View source for Van Chancellor

{{Short description|American basketball player and coach}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=January 2019}}
{{Infobox college coach
| name = Van Chancellor
| image = coachvan.jpg
| alt = 
| caption = Chancellor at the 2005 Women's Final Four in Indianapolis.
| current_title = 
| current_team = 
| current_conference = 
| current_record = 
| contract = 
| birth_date = {{birth date and age|mf=yes|1943|9|27}}
| birth_place = [[Louisville, Mississippi]], U.S.
| death_date = 
| death_place = 
| alma_mater = 
| bowl_record = 
| coach_years1 = 1965–1967
| coach_team1 = [[Noxapater, Mississippi|Noxapater HS]]
| coach_years2 = 1967–1973
| coach_team2 = [[Horn Lake High School (Mississippi)|Horn Lake HS]]
| coach_years3 = 1973–1978
| coach_team3 = [[Harrison Central High School (Mississippi)|Harrison Central HS]]
| coach_years4 = 1978–1997
| coach_team4 = [[Ole Miss Rebels women's basketball|Ole Miss]]
| coach_years5 = 1997–2006
| coach_team5 = [[Houston Comets]]
| coach_years6 = 2002–2004
| coach_team6 = [[United States women's national basketball team|United States]]
| coach_years7 = 2007–2011
| coach_team7 = [[LSU Lady Tigers basketball|LSU]]
| championships = *4× [[WNBA]] champion (1997–2000)
*[[List of NCAA Division I women's basketball tournament Final Four appearances by coach|NCAA Regional—Final Four]] (2008)
| overall_record = 530–195 (NCAA)<br>211–111 (WNBA)
| tournament_record = 
| awards = 
| coaching_records = 
| BASKHOF_year = 2007
| BASKHOF_id = van-chancellor
| WBHOF = van-chancellor
| medaltemplates = {{MedalSport | Coach for Women's [[Basketball]] }}
{{MedalTeam | {{USA}} (head coach) }}
{{MedalCompetition | [[Olympic Games]] }}
{{MedalGold | [[2004 Summer Olympics|2004 Athens]] | [[United States women's national basketball team|Team]] }}
{{MedalCompetition | [[FIBA World Championship for Women]] }}
{{MedalGold | [[2002 FIBA World Championship for Women|2002 China]] | [[United States women's national basketball team|Team]] }}
}}

'''Van Winston Chancellor''' (born September 27, 1943) is an American former college and professional basketball coach.  He coached University of Mississippi women's basketball, [[LSU Lady Tigers basketball|Louisiana State University women's basketball]], and the professional [[Houston Comets]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.lsusports.net/ViewArticle.dbml?&SPSID=28701&SPID=2167&DB_OEM_ID=5200&ATCLID=860066&Q_SEASON=2007 |title=Van Chancellor Bio @ LSUSports.net |access-date=October 12, 2007 |archive-date=August 8, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180808203127/http://www.lsusports.net/ViewArticle.dbml?&SPSID=28701&SPID=2167&DB_OEM_ID=5200&ATCLID=860066&Q_SEASON=2007 |url-status=dead }}</ref> He was named head coach of the Lady Tigers on April 11, 2007, replacing [[Pokey Chatman]]. In 2001, Chancellor was elected to the [[Women's Basketball Hall of Fame]], located in [[Knoxville, Tennessee]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.wbhof.com/inductees.html |title=WBHOF Inductees |publisher=WBHOF |access-date=August 1, 2009 |archive-date=December 6, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171206134733/http://www.wbhof.com/Inductees.html |url-status=dead }}</ref> He was enshrined as a member of the [[Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame]] in September 2007.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.lsusports.net/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=27830&SPID=2167&DB_OEM_ID=5200&ATCLID=1207430 |title=Van Chancellor – 2007 Naismith Hall of Fame Inductee |access-date=February 29, 2008 |archive-date=August 8, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180808233705/http://www.lsusports.net/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=27830&SPID=2167&DB_OEM_ID=5200&ATCLID=1207430 |url-status=dead }}</ref> Chancellor currently serves as an analyst for [[Southland Conference]] games on [[ESPN3]].

==Early years==
Chancellor played two years of basketball at East Central Junior College in [[Decatur, Mississippi]], before transferring to [[Mississippi State University]], where he earned a bachelor's degree in mathematics & physical education in 1965.

During his senior year at Mississippi State, he served as head coach of the boys' basketball team at Noxapater High School. Chancellor went on to coach boys' and girls' basketball at Horn Lake High School and Harrison Central High School in Mississippi. He received his master's degree in physical education from the [[University of Mississippi]] in 1973.

==Coaching career==

===Ole Miss===
Chancellor spent 19 seasons (1978–1997) as the head coach of the [[University of Mississippi]] Rebels, compiling an overall record of 439–154 (.740). As the [[University of Mississippi|Ole Miss]] head coach, Chancellor guided the Rebels to the [[NCAA Women's Division I Basketball Championship|NCAA tournament]] 14 times, including 11 consecutive appearances from 1982 to 1992.

Chancellor's teams won at least 20 games 15 times, including a school-record 31 wins in 1978–1979. He also led the Rebels to top 20 final rankings 13 times, with top 10 finishes four times (#5 in 1992, #6 in 1985, #8 in 1987, and #10 in 1984).

Chancellor led Ole Miss to the Elite Eight at the [[NCAA Women's Division I Basketball Championship|NCAA tournament]] four times, while his teams made the Sweet 16 on three other occasions. Chancellor was named the [[Southeastern Conference]] Coach of the Year three times, including the 1992 season when the Rebels were 29–3 overall and claimed the [[Southeastern Conference|SEC]] regular season title with a perfect 11–0 mark. He was also named the 1992 National Women's Basketball Coach of the Year by the Women's Basketball News Service.

===Houston Comets===
When the [[Women's National Basketball Association]] started with eight expansion teams in 1997, Chancellor had applied for six of the teams with doubt that he would be hired. However, he was hired by the Comets (as owned by [[Leslie Alexander (businessman)|Leslie Alexander]], part of the plan for certain teams to be operated by NBA owners), to coach the team, and he believed that the team would be special from the very get go due to the talents of [[Cynthia Cooper-Dyke|Cynthia Cooper]] (who had led USA to a gold medal in the 1988 Olympics and silver in 1992 while playing in European leagues) in practice. Houston was bolstered by fellow player allocation [[Sheryl Swoopes]] (who had led Texas Tech to the 1993 NCAA title) and [[1997 WNBA draft|WNBA draft pick]] [[Tina Thompson]] to make a Big Three trio, all of whom would be inducted into the [[Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame]].<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.texasmonthly.com/arts-entertainment/wnba-houston-comets-legacy/ | title=In the WNBA's Early Days, Houston's Comets Came Around Every Year | date=May 14, 2021 }}</ref> The 1997 season did not go without hitches, as Thompson and Cooper wanted less rigid patterns from Chancellor when it came to offensive sets, which they responded by setting ball screens on the perimeter; Swoopes did not play until the second half of the season due to her pregnancy. They won four of their first seven games before closing out the season on a 14-7 run to finish 18-10, the best record of the eight teams; in the four-team playoff, they won both games (including a 65-51 victory over the [[New York Liberty]], who had beaten Houston three out of four times in the regular season) to win the inaugural [[1997 WNBA Championship|WNBA championship]]. To build chemistry, he set up a three-player committee composed of a young player, a mid-level player, and an older player. Chancellor cited the help of NBA coach [[Rudy Tomjanovich]] in asserting the importance of training camp and the nature of motivating college players.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.clarionledger.com/story/life/mslife/2016/11/04/coach-van-chancellor/93281088/ | title=WNBA excellence – Coach van Chancellor }}</ref>

In the [[1998 WNBA Championship]], now a best-of-three series, the Comets lost a nail-biting Game 1 to the [[Phoenix Mercury]]. In Game 2, the Comets trailed by 12 with seven minutes remaining, and Chancellor called time-out. Trying to get the words out, point guard [[Kim Perrot]] (considered the "stick of dynamite" of the team) took over to speak to the team, with Cooper and Thompson later citing her rallying speech as the moment that got the team back on track. The Comets rallied to force overtime before winning the game.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.houstoniamag.com/news-and-city-life/2021/01/wnba-houston-comets-basketball-kim-perrot | title=The Heart of the Comets: The Story of Kim Perrot }}</ref> In Game 3, they won by nine to clinch their second title. The 1999 season, wracked with emotional turmoil due to the diagnosis of lung cancer for Perrot (which led to her passing on August 19), saw them go 26-6 before they rolled to a third straight title with four playoff wins to two losses. 2000 was their most dominant [[2000 WNBA playoffs|playoff run]], despite the fact that a 27-5 record was not enough to be first in the league. They swept their first-round opponent to have a key matchup with the [[Los Angeles Sparks]], who had only lost four games all year. They swept the Sparks in two games to meet up against New York. In the [[2000 WNBA Championship]], they beat the Liberty 59–52 and 79–73 (overtime) to clinch their fourth league championship. They were the first basketball team to win four straight league titles since the [[Boston Celtics]] in the late 1960s and the first four-peat since the 1980-1983 [[New York Islanders]].<ref>{{cite news
|url=https://www.espn.com/wnba/2000/20000826/recap/nylhou.html|title=Cooper's career ends with 4th crown|access-date=13 March 2023|date=August 26, 2000|publisher=ESPN|location=Houston, TX|agency=AP}}</ref>

Cooper retired after the 2000 season ended, and Swoopes missed the 2000 season with an [[Anterior cruciate ligament injury]]. Their playoff dominance ended with their first playoff loss (in a straight two-game sweep) to the Sparks in 2001. Cooper briefly returned in 2003. They lost in the first round two more times before they missed the playoffs in 2004 with a 13-21 record, Chancellor's only losing season as coach. They won one postseason series after the 2000 season ended.

Under Chancellor, the [[Houston Comets|Comets]] were the only team in the [[Women's National Basketball Association|WNBA]] to make the playoffs in each of the first seven seasons of the league. His 1998 [[Houston Comets]] team holds the record for highest winning percentage in the history of both the [[National Basketball Association]] (NBA) and [[Women's National Basketball Association]] (NBA) basketball with .900 when the Comets went 27–3. In 10 years with the [[Houston Comets]], Chancellors' teams posted a 211–111 record (.655), making him the winningest coach in the history of the [[Women's National Basketball Association|WNBA]]. Chancellor was named the [[Women's National Basketball Association|WNBA]] Coach of the Year three times (1997, 1998, 1999) He coached the Western Conference All-Star Team three times during his career and was named the coach of the [[Women's National Basketball Association|WNBA's]] All-Decade Team in June 2006.

During his time as head coach of the [[Houston Comets|Comets]], Chancellor also served as a television analyst for women's college basketball, working for both [[ESPN]] and SEC-TV. In the fall of 2006, Alexander announced the sale of the Comets.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://andscape.com/features/houstons-comets-the-rise-and-fall-of-the-wnbas-first-dynasty/ | title=Houston's Comets, the rise and fall of the WNBA's first dynasty | date=October 18, 2016 }}</ref> On January 3, 2007, Chancellor resigned.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.wnba.com/archive/wnba/comets/news/chancellor_070103.html | title=COMETS: Van Chancellor Resigns as Head Coach of Houston Comets }}</ref>

===USA Basketball===
Chancellor served as coach in international competition for the United States National Team. His teams won first place at the 2002 Opals World Challenge, a [[gold medal]] at the 2002 [[FIBA]] World Championships, and a [[gold medal]] at the 2004 Summer Olympics.

Chancellor served as the head coach to the National team in the 2002 World Championships, held during September in three cities in China, including [[Nanjing, China]]. The USA won the opening six preliminary rounds easily, with no contest closer than 30 points. That included the opening round game against Russia, who has played them close at the 1998 Championship final. In the opening game, the USA won 89–55 behind 20 points form [[Lisa Leslie]] and 17 from [[Sheryl Swoopes]]. The USA wasn't seriously challenged in the quarterfinals, where they beat Spain by 39 points. The semifinal game against Australia was closer, but Leslie had a double-double with 24 points and 13 rebounds to help the USA team win by 15 points. In the championship game, much like the 1998 finals, the rematch was much closer. This time the USA team did not have to play from behind, and they had a ten-point lead late in the game, but the Russians cut the lead to a single point with just over three minutes remaining. The game remained close, and it was within three points with just over twelve seconds to go, but Swoopes was fouled and sank the free throws to give the USA a 79–74 win and the gold medal.<ref name="World 2002" /> Chancellor went 38–0 for team USA.

===LSU Lady Tigers===
In his first year as head coach at LSU, Chancellor led the Lady Tigers to an SEC championship game and to the Final Four. He was also named 2008 SEC Coach of the Year.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.lsusports.net/ViewArticle.dbml?&ATCLID=1404752&DB_OEM_ID=5200 |title=Chancellor, Fowles Receive SEC's Top Annual Honors |access-date=March 5, 2008 |archive-date=September 7, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170907213415/http://www.lsusports.net/ViewArticle.dbml?&ATCLID=1404752&DB_OEM_ID=5200 |url-status=dead }}</ref> Chancellor resigned on March 16, 2011. He spent the rest of his contract as an assistant to Athletic Director Joe Alleva. Chancellor spent four seasons at LSU.<ref>{{cite web |author=Bill Feig |url=http://www.nola.com/lsu/index.ssf/2011/03/lsu_womens_basketball_coach_va_2.html |title=LSU women's basketball coach Van Chancellor steps down, accepts assistant to AD position |publisher=NOLA.com |date=March 16, 2011 |access-date=October 29, 2011}}</ref>

==Post-coaching career==
Chancellor continued his work as a color commentator after retirement, working [[Southland Conference]] games on ESPN's family of networks. In 2022, he joined [[Houston Baptist University]] as a color commentator for its men and women's basketball home games. <ref>{{cite press release |url=https://hbuhuskies.com/news/2022/2/25/mens-basketball-mbb-huskies-and-islanders-clash-on-saturday.aspx |title=MBB: Huskies and Islanders Clash on Saturday |work=HBUHuskies.com |publisher=[[Houston Baptist University]] |date=February 25, 2022}}</ref>

==Personal life==
Chancellor is married to Betty and they have 2 children and 4 grandsons. One of Chancellor's grandsons, Zack, played college golf at the University of New Orleans. <ref>{{cite web |url=https://lsusports.net/sports/wbball/roster/coach/van-chancellor// |title=Van Chancellor|publisher=LSUSports.net|accessdate=December 2, 2023}}</ref> <ref>{{cite web |url=https://unoprivateers.com/sports/mens-golf/roster/zachary-asaro/5817// |title=Zack Asaro|publisher=unoprivateers.com|accessdate=August 10, 2024}}</ref>

==Head coaching record==

===Ole Miss Rebels===
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Year
! Record
! Notes
|-
| 1978–79
| 31–9
| AIAW State Tournament champions
|-
| 1979–80
| 23–14
|
|-
| 1980–81
| 14–12
|
|-
| 1981–82
| 27–5
| NCAA First Round
|-
| 1982–83
| 26–6
| NCAA Second Round
|-
| 1983–84
| 24–6
| NCAA Second Round
|-
| 1984–85
| 29–3
| NCAA Elite Eight
|-
| 1985–86
| 24–8
| NCAA Elite Eight
|-
| 1986–87
| 25–5
| NCAA Sweet Sixteen
|-
| 1987–88
| 24–7
| NCAA Sweet Sixteen
|-
| 1988–89
| 23–8
| NCAA Elite Eight
|-
| 1989–90
| 22–10
| NCAA Sweet Sixteen
|-
| 1990–91
| 20–9
| NCAA First Round
|-
| 1991–92
| 29–3
| NCAA Elite Eight
|-
| 1992–93
| 19–10
|
|-
| 1993–94
| 24–9
| NCAA Second Round
|-
| 1994–95
| 21–8
| NCAA First Round
|-
| 1995–96
| 18–11
| NCAA First Round
|-
| 1996–97
| 16–11
|
|}

===Houston Comets===
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Year
! Record
! Playoff record
! Notes
|- ! style="background:#FDE910;"
| 1997
| 18–10
| 2–0
| WNBA Champions
|- ! style="background:#FDE910;"
| 1998
| 27–3
| 4–1
| WNBA Champions
|- ! style="background:#FDE910;"
| 1999
| 26–6
| 4–2
| WNBA Champions
|- ! style="background:#FDE910;"
| 2000
| 27–5
| 6–0
| WNBA Champions
|-
| 2001
| 19–13
| 0–2
|
|-
| 2002
| 24–8
| 1–2
|
|-
| 2003
| 20–14
| 1–2
|
|-
| 2004
| 13–21
| –
|
|-
| 2005
| 19–15
| 2–3
|
|-
| 2006
| 18–16
| 0–2
|
|}

===USA Basketball===
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Year
! Team
! Event
! Record
! Finish
|-
| 2002
| U.S. National Team
| [[Women's Basketball Coaches Association|WBCA]] All Star Challenge
| 1–0
| –
|-
| 2002
| U.S. National Team
| Opals World Challenge
| 4–0
| 1st Place
|-
| 2002
| U.S. National Team
| FIBA World Championships
| 9–0
| Gold Medal
|-
| 2004
| U.S. National Team
| Pre-Olympics Exhibition Games
| 16–0
| –
|-
| 2004
| U.S. National Team
| [[Basketball at the 2004 Summer Olympics – Women's basketball|Olympics]]
| 8–0
| Gold Medal
|}

===LSU Lady Tigers===
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Year
! Team
! Record
! Notes
|-
| 2007–2008
| [[2007–08 LSU Lady Tigers basketball team|LSU]]
| 31–6 (14–0 [[Southeastern Conference|SEC]])
| [[Southeastern Conference|SEC Regular season champions]]; [[2008 SEC women's basketball tournament|SEC Tournament Runner-Up]]; '''[[2008 NCAA Women's Division I Basketball Tournament|NCAA Final Four]]'''
|-
| 2008–2009
| LSU
| 19–11 (10–4 SEC)
| [[2009 SEC women's basketball tournament|SEC Tournament Semifinals]]; '''[[2009 NCAA Women's Division I Basketball Tournament|NCAA Second Round]]'''
|-
| 2009–2010
| LSU
| 21–10 (9–7 SEC)
| [[2010 SEC women's basketball tournament|SEC Tournament Quarterfinals]]; '''[[2010 NCAA Women's Division I Basketball Tournament|NCAA Second Round]]'''
|-
| 2010–2011
| LSU
| 20–14 (8–8 SEC)
| [[2011 SEC women's basketball tournament|SEC Tournament Quarterfinals]]; did not make NCAA Women's Division I Basketball Tournament
|}

==See also==
*[[List of Women's National Basketball Association head coaches]]

==References==
{{Reflist|refs=

<ref name="World 2002">{{cite web|title=FOURTEENTH WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP FOR WOMEN – 2002|url=http://www.usabasketball.com/womens/national/wwc_2002.html|publisher=USA Basketball|access-date=May 14, 2013|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130525125232/http://www.usabasketball.com/womens/national/wwc_2002.html|archive-date=May 25, 2013}}</ref>

}}

==External links==
* [http://www.lsusports.net/ViewArticle.dbml?&SPSID=28701&SPID=2167&DB_OEM_ID=5200&ATCLID=860066&Q_SEASON=2007 LSU Lady Tigers bio] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180808203127/http://www.lsusports.net/ViewArticle.dbml?&SPSID=28701&SPID=2167&DB_OEM_ID=5200&ATCLID=860066&Q_SEASON=2007 |date=August 8, 2018 }}

{{Navboxes
|list =
{{Ole Miss Rebels women's basketball coach navbox}}
{{LSU Lady Tigers basketball coach navbox}}
{{Southeastern Conference Women's Basketball Coach of the Year navbox}}
{{Houston Comets 1997 WNBA Champions}}
{{Houston Comets 1998 WNBA Champions}}
{{Houston Comets 1999 WNBA Champions}}
{{Houston Comets 2000 WNBA Champions}}
{{2007 Basketball HOF}}
{{Basketball Hall of Fame coaches}}
{{WNBA Coach of the Year Award}}
{{United States Women's Basketball 2002 FIBA Champions}}
{{United States Women Basketball Squad 2004 Summer Olympics}}
{{Women's Basketball Hall of Fame|Coach}}
}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Chancellor, Van}}
[[Category:1943 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:American men's basketball players]]
[[Category:Olympic coaches for the United States]]
[[Category:American women's basketball coaches]]
[[Category:Basketball coaches from Mississippi]]
[[Category:Basketball players from Mississippi]]
[[Category:High school basketball coaches in Mississippi]]
[[Category:Houston Comets head coaches]]
[[Category:East Central Warriors men's basketball players]]
[[Category:LSU Tigers women's basketball coaches]]
[[Category:Mississippi State University alumni]] <!-- Did not play basketball there -->
[[Category:Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame inductees]]
[[Category:Ole Miss Rebels women's basketball coaches]]
[[Category:People from Louisville, Mississippi]]
[[Category:United States women's national basketball team coaches]]
[[Category:Women's National Basketball Association championship–winning head coaches]]