Karen Aston's contract NOT extended

[southie]

Texas has been part of the Old Girls Network for a long time along with the Lady Vols and Stanford. Will they open their Head Coach job to include Males or should only Females apply? Probably they'll hire a Female, but I wonder who is High Profile enough to come in and immediately compete with Kim Mulkey at Baylor for recruits/transfers. That applies to whether they hire a male or female for the Head Coaching Position.

Karen was hired because she was an assistant coach at Texas and Baylor and was supposed to have enough contacts within AAU Circles to out recruit Baylor for elite Texas HS players. Karen like Holly Warlick had good enough won/loss record at most schools to retain her Job. However, not at Texas where they expect to be competing for National Championships. Just don't know who they'll hire to get the results they want.

Texas no longer has Chris Plonsky (female) running the women's athletic depatment. New AD, Chris Del Conte (male), and Plonksy's boss, is the one who made the decision/announcement that Aston would not be extended. Del Conte didn't hire Aston (Plonsky did); yet, we didn't hear a peep from Plonksy today. I don't expect the old Plonsky way of doing things to be a factor; Del Conte hired the best candidates for softball and T&F, and they both happened to be male. Hope he does the same for basketball, regardless of gender, ethnicity, religious beliefs, or sexual orientation.

 

[WestsideWaltz]

UCLA would really be unlucky to lose Close, for different reasons. Their clown of an AD, Guerrero, is retiring and there is still no replacement. He hired Close and is a big supporter. Because of him, UCLA ran a staggering 18.9 million dollar deficit in 2019, primarily related to the huge drop off in football and basketball attendance. That was directly related to coaching decisions made by him. With that kind of a deficit, how much would they really be willing to pay. Close has become unbelievably popular with the fans and supporters and has created a culture of safety within her own teams. Similar to gymnastics coach Miss Val. She has also upped attendance significantly. Although most tickets are probably freebies and make no dent into the program's lack of profitability, having more bodies in Pauley Pavilion is always a positive.

I don't think choosing a new head coach for women's basketball is the first thing Bruins fans want their new AD to be in charge of.

 

[WestsideWaltz]

I think a difference (slight) is that Close is unmarried and Barnes has a family with a husband who is on staff. Close has a very winning personality so I think she could fit, unlike say GG. Barnes' has a young son that is a priority so it remains to be seen if a move to Texas would be an issue.

Incidentally, if Close leaves, how about GG for UCLA? She coached for the Sparks so she lived in LA for a while.

 

[triaddukefan]

Brilliant idea. And then you could hire Aston! She's a phenomenal coach and Duke would be lucky to have her.

 

[southie]

Interesting article on what U of Arizona is considering regarding coaches' salaries:

Arizona Regents consider new bonus template for coaches' contracts

Under a new proposal, coaches would only receive their full base pay if a baseline GPA was maintained.

www.bluemountaineagle.com

The Arizona Board of Regents began considering a proposed policy revision for contracts of major sports coaches at Arizona to be structured with a stronger and two-tiered academic component.

The proposal was heard Thursday as part of the Regents' consent agenda, in which there was no public discussion, but it is expected to be brought up for a vote to implement it at a later Regent meeting.

The proposal calls for coaches' contracts to have a higher share of their base salaries be paid only when their teams meet a baseline grade-point average and a bonus only for meeting a higher GPA than usual.

The proposal also calls for schools to be able to “claw back” credit or incentives for games that are vacated or diminished because of NCAA infractions, while requiring more transparency about outside compensation and benefits.

The academic bonus structure came into the Regents' spotlight last June, when they delayed approving a new contract for UA women’s basketball coach Adia Barnes. Regent Lyndel Manson expressed concern at the time about the jump from Barnes’ previous salary of $235,000 to $400,000 and for an academic bonus that could reward Barnes for achieving a worse GPA than the team’s 3.19 mark in 2017-18.

But then-Regent Jay Heiler also told the Board that in some cases the contracts need to be agreed upon quickly so that in-demand coaches such as Barnes aren't hired away elsewhere.

That led to Heiler and Manson formulating the proposed contract template, which will be voted on at the Regents' next meeting in June or at a later meeting.

 

[Gamecockfan77]

I‘m not worried about Dawn leaving South Carolina. She‘s been gradually moving all her family to South Carolina and proclaimed just before this past season that she’ll be retiring at USC. She doesn’t have any interest in coaching pros too. More worried about schools of some levels considering Law or Chmiel.

not really worried about it

it's just one the few jobs I could see being tempting.

 

[DefenseBB]

Interesting take by a Texas fan source:





I mentioned this in the other thread, but I think all Texas fans appreciate how she always represented the university with such class.

Unfortunately, even when her recruiting was at an elite level, the product on the court eventually exposed her deficiencies in player development and in-game coaching.

I just noted the lack of development by ANY of her recruits in the Top HS Girls vs. WBCA thread. Karen had 8 Top 10 HoopGurlz who have finished at least 1 year and NONE have earned a WBCA spot.

Most egregious were Holmes and Atkins. Add in the last 3 years of transfers and poor offense and frankly, she got what she deserved. But hey, maybe Coach Jumper will swap in bright orange for burnt orange

 

[Gamecockfan77]

It wasn't about her W-L record. Anyone with a functioning eyeball could see that her program had topped out 2-3 years ago and that the trajectory since then was not good.

Not getting the distraction comment. Everyone is well aware of Shaka's situation, including the fact his buyout would cost UT over 10 million dollars. Declining to renew Aston at the end of her contract will not make anyone less aware.

Football and basketball struggling.

fires WBB coach who has sweet 16 in 4 of last 5 tournaments.

She couldn't beat Baylor.

going to throw money at someone now? Seems wasteful.

 

[DefenseBB]

I was just naming nba female assistants with no justification behind, but she did get to a final four..Aston didn’t..so yea

Yes, Gottlieb did get to a Final Four with Joanne Boyles recruits and team. Lindsay was an abject failure and just look what state she left the current Cal team in. Yee gads, do not judge a book by it's cover.

 

[southie]

So, Kelly Graves is only earning $700k a year at Oregon?

Greg Hansen: Adia Barnes is a keeper, which is why the Wildcats must make sure they keep her

Wildcats captured Tucson's attention with WNIT run. Here's how they can keep the momentum going.

tucson.com

 

[j66kicker]

So, Kelly Graves is only earning $700k a year at Oregon?

Greg Hansen: Adia Barnes is a keeper, which is why the Wildcats must make sure they keep her

Wildcats captured Tucson's attention with WNIT run. Here's how they can keep the momentum going.

tucson.com

One of the few schools who would match any UT offer. Daddy Phil will keep Kelly no matter what. Aston’s firing could mean several coaches getting a nice raise!

Barnes from AZ makes sense. I don’t see Close from UCLA being a fit in Texas. Barnes has her dream job at her alma mater, but Texas could offer her life changing money, which is chump change to them.

I agree with the opinion of @TheFarmFan that this COVID-19 situation will change the economic basics of college athletic departments, but Texas is an exception. They have hugely rich boosters (Red McCombs), and having their own TV network (Longhorn Network - one of the main reasons Texas A&M, Nebraska, Missouri and Colorado left the Big 12) truly sets them apart.

 

[Plebe]

Football and basketball struggling.

fires WBB coach who has sweet 16 in 4 of last 5 tournaments.

She couldn't beat Baylor.

going to throw money at someone now? Seems wasteful.

She's at the end of her contract. The same can't be said for the football or men's basketball coaches.

Again, it's more about the state, quality and trajectory of the program. Not about counting overall wins or Sweet 16 appearances.

IMO this is not specifically about Baylor. Too many fans and critics fixate on that. It's about failure to achieve and sustain a certain level of quality. The failure to be competitive with Baylor is more a symptom than a cause.

 

[southie]

One of the few schools who would match any UT offer. Daddy Phil will keep Kelly no matter what. Aston’s firing could mean several coaches getting a nice raise!

Barnes from AZ makes sense. I don’t see Close from UCLA being a fit in Texas. Barnes has her dream job at her alma mater, but Texas could offer her life changing money, which is chump change to them.

I agree with the opinion of @TheFarmFan that this COVID-19 situation will change the economic basics of college athletic departments, but Texas is an exception. They have hugely rich boosters (Red McCombs), and having their own TV network (Longhorn Network - one of the main reasons Texas A&M, Nebraska, Missouri and Colorado left the Big 12) truly sets them apart.

I keep reading (on anonymous message boards) about Oregon having all this money. But, after a Final Four last season, they only gave Graves a raise of $50,000 with that new contract extension? Seriously? Unfortunately, he's probably not getting another contract adjustment this Spring (unless it's due to another school trying to hire him away) as he didn't "technically" surpass last season's post-season success. Who has Oregon actually outbid to keep a head coach? Their football head coach was only at 56th highest salary in 2018; he's supposed to get a raise after a very successful 2019 campaign, but I have yet to see that it has been finalized.

The thing about Barnes possibly coming to Texas is that not only would she more than double her annual salary, so would her husband (assistant coach at UofA). That's a huge amount of additional income and security for a young family.

 

[southie]

Football and basketball struggling. fires WBB coach who has sweet 16 in 4 of last 5 tournaments.
She couldn't beat Baylor. going to throw money at someone now? Seems wasteful.

You don't even know how much money Texas is "throwing" at someone. It won't be Dawn Staley money. I'm surprised to hear this from a South Carolina fan considering how much money you all have spent on Steve Spurrier and his replacement, and still are not getting close to an SEC East football championship. Best not to throw stones from you glass home . . .

 

[Plebe]

Celeste Taylor posted on Instagram.

Celeste is a real gem, and this year's struggles would've been much, much worse without her.

 

[Gamecockfan77]

You don't even know how much money Texas is "throwing" at someone. It won't be Dawn Staley money. I'm surprised to hear this from a South Carolina fan considering how much money you all have spent on Steve Spurrier and his replacement, and still are not getting close to an SEC East football championship. Best not to throw stones from you glass home . . .

South Carolina did not fire a successful coach to hire anyone that I recall. Quite the opposite.

I'm totally with you that Will Muschamp is wasteful spending. You want him back? Unfortunately we don't want to fire him it seems.

 

[southie]

South Carolina did not fire a successful coach to hire anyone that I recall. Quite the opposite.

I'm totally with you that Will Muschamp is wasteful spending. You want him back? Unfortunately we don't want to fire him it seems.

We didn't fire a "successful" head coach based on her job performance the last two seasons; we chose not to extend a head coach whose best achievements were 3-4 years ago.

It's unfortunate she (or her agent if she has one) allowed her contract to get beyond having 2 years remaining at any time. At that point, I would have demanded a 2-3 year extension based on my most recent job performance (third consecutive Sweet 16), or started looking elsewhere.

From a negotiating perspective, she lost all leverage continuing to allow her employment years/months to dwindle with no commitment from her boss(es). And, with her last two seasons being her worst (since her initial year at Texas), she did not make a strong case to get an extension.

 

[Gamecockfan77]

Is that a "no" on Muschamp then?

 

[southie]

Is that a "no" on Muschamp then?

Not only "no", but "hell no!". It's also a "thank gawd" Florida came and hired away our "head coach in waiting" right from under our noses, and then sorry USC didn't learn anything from that fiasco in Gainesville . . .

 

[Gamecockfan77]

Not only "no", but "hell no!". It's also a "thank gawd" Florida came and hired our "head coach in waiting" right from under our noses, and then sorry USC didn't learn anything from that fiasco in Gainesville . . .

Oh well.

 

[KnightBridgeAZ]

Arizona is the school that would have trouble justifying doubling Barnes' salary in these tough economic times, especially after just having given her an almost 50% raise.

Arizona is not going to do any such thing. Arizona is cheap with salary.

And I don't think - at this point - that she wants to go anywhere.

A time may come . . . but probably not now.

 

[KnightBridgeAZ]

However, not at Texas where they expect to be competing for National Championships. Just don't know who they'll hire to get the results they want.

I do wonder if Becky Hammon would be interested in the Texas job and would Texas consider Niele Ivey.

Yes, I know they won one. And I really liked Jody (except she whined to the refs constantly). But really, does the record indicate Texas should think they should be competing for NC's? Competing for deep NCAA runs, yes, but their Final Four history in anything resembling modern times does not suggest a reason to think they would be a "regular" there.

 

[Plebe]

Yes, I know they won one. And I really liked Jody (except she whined to the refs constantly). But really, does the record indicate Texas should think they should be competing for NC's? Competing for deep NCAA runs, yes, but their Final Four history in anything resembling modern times does not suggest a reason to think they would be a "regular" there.

History is one thing, expectations another. If the goal is to be competitive at a nationally elite level, the decision to let Aston go was a correct one. Shoot, if the goal is merely to put a team on the floor that doesn't look completely inept half the time, correct decision as well.

 

[KnightBridgeAZ]

History is one thing, expectations another. If the goal is to be competitive at a nationally elite level, the decision to let Aston go was a correct one.

I agree it was the right move. Every major program might "want" to be elite, but I am suggesting that Texas just doesn't present as being any further along on that route than many others.

 

[Figurehead]

I keep reading (on anonymous message boards) about Oregon having all this money. But, after a Final Four last season, they only gave Graves a raise of $50,000 with that new contract extension? Seriously? Unfortunately, he's probably not getting another contract adjustment this Spring (unless it's due to another school trying to hire him away) as he didn't "technically" surpass last season's post-season success. Who has Oregon actually outbid to keep a head coach? Their football head coach was only at 56th highest salary in 2018; he's supposed to get a raise after a very successful 2019 campaign, but I have yet to see that it has been finalized.

The thing about Barnes possibly coming to Texas is that not only would she more than double her annual salary, so would her husband (assistant coach at UofA). That's a huge amount of additional income and security for a young family.

With you it is all about money in life, we get that. Texas should go after Geno or Muffet then. Triple their salaries.

I think any other pac-12 posters in the wings here would laugh about Oregon being broke in your thinking.

Oregon spends money on facilities like it was water is what most would say.

Oregon planning biggest video board in college football, new sound system at Autzen Stadium

UO athletics is proposing to the university’s board of trustees plans for a new 186′ x 66′ video board and point-source sound system above the East end zone terrace at Autzen Stadium.

www.oregonlive.com

New track field

Hayward Field — SRG + CannonDesign

A Theater for Track & Field

www.srgpartnership.com

So outbid to keep Willie Taggart, Chip Kelley. White the Bobby Knight of softball? (Rolleyes)

What about Dana Altman in mens basketball? He is not going anywhere but is one of the best.

If it was all about the top dollar then why did your wife marry you?