Veronique Drouin, who has been an assistant coach at Georgia for the last four years, is the new head women’s golf coach at Oklahoma. Vice President for Intercollegiate Athletics Programs and Athletics Director Joe Castiglione made the announcement Wednesday.

“Veronique Drouin brings the teaching skills, passion, character and recruiting ability we need in this leadership role to build on the foundation of what has been established here,” Castiglione said. “As we diligently researched all of our candidates, we constantly heard her name as someone who has been involved with the development of highly successful programs at two universities.

“Veronique diligently prepared for the role of a head coach and demonstrated specific abilities to identify, recruit and develop the best and the brightest student-athletes in women’s golf. Her philosophy and history of developing young people in the classroom and on the golf course fits very precisely with our goals in athletics.”

Earlier this week, Oklahoma named former Georgia player and assistant Ryan Hybl as the coach for its men’s program.

Drouin said Oklahoma offers everything she was seeking in a head coaching position.

“The quality of the people is probably the thing that was most attractive to me,” she said, “but I can’t say enough about how big Oklahoma is in the academic and athletic world. The facilities are great, the department is definitely one of the best and the university has a wonderful reputation. When you add in the commitment to excellence it’s really an exceptional situation.”

During Drouin’s first full season at Georgia, 2006, the Bulldogs won two prestigious events – the Golf Daytona Beach Fall Preview and the SEC Championship. Drouin also served as interim head coach during the 2007 Central Regional and NCAA Championships, leading the Bulldogs to second- and eighth-place finishes, respectively.

“Veronique helped Georgia through a pretty tough time and a coaching transition for me,” Georgia coach Kelley Hester said. “She took on the role of head coach on several different occasions and did a wonderful job. So I think there will be a seamless transition for her going from an assistant at Georgia to the head coach at Oklahoma. I’m confident that she will lead the program to Big 12 championships and to national championship appearances.”

During Drouin’s tenure at UGA, the team notched three top-10 and four top-20 finishes in the NCAA Championships. Individually, 11 All-Americans and two SEC champions came out of the Bulldog program while Drouin was on the staff.

Prior to joining the Georgia staff, Drouin was a graduate assistant at Kent State. She also enjoyed a standout playing career with the Golden Flashes as the 2000 Mid-American Conference (MAC) Freshman of the Year, the 2003 MAC Golfer of the Year and a three-time first-team All-MAC performer.

As a senior, Drouin helped lead Kent State to a second-place finish at the 2003 Central Regional and a 19th-place showing at the NCAA Championships. Two years earlier, she helped lead the Golden Flashes to a 15th-place finish at the 2001 NCAAs, the program’s best effort ever.

“Veronique’s a very good person, a quality person,” said Craig White, Georgia Associate Athletics Director. “She’s high on ethics and character, and she knows how to do things the right way. That being said, she’s been around a quality golf program. We hold it to a high standard. She’s been through a transition with a coaching change, she’s been at the forefront of that transition and, with the recruits we have coming in, would have contributed to returning our program to top-10 status. I have confidence that she’ll get the job done at Oklahoma.”

- Georgia Sports Communications