All is quiet on the Kansas University women’s basketball front.
A week has passed since the Jayhawks’ turbulent season ended on a 10-game losing streak at the Big 12 Conference tournament, and there is no indication the hiring of a new head coach is imminent.
KU has been without a head coach since Marian Washington took a medical leave of absence for unspecified reasons Jan. 28, then announced a month later she was retiring.
Former Kansas All-American Lynette Woodard, a Washington aide, subbed on an interim basis, but reportedly was informed Monday she would not be considered to fill the vacancy. Woodard never was thought to be a likely candidate to succeed her mentor, mainly because of her lack of head-coaching experience.
KU athletic director Lew Perkins reportedly is courting established head coaches whose teams are currently in the NCAA Tournament. Names mentioned include Jeff Mittie of TCU, Kurt Budke of Louisiana Tech and Cathy Inglese of Boston College.
Another intriguing possibility is Nell Fortner, coach of the gold-medal winning 2000 U.S. Olympics team. A former Texas University standout, Fortner has been head coach at Purdue and with the Indiana Fever of the WNBA.
Fortner resigned last September after three seasons with the Fever, saying she wanted to pursue other opportunities. Since then she has conducted clinics and worked as an ESPN studio analyst for women’s basketball. She will be busy during the next couple of weeks because ESPN is televising most of the NCAA Tournament games.
To lure Fortner, or any other proven successful coach, to rebuild the sagging KU program, Perkins would have to offer an enticing financial package. According to the Austin (Texas) American-Statesman, Perkins has approached Fortner.
Washington, who had suffered four straight losing seasons, was in the last year of a three-year contract that paid her an annual salary of about $130,000 a year. Her total package was believed to be in the $200,000 range.
Given his history of paying high salaries to key administrative employees and his stated philosophy that you have to pay good money to hire good people, it’s not unreasonable to think Perkins would offer up to three times what Washington was earning in order to acquire a proven commodity.
Texas Tech’s Marsha Sharp is believed to command the highest compensation package among Big 12 Conference women’s coaches at about $600,000 a year. Jody Conradt, long-time coach at Texas, isn’t far behind Sharp. Colorado’s Ceal Barry, another veteran coach, earns nearly $350,000 a year.
Pat Summitt of Tennessee is believed to be the highest-paid women’s coach in the country at around $800,000 a year. Geno Auriemma, coach of Connecticut’s traditional powerhouse, pockets about $600,000 a year.
Perkins, who came to Kansas last July, was the AD at UConn when Auriemma’s current pact was negotiated.
However, if Perkins adopts a strategy of giving a younger coach an opportunity to make a name for herself at Kansas, one possibility might be Jennifer Rizzotti, the former national player of the year at UConn who has been head coach at Hartford University for the last five seasons.
