tech hires former Maryland assistant Karen Blair as coach to replace retired Nell Fortner

ATLANTA AP Georgia Tech has hired former Maryland assistant Karen Blair as coach replacing Nell Fortner who broadcasted her retirement this past week Blair worked on the Maryland staff for seven seasons including the last five as associate head coach The Terrapins won three Big Ten championships in the seven seasons I m so grateful and excited to be the women s basketball head coach at Georgia Tech Blair stated in a report disclosed Sunday by Georgia Tech Tech is a special place on and off the court The Institute has a long tradition of women s basketball success with a great foundation in place thanks to the leadership of Coach Nell Fortner I want to continue to build on that momentum and success to take the project to even greater heights Georgia Tech athletic director J Batt explained in a report he was impressed by Maryland s success during Blair s time on the staff We set out to find a coach that has an established record of success at the highest level both on the court and on the recruiting trail and Coach Blair certainly fits that bill Batt disclosed Maryland won at least one championship in five of six NCAA Tournament appearances in the last seven years The Terps advanced to the Sweet in and and earned a spot in the Elite Eight in Maryland finished with a No national ranking in when the NCAA Tournament was canceled because of the coronavirus pandemic Before her seven seasons at Maryland Blair served as an assistant at North Texas Texas-Arlington Colgate and SMU her alma mater While working on the SMU staff from - the Mustangs won two Conference USA regular-season championships and played in two NCAA Tournaments AP March Madness bracket https apnews com hub ncaa-womens-bracket and coverage https apnews com hub march-madness Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top throughout the season Sign up here Source