Missouri women's golf coach Stephanie Priesmeyer transitioning to new role in athletics

Missouri women’s golf coach Stephanie Priesmeyer will step into a developmental role in athletics and the program will begin a search for its new coach.

The athletic department announced the news Thursday afternoon in a news release.

Priesmeyer had coached the Tigers since the 2000-01 season. She graduated from Missouri in 1994 after spending four years on the golf team herself.

“We thank Coach Priesmeyer for her years of coaching service to Mizzou,” Missouri athletic director Desiree Reed-Francois said in the release. “Coach Priesmeyer represented her alma mater with a high level of class as a player and coach and has positively impacted countless student-athletes’ lives. We are grateful for her contributions not only to our students, but to the local community and to golf in mid-Missouri.

"We are looking forward to Coach Priesmeyer moving into a new development role to contribute to all our student-athletes’ successes.”

Throughout her tenure, Priesmeyer led the Tigers to 19 tournament wins. She was the Big 12 coach of the year in 2004.

Missouri played in the NCAA Tournament in 2005 under Priesmeyer and finished second in the Big 12 Tournament in 2003, which still stands as the best conference tournament finish in program history. The Tigers made nine regional appearances with Priesmeyer, six consecutively from 2003 until 2008.

“Mizzou has fulfilled my life in many ways, none more profound than meeting my husband, Scott, and raising our two wonderful sons — Cooper and Hudson — in this community,” Priesmeyer said in the release. “I want nothing more than to continue to support this program and to see it continue to strive for competitive excellence. I will always be its biggest fan.”

Missouri announced it will conduct a national search for its next head coach.

Matt Stahl is the Missouri athletics beat reporter for the Columbia Daily Tribune. Follow him on Twitter @mattstahl97.

This article originally appeared on Columbia Daily Tribune: Mizzou golf coach Priesmeyer stepping into new athletics role SEC