NATCHITOCHES—During Alan Frey's introductory press conference Monday afternoon at  Lucille Mertz Hendrick Room in the Friedman Student Union, he reflected on his journey to achieve this moment, one that he didn't know would come.

"I am so honored and proud to be here," Frey said to the assembled NSU fans, media members and university staff. "This is a moment I have been waiting for for a long time, so this is very special to me that I have this opportunity. This opportunity is something you work for your whole life for, and you don't know if it's ever going to happen."

When looking for his long-awaited coaching job, he had to make sure it was a right fit—from the president on down.

"When you feel that support from the administration—and I have had some where it didn't quite feel like you have here. The alignment between the president, athletics director, all the way down, and he talked about the resources and support for women's basketball here, all of it is absolutely there. There are no excuses for not getting it done here."

While this is his first head coaching job, Frey has more than 20 years of experience as an assistant coach and associate head coach, much of which was at the Division I level.

This past season, he helped lead the Wolf Pack to a 25-5 mark and a trip to the NAIA Tournament.

Frey also spent a season with Monmouth, where he helped the team win 16 games, the most home wins for the program (10) since 2011-12.

"What we were looking for is someone with energy, passion and is well connected in the state of Louisiana" Athletic Director Kevin Bostian said. "I talked to numerous people all over the country. I probably talked to 25 to 30 coaches, I talked to agents, I talked to administrators, and a lot of the time it came back to one person: Alan Frey."

Frey received some major endorsements in the form of current and former big-time coaches in the coaching profession.

(Louisiana Tech Head Coach) Brooke Stoehr is behind Alan Frey," Bostian said. "Kim Mulkey at LSU is behind him. Vic Schafer at Texas is behind him. Former Tulane head coach Lisa  Stockton, who Alan worked for at Tulane for 18 years is behind him. It all came back to the grit, the blue-collar, a hands-in the-dirt kind of person, which is what I am and this institution is."

As a Louisiana native, he wants to build the team through his native roots, recruiting mostly in-state, high school players.

"If you look at the Southland Conference first and second team selections, most of them came through high school," Frey said. "In this time, the portal and JUCO has to be a part of our make-up here, particularly during coaching changes.

"Texas will be a big part for us, but I really want to hone in on Louisiana. One of the reasons I am here right now is because I have all these roots in Louisiana. Kids from the state will be our foundation as we move forward because I think that is what works."

Coming from New Orleans, he has always known about the southern hospitality. However, coming to Natchitoches, he gained a whole new appreciation for the town and residents in Louisiana's oldest city.

"My family and I went to Lasyone's and we walk across the street and they held the door for us and everybody said hello. We even got a 'Fork Em' in the street and I don't think those people knew who I was. Somebody slammed on their breaks, so I could walk across the crows walk. That does not happen in New Orleans.

"Everybody would stop and say 'welcome,''hi' or whatever. When driving around the city, there were signs and flags everywhere. There are some schools where they know the school is there, but don't necessarily hold that school. Here, you drive around a neighborhood, and you know the town embraces this school."

Like most coaches, Frey is extremely thankful for his family, throughout this journey to becoming a head coach.

"My wife Karen and I have been married for almost 35 years, and we are so excited to be members of this community. The football coach literally texted me as I was walking in saying 'I have the tennis connection for her' since Karen likes to play tennis.
In addition to his wife, he brought his three children, as well as two of his brothers and a sister.

One special recognition he gave was to his mother and aunt.

"She sacrificed a lot so my family could enjoy the things we're enjoying now. (Her sister and husband, who were in the crowd) have both pushed me and been there for me and supported me since I was a young person and I can't thank them enough."
Throughout his stops that include Tulane and then last two years at Monmouth and Loyola (NO) and before in his AAU stops, he has taken bits from each coach to form the type of coach he is today.

"I got my start at Loyola in New Orleans and Michael Giorlando, who was the men's basketball coach and athletic director. I learned so much from him and he ran great practices and I learned what it meant to run really competitive practices. I spent one year at Monmouth where I worked for someone named Cait Wetmore. She had the best work ethic of anyone I have ever been around. Last year at Loyola of New Orleans, what I took from there is that the culture was incredible. The kids and coaching staff were amazing and we won 25 games.

"In the middle there, we don't have time to talk about all the things Lisa Stockton did for me when I was there. I learned so much from her. In 30 years, she won 600 games. Beyond winning basketball games, she had a 100 percent graduation rate.
Anyone who went to Tulane for four years has a degree, and sometimes we lose sight of that. In some ways, it was tough to get a job because of the culture and I was so fortunate to be there.

In addition to Stoehr, who led NSU to a pair of NCAA Tournament appearances, he stated he wants to build on the legacy of women's basketball at NSU and continue on the path that coaches set before him.

"James Smith, Jordan Dupuy—who is a friend of mine, and then Anna Nimz have built a program here that is well respected in the state.

"Stoehr, I watched her do this job and build it the way she did, and I cannot wait to emulate what she did here. She proved it can be done here, and I don't think she had the support 12 years ago when she got the job like I do today. It's a full-circle moment for me to carry the torch that Brooke had."