Conradt Resigns

by CrossCyed on Mar 12, 2007 7:00 PM CDT Comment 22 comments

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Wow

I think it is time for her to go, but we have to recognize her for the greatness that she is. Who's her replacement going to be?

by txfan76 on Mar 12, 2007 8:31 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs

Chris Polonsky will find a very capable replacement. She hired Elliott from USC for the volleyball program and I expect her to make a similar hire for the basketball program. And NO that is not Kim Mulkey.

by TempestHorn on Mar 12, 2007 8:49 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs

Well...

ISU fans are already hoping you guys stay far away from Fennelly. :)

by CrossCyed on Mar 12, 2007 8:58 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs

Be afraid...

Be very afraid! :-)

I've said in previous posts that both your coach and the Nebraska WBB coach would be good hires. But I think Texas goes outside the conference and tries to land a very high profile coach. I just hope they move quickly.

I'm obviously very disappointed the Horns didn't get selected for the NCAA's again this year, but I'm not surprised. There was a slim chance, given that Austin is a host site for the first two rounds, but the team's record in the last 10 games of the season (after the infamous "Murderer's Row" part of the schedule) doomed them.

Officially a Limey Longhorn

by patienthornsfan on Mar 13, 2007 3:30 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

kim mulkey

The Kim Mulkey hate makes no sense to me. She won a national championship with Baylor. Baylor!!! And there are some people who wouldn't want her here? Ridiculous.

Her "sideline antics" aren't any worse than the vast majority of coaches out there.

by Jason Mayer on Mar 12, 2007 9:36 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs

Here's what I think is ridiculous

I don't think someone winning a national championship makes them a perfect candidate for a head coaching job at Texas. Barry Switzer won 3 of them at OU, but the thought of him at Texas makes me sick.

The case against Mulkey goes beyond sideline antics. There's her run-ins with coaches after they beat her team on the court. Just shut up and say "Good job, coach" or "we'll get you next time"; you don't have to act like you're ready for a street brawl because you lost. That is ridiculous!

by TempestHorn on Mar 12, 2007 9:53 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs

no

what's ridiculous is your jumping to conclusions based on what you perceive from a quick camera shot of something.

what's more important - a great coach who can get the most out of his/her players as he/she establishes a great program; or a coach who acts as you deem fit for a women's basketball coach?

i'm not sure why we're having this argument other than the unlikely possibility that plonsky throws an obscene amount of money at her and she takes it.

by Jason Mayer on Mar 12, 2007 10:19 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

NO

My perceptions are more than just a quick camera shot. I actually go to women's games. I read numerous articles about the players and coaches. I have had enough observations and factual information about Mulkey to know she is not a fit for Texas.

We do agree that it is stupid to have this argument because it isn't going to happen. If you want a job somewhere you don't recruit away that program's assistant coach and then act the way she acted in the media afterwards. It's called burning bridges, that adminstration is not likely to be your future employer.

by TempestHorn on Mar 12, 2007 10:50 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

huh

At the time she hired her, she wasn't trying to go anywhere. Instead, she hired a top assistant for her program. How is that burning bridges?

And it would be incredibly stupid and short-sighted if Texas decides not to try to hire her for that reason.

And, please enlighten us with your factual information, since none of us know what we're talking about.

by Jason Mayer on Mar 12, 2007 11:10 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

Jason

Have you ever been to a WBB game? If so, have you ever been to a WBB game where Kim was on the sideline? Have you ever listened to her coaching in the huddle, compared to how Jody and her coaches work with the team during time outs? Have you ever watched her in action with the refs during games? Did you see or read anything about her silly and childish feud with Pokey Chatman before, during and after the LSU game?

I could go on. But I think TempestHorn has made the point. Would you hire Barry Switzer to coach the Texas football team? Would you hire Kelvin Sampson to coach the MBB team? Or Bob Huggins? Save the "win at all costs" mentality for the Land Thieves or the Aggies. Our Athletic Directors have made some very impressive hires over the past 10 years. They will again, to replace Jody. And it will not be Kim Mulkey, I can guarantee you that.

Officially a Limey Longhorn

by patienthornsfan on Mar 13, 2007 3:22 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

kim

Knowing what we now know with regards to Pokey (there were three theories floating around her resignation: 1) more money at another school, 2) questionable recruiting and/or cheating, 3) inappropriate relationships), you're going to say there wasn't a legitimate gripe for Kim to have?

What's wrong with hiring a butt-kicker for a women's coach? Is it the fact that it's women's basketball? You need more decorum for that sport?

This wouldn't be a "win at all costs" hire. She's a talented coach who you are unfairly comparing to coaches with bad histories of improper recruiting and programs gone wild. Mulkey has no history of that. I like the fact that she's fiery and she gets on the refs butts. There's nothing wrong with that.

by Jason Mayer on Mar 13, 2007 8:34 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

You didn't answer my questions.

Officially a Limey Longhorn

by patienthornsfan on Mar 13, 2007 9:26 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

answers

Yes. No, only on TV. No. Yes, again on TV. Yes. Yes.

I feel I addressed the second paragraph adequately enough. Anything else, professor?

by Jason Mayer on Mar 13, 2007 9:41 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

I can't believe I'm getting into this...

I respect both of ya'lls opinons. I have never watched a UT Womens BB game. Just reading this thread as well as others, I don't want a hot headed coach screaming at everybody all the time coaching any sport at UT.

I don't think Kim does it all the time just like B. Knight doesn't do it all the time. I have complete faith in the Ath. Dept. in finding the right replacement.

Just Remember, No Matter What Happens, ou SUCKS.

by ouALWAYSsux on Mar 13, 2007 10:08 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

new coach

With the talent we have on campus right now, thanks to Jody, I say we throw money at everyone we can.

Kim Mulkey, Kristy Curry, Brenda Frese come immediately to mind. Maybe Frese would be the best choice to get from under the Hatchell-Goestenkors shadow of the ACC.

by Jason Mayer on Mar 13, 2007 10:17 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

Remember...

Conradt did great things for the Texas program, so whomever gets hired has big shoes to fill.

by Gibbs on Mar 12, 2007 9:53 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs

I just watched the video

of her press conference. What a class act! That was the epitomy of personal responsibility. To take on the blame and to basically admit that the university and its athletic programs are bigger than any one person is an incredibly courageous thing to do. She truly gets it! I applaud her and all that she has done for the school. If you think about it... 900 wins is obscene! Rick Barnes will have to win 20 games a year for the next 25 years to match that. I'm not a big women's basketball fan but lets not spend the time immediately after her retirement talking about her replacement.

by kellen on Mar 12, 2007 10:37 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs

you're right

This is an extremely sad day not just for Texas sports, but for the entire sports world. What she's done for women's basketball goes beyond words.

A true legend is leaving the game, and I'm just thankful I was able to witness it.

by Jason Mayer on Mar 12, 2007 10:59 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

One of the characteristics of a true legend...

... is knowing when to leave. Jody has picked the right time, and has made her departure in a typically classy Jody way. And she has left the program fairly well-stocked, with three top recruiting classes in a row. The athletes are there, the facilities are there, the tradition is there, the roadmap for success is there. Chris Plonsky will make the right hire, and the program will get back to its winning ways.

I'm thankful we had Jody for 30+ years, and I'm just as thankful she has decided to leave now, on her own terms. I would have hated to see her legacy tarnished by another couple seasons of mediocrity.

Officially a Limey Longhorn

by patienthornsfan on Mar 13, 2007 3:26 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

A Fitting Tribute to Jody

... from Mechelle Voepel on espn.com:

"It would be good for every player competing in the women's NCAA Tournament this month to have some idea of what Texas did for them. Long before they were born, people such as Lopiano and Conradt were challenging barriers and thinking so far outside the box that the box became, thankfully, irrelevant. What the players have now could never have happened if women's college sports' pioneers hadn't started us down that road at a time when none of the territory had been mapped.

The mind-set at Texas was so different than in many other places, so much ahead of its time. The Texas women's sports programs took themselves seriously, and by doing so made the rest of the university and the community feel that way, too.

...

Conradt is one of the most well-spoken coaches ever; she always seems averse to "spin" and is able to get to the very essence of whatever she wants to say. That's a gift, something Conradt can continue to use in whatever capacity she continues to help Texas and women's sports.

Since the Big 12 began in 1996, several of the longtime fixtures at their schools have left coaching, including Colorado's Ceal Barry in 2005 and Texas Tech's Marsha Sharp last year. Both work in administration at their respective schools. Kansas ' Marian Washington stepped aside with health issues in 2004. Now Conradt is leaving. And, yes, it will be very, very strange to not see her again on the sidelines.

A Texas game without Conradt coaching? Really? Can such a thing even happen?

We'll find out that it can. And Conradt hopefully will find out that there are other big things in life left for her, too. Not that she hasn't already done far more than enough already."

http://sports.espn.go.com/ncw/columns/story?columnist=voepel_mechelle&id=2796798

Officially a Limey Longhorn

by patienthornsfan on Mar 14, 2007 5:18 AM CDT reply actions 0 recs

And From Her Peers

' (Pat) Summitt, who said Conradt called her Monday with the news, praised her as a pioneer in women's basketball and called her a mentor.

"She's been a great friend of mine, a mentor, and we're going to miss her. But she's left her footprints all over the game and all over a lot of us coaches," Summitt said.

"It's hard to even begin to put into words what Coach Conradt has done for women's basketball. She's been someone who so many of us have aspired to be like as a teacher, mentor and coach," Texas Tech coach Kristy Curry said. "She will be missed, but her impact on the game will last forever. She deserves nothing but the best in her retirement, because her best is what she gave our great game."

"She's an icon in women's basketball," Stanford coach Tara VanDerveer said. "Nine hundred wins is mind boggling. As great a coach as she is, she's an even better person. I've admired her and the job she's done. I'm happy for her she's retiring and moving on, but our game will miss her. I only have the ultimate respect and admiration for her. It has to be hard. She's from my era a little bit. You think of coaches around my age retiring -- whoa."

Connecticut coach Geno Auriemma, who beat Conradt in the Final Four in 2003, also praised Conradt for her contributions to the game.

"I think they established something that every other coach in America wanted to build," Auriemma said. "I'm sure she'll be involved somehow in the basketball community. She's just too valuable a resource to just let her walk away." '

http://sports.espn.go.com/ncw/news/story?id=2796477

Officially a Limey Longhorn

by patienthornsfan on Mar 14, 2007 5:23 AM CDT reply actions 0 recs

More from Statesman Editorial Board and Others

"After two difficult years, including a losing record in 2005-06 and a team-record five-game losing streak this year, the long knives were out for the coach. Her leadership in the sport, her dedication to the team and the university and her long record of success were swept aside. For the critics, there is only one question: "What have you done for me lately?"

The negativity was inescapable, as it always is when a powerhouse program falters. Perceiving it would be best for the sport, the university and the team, Conradt stepped aside.

She made no excuses. She didn't have to. She leaves as a giant in the sport that she helped build through hard work and dedication."

http://www.statesman.com/opinion/content/editorial/stories/03/14/14conradt_edit.html

Morning News had this intriguing tidbit, which echoes a post I made earlier this year: 'Duke's Gail Goestenkors, who could be a potential successor at UT, said Conradt set the standard both academically and athletically.

"She has shown great class, integrity, she graduated players, did things the right way and has been an excellent leader in our sport," Goestenkors said. "I consider Jody a mentor and a great friend." '

http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/spt/colleges/texas/stories/031407dnspoconradtreax.2d47ea 2.html

I'm all for us poaching another ACC coach.

Also from the DMN: "Telling yourself the truth, even when you don't want to hear it or acknowledge it, is the hardest thing we do." http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/spt/columnists/jtaylor/stories/031407dnspotaylor.2d462e7 .html

From Richard Justice of the Chronicle, who staunchly defended Conradt's right to leave whenever she decided to go: "Every coach on earth could learn something from watching Conradt run a practice, discipline a player or conduct a news conference. ... Texas will hire someone bright and ambitious, someone who might re-energize the program and win more championships and all of that. That new coach should know that every victory, every recruit will be part of Jody Conradt's legacy."

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/sports/justice/4627949.html

Officially a Limey Longhorn

by patienthornsfan on Mar 14, 2007 12:34 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs