Career Records
Overall - 562-339-7 (.623)
Regular Season - 395-210-5 (.651)
Postseason - 167-129-2 (.564)

For the past two seasons LSU gymnastics has joined the elite list of teams to compete in the Super Six, and it is easy to see why the Tigers have reached the sport’s highest collegiate stage because they are coached by one of the sport’s elite coaches – D-D Breaux.

After taking the Tigers so close in the previous years, Breaux broke through into the six-team field for the first time in program history to compete for college gymnastics’ national championship in 2008. The Tigers finished fifth, beating out rival Alabama, for the best finish in program history since the current NCAA format was implemented in 1993. In 2009, LSU made a repeat trip to the Super Six to compete for the national title, and one day later Breaux coached senior Ashleigh Clare-Kearney to a school-record two individual national titles on vault and floor.

As the "Dean of Coaches" at LSU, Breaux has represented the University at the highest level both in the gym and, most importantly, in the classroom for more than 30 years. Her dedication to the student-athlete on an individual basis has transcended into academic success, community involvement, Coach of the Year honors, SEC Championships, NCAA Regional Championships and top-10 national rankings throughout her tenure.

Now entering season No. 33 as the mastermind of the LSU gymnastics program, the fire in Breaux's eyes burns as brightly today as it did on her first day on the job.

Maintaining Excellence

What is so impressive about Breaux’s success at LSU is the level of consistency she has been able to uphold in the face of all the adversity she has handled over the years.

During her tenure Breaux has established and maintained LSU's reputation as one of the premier collegiate gymnastics programs in the country. Under her tutelage, the Tigers have placed among the nation's top-10 teams 21 times in 32 seasons, finishing a program-best fourth in 1988, fifth in 2008 and sixth on four separate occasions – including last season.

LSU has also placed among the top three in regional competition on 24 separate occasions, winning regional titles nine times in three different decades, including back-to-back first-place regional finishes in 2008 and 2009. Her teams have included five national champions, 37 All-Americans with 91 All-America honors and 26 gymnasts with 42 All-SEC selections.

Additionally, Breaux's Tigers won the inaugural SEC Championship title in 1981 and have gone on to finish second four times and third five other times.

For her dedication to the sport and her teams’ numerous accomplishments, Breaux has been recognized by her peers time and time again. She has been named the SEC Coach of the Year on five occasions (1993, 1994, 1995, 2000 and 2005), NCAA Central Regional Coach of the Year four times (1999, 2002, 2005 and 2006) and was a finalist for National Coach of the Year honors in 1988 when she guided the Tigers to a fourth-place finish at the NCAA Championships.

To this day, the accolades continue to roll in for Breaux and LSU as the program has seemed to reach its zenith in recent years.

In 2009, LSU produced a school-record six All-Americans with a total of 10 All-America honors, highlighted by senior Ashleigh Clare-Kearney who took home first-team honors on vault, bars and floor and followed that up by winning two national titles. For the first time in school history and only the fourth time in NCAA history, LSU had the first and second-place finishers in the vault event final as Clare-Kearney won the national title and junior Susan Jackson was runner-up after winning the title in 2008. Clare-Kearney and Jackson both earned All-SEC honors for the second-straight year as Clare-Kearney repeated as SEC Floor Champion and Jackson was SEC Beam Champion. Clare-Kearney was named NCAA Central Region Gymnast of the Year, and Jackson won the NCAA Central Regional All-Around title to lead the Tigers to the NCAA Championships.

In 2008 under Breaux’s tutelage, Clare-Kearney and Jackson racked up numerous individual accolades. Jackson was the NCAA Champion on vault. She also was a first-team All-American in the all-around and on vault, beam and floor. Clare-Kearney -- also a first-team All-American on bars and floor -- was named the SEC Gymnast of the Year and also won the SEC All-Around title, the first Tiger gymnast to do so since 1991. LSU earned a total of seven All-America honors and produced two All-SEC selections.

In all it has been a very productive decade for LSU gymnastics, as the Tigers have finished in the top 10 every year but one since 2000 with eight NCAA appearances. The Tigers also reached all the way to a No. 1 ranking in 2005 and boasted a school-record four first-team All-Americans in 2007 – the same year in which the legendary Breaux picked up career victory No. 500. Four of LSU’s five individual national championships have come since 2000, with Nicki Arnstad on floor in 2002, April Burkholder on beam in 2006, Susan Jackson on vault in 2008 and Ashleigh Clare-Kearney on vault and floor in 2009.

An all-around coach

Aside from athletic honors, Breaux excels in recruiting quality student-athletes. A Louisianan through and through, Breaux concentrates her recruiting efforts in her native state, but her reach extends to the national and international levels as well where she has been responsible for recruiting some of Canada’s top athletes of all time.

Outside of the gym, Breaux has taken an active role in the academic success her program has achieved in her 30-plus seasons at LSU. By making academic success her team's No. 1 priority, Breaux's teams have reached the highest scholastic goals she has established over the years. Throughout the country, she is acknowledged as having one of the finest academic teams year in and year out. LSU gymnasts have been named Academic All-Americans 94 times and members of the SEC Academic Honor Roll on 127 occasions since 1991. During the 2003 season, a school-record 13 of Breaux's student-athletes were named to the SEC Academic Honor Roll, an honor reserved for sophomores, juniors and seniors. In 1999, the Tigers posted the third-highest GPA in the nation and the highest of any team in the NCAA Championship field. Breaux’s team won the Tiger Award in 2008 given to the team with the most community service hours, the highest GPA and national placement in postseason competition.

Also active members of the community, Breaux and her team continually participate in volunteer activities throughout the Baton Rouge area. From 2005-08 Breaux's teams were awarded the LSU CHAMPS Community Service Award after logging hundreds of hours of community service work. Breaux, who has served as the Chairman of the YWCA's Pink Ribbon Campaign for Breast Cancer, and her team have also volunteered their time to benefit the Muscular Dystrophy Association, St. Jude's Hospital and the Alzheimer's Association, among others. The Tigers’ coach also took on a new role in 2008 as the chair for LSU’s United Way campaign, and just recently she received the McMain’s Community Service Award from the McMain’s Children’s Development Center, a great honor for the coach.

For the past two years, the Tigers have joined forces with Foundation56 – established by former LSU standout linebacker and current Dallas Cowboys defensive star, Bradie James. James’ mother, Etta, succumbed to breast cancer in February 2002. The Etta James Memorial Meet against Alabama in 2008 successfully raised $30,000 to promote breast cancer awareness in the Baton Rouge area, and the Second Annual Etta James Memorial Meet in 2009 against North Carolina State raised more than $50,000 for the organization to help fight the disease.

It is this delicate balance between exceptional academics, athletic excellence and exemplary community service efforts that has allowed Breaux to keep her team at the top of the national scene year in and year out.

Behind Breaux

The foundation for Breaux’s coaching career developed long before her arrival at LSU. An excellent athlete in her own right Breaux's affiliation with the sport began at the club level where she was a nationally ranked gymnast by both the A.A.U. and the U.S.G.F. She was also a Junior Olympic National Champion that earned the S.A.A.U.'s Outstanding Gymnast award. By virtue of her accomplishments Breaux qualified as one of the top-15 athletes in the country to compete at the World Games Trials and was set to compete at the 1972 Olympic Trials before a career-ending knee injury forced her to retire.

Breaux, a native of Donaldsonville, La., attended Southeastern Louisiana University where she competed for the Lady Lions gymnastics team for two seasons (1972-73) and helped SLU to a second-place finish at the 1972 AIAW Championships.

Breaux then served as an assistant coach for the Lady Lions for three seasons, where she also became a national level judge and served as the first state director for the Louisiana USA gymnastics program. She later transferred to LSU in 1976 where she earned both her bachelor's and master's degrees.

Breaux is one of eight children and comes from a great family tradition. Her parents, brothers, sisters and their spouses and children have supported the program since the coach’s arrival at LSU. Breaux has two daughters, Jewel and Sara. Sara, her younger child, played soccer at LSU and earned her degree in May 2009. Jewel, Breaux’s older daughter, is also a graduate of LSU and is a proud volunteer coach for the gymnastics team. Jewel is married to Beau Fourrier, and they are the proud parents of Breaux’s two grandsons, Porter Thomas – who is three years old – and Chase Hebert – who was born in Sept. 2009.

LSU Accolades under Breaux

Back-to-Back NCAA Super Six Appearances (2008, 2009)
21 NCAA Championship Appearances
6 Individual National Championships
37 All-Americans with 91 All-America Honors
11 NCAA Regional Titles
12 SEC Champions
26 All-SEC Gymnasts with 42 All-SEC Honors
3 SEC Gymnasts of the Year
1 SEC Championship

Breaux Year-by-Year Records

* AIAW finish
Regular season records include SEC Championships