Clemson hiring Shawn Poppie from Chattanooga as women's basketball coach

Clemson has its new women’s basketball coach. Chattanooga coach Shawn Poppie is being hired to lead the Tigers program, On3 has learned. Poppie is expected to have his contract approved during a Board of Trustees meeting on Tuesday.

Shawn Poppie is coming to Clemson after spending two seasons as the head coach at Chattanooga. He led the Mocs to the NCAA Tournament both years.

Poppie is taking over for Amanda Butler, who was fired as the Clemson head coach earlier this month. He had interest from several other power conference programs, according to sources, but Clemson was able to land its top candidate.

In 2022-23, Poppie led Chattanooga to a 20-13 record, winning the Southern Conference, before falling to Virginia Tech in the NCAA Tournament.

This past season, Chattanooga had an even better year, finishing with a 28-5 record, including a victory over Mississippi State in the regular season.

The Mocs earned the No. 1 seed in the Southern Conference tournament, going 3-0 in the event to earn another NCAA Tournament bid. Chattanooga was the No. 14 seed and fell to No. 3 seed NC State in the first round of the women’s NCAA Tournament.

While Poppie has not been a power conference head coach before, he does have experience in the ACC. Prior to coming to Chattanooga, he was an assistant under Kenny Brooks at Virginia Tech. He helped build the Hokies program up after it had missed the NCAA Tournament for 15 straight years.

Poppie spent six seasons on staff at Virginia Tech and was the associate head coach for the final two. He also has experience in the Palmetto State, having attended Limestone College in Gaffney and working as an assistant coach in the Upstate at both Furman and USC Upstate.

As for Clemson, Poppie is taking over a Tigers program that finished 12-19 (5-13) in 2023-24. Clemson made the NCAA Tournament only once in Amanda Butler’s six seasons. She finished her six years at Clemson with an 81-106 record.

Clemson Athletics Director Graham Neff released a statement after deciding to part ways with Butler.

“I thank Amanda for her contributions to our basketball program as head coach for the past six seasons and wish her the best in the future,” Neff said in a statement. “We are committed to completing a national search for the next leader of the program as the sport continues to grow. We believe that we are resourced and supported in a way to make this one of the top teams in the nation every year.”  

Shawn Poppie certainly has an impressive resume and appears capable of getting the Clemson women’s basketball program back on track.