WRAL Sports Fan

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Duke's Coach G Heading to Texas

Apr 3, 2007

Durham, N.C. — Gail Goestenkors, who built the Duke University women's basketball program into a national power, told school officials Tuesday that she has accepted an offer to become head coach at the University of Texas.

Goestenkors, 44, built a powerhouse during her 15 seasons at Duke, winning seven awards as Atlantic Coast Conference coach of the year and compiling a career record of 396-99.

Duke Director of Athletics Joe Alleva released a statement late Tueday afternoon that said Goestenkors had told him earlier in the day about her decision. He said she had cited the new challenge at this stage of her career as the deciding factor in her resignation.

Goestenkors was widely considered the top candidate to replace Hall of Famer Jody Conradt at Texas after her sudden resignation last month.

The decision came less than a week after about 200 fans gathered outside Cameron Indoor Stadium in hopes of persuading Goestenkors—chosen The Associated Press women's basketball coach of the year Saturday—to stay with the Blue Devils. By Tuesday afternoon, however, there was little sign of activity around Cameron as Goestenkors met with her players off-campus to inform them of her decision.

The night Conradt retired, Texas officials made it clear they would be willing to pay for a top-notch coach. Conradt earned $550,000 a year. While Goestenkors' salary at Duke is not public record, it was believed the private school would be unlikely to match a high offer from the Longhorns.

Alleva did not return a call to his office seeking comment, though he had said recently he would do what was required to keep Goestenkors in Durham.

"I truly believe that this university did everything in its power to keep her here," said Jack Winters, director of the university's Iron Dukes club, which raises money to fund athletic scholarships. "I'd be shocked if it came down to a dollar figure. That's just not who Gail is and it's also not who Duke is."

Goestenkors visited the Texas campus last week, when she met with women's athletic director Chris Plonsky and members of the school's search committee and toured the Longhorns' 44,000-square-foot practice facilities.

Texas is considered one of nation's best programs, with its first-rate facilities and a recruiting pipeline to 1,300 Texas high schools. Goestenkors already has established herself with those schools, signing star senior Lindsey Harding out of the Houston area.

Conradt spent 31 seasons at Texas and won her only national championship in 1986, when the Longhorns went 34-0. She retired with a career record of 900-306 in 38 seasons at Sam Houston State, Texas-Arlington and Texas.

Conradt and Tennessee's Pat Summitt are the only Division I coaches with 900 or more victories, but the Longhorns last made the Final Four in 2003.

That tradition seemed to intrigue Goestenkors, who coached the Blue Devils to four Final Fours and two appearances in the national championship game.

Her last Duke team was one of her best. The Blue Devils ended the regular season ranked No. 1 and held the top overall seed in the NCAA tournament, but were upset by Rutgers in the regional semifinals. Duke ended the season with a 32-2 record.

"I know this was an extremely difficult decision for her," Duke president Richard Brodhead said in a statement, "but ultimately the lure of a new challenge outweighed her many ties at Duke."

Duke is now left to search for a women's basketball coach for the first time since Goestenkors was hired in 1992 to replace Debbie Leonard.

 "While we are disappointed that she has chosen to leave, we have to look forward now and search for the best women’s basketball coach for Duke University," Alleva said.