Culler announces retirement from coaching

Long-time head coach Lori Culler announced her retirement from coaching after 36 years at the helm of the Forester women’s basketball program. Culler will continue serving in the HU athletic department.

“Coach Culler has served the Huntington University Foresters for more than three decades,” said President Sherilyn Emberton. “She has been part of championship efforts both as a player and coach for HU. We are deeply grateful for the leadership and Christian commitment she has made to her players and all our Huntington University athletes and coaches over the years.” 

“Serving as AD and coach has been both rewarding and challenging as our programs have grown and as we have dealt with this ‘season of COVID,’” said Culler. “It’s become clear that it’s time for me to focus my efforts.

“I’m excited to give a new coach an opportunity to continue moving the women’s basketball program forward.”

During Culler’s long-standing watch, the Foresters have won an average of 18 games a year and enjoyed 27 winning seasons. Her resume includes two conference tournament titles and seven conference regular season titles, with five of those teams having gone undefeated in conference play.

Culler has led six Forester squads to the NAIA National Tournament, which includes finishing in the Sweet Sixteen three times. Thirty-two times her players have earned NAIA and/or NCCAA All-American honors, and on 81 occasions her players have received All-Conference praises, including three Conference Player of the Year honorees. She also claims a pair of NCCAA National Championships.

“I’m thankful for those who took a chance on a 23-year-old and gave me the opportunity to pursue several of my passions at a university where impacting the world for Christ was, and still is, at the heart of its mission,” said Culler.

“What a tremendous blessing it has been to be able to build relationships, teach, and mentor more than 150 young women throughout my coaching career. They have added so much JOY to my life.”

The success of Culler’s teams has led to her own recognition, highlighted by being inducted into the Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame as the 2019 Indiana Fever Silver Medal Award Recipient, a distinguished honor only 18 other individuals claim. In 2009, she received the Nancy Rehm Award in recognition of her contributions to women’s athletics.

Culler has been named the conference Coach of the Year nine times as voted on by her league peers and has twice been tabbed the NCCAA National Coach of the Year. HU has also recognized her achievements, as evidenced by her induction into the Forester Athletic Hall of Fame in 2006. She was also deemed the University’s 2008 Distinguished Alumnus of the Year.

With 632 career wins to her name, Culler headed into this season ranked third in total wins among all active NAIA women’s basketball coaches. Her overall record stands at 632-432 for a win percentage of .594.   

While the basketball success of Culler and her teams is well-documented, the Foresters’ accomplishments in the classroom are just as notable. Since the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) started publishing a Top 25 Team Honor Roll in 1997, HU has appeared on the list 16 times, with their highest ranking a fourth place finish on three different occasions, most recently in 2018. Thirty-six student-athletes have been designated as NAIA or NCCAA All-America Scholar Athletes, and a remarkable 96% of her scholarship players have earned their degrees.

During her playing career as a Forester from 1982-1985, Culler scored 1,307 points and was the third women’s player to join Huntington’s 1,000 Point Club. She was a member of the 1984 NCCAA national championship basketball team and received NAIA Academic All-American and Honorable Mention All-American honors. Culler is a 1986 graduate of Huntington College and holds an Master of Science degree in athletic administration from Ball State University.