'It all goes back to respect': Carlos Funchess takes over as Southern women's basketball coach

BATON ROUGE, Louisiana -- As the lead assistant for the Southern women’s basketball team the past 13 seasons, Carlos Funchess earned his reputation as a strong recruiter, a sound teacher and, perhaps above all else, a people person.

Parents, players and fellow coaches are happy to tell feel-good stories about Funchess, painting the picture of an easygoing guy who’s quick with a smile and a friendly handshake.

Now Funchess is the boss. And he’s got a new role to play.

On Thursday afternoon at the F.G. Clark Activity Center, SU athletic director Roman Banks formally introduced Funchess as the new head coach of the women’s basketball program — with the full expectation that Funchess can maintain the level of success set by his old boss, Sandy Pugh, who led the Jaguars to seven Southwestern Athletic Conference championships in 18 seasons.

“Sometimes you have to show commitment to the people who have been committed to you,” Banks said.

SU and Funchess agreed to a three-year contract with a school option for a fourth year, at an annual rate of $105,000 per year with incentive bonuses. The terms are similar to the last contract for Pugh, who was finishing the final year of her deal before she took the same job at Prairie View last month.

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