Virginia- ACC
Departed coach/record: Joanne Boyle, 6 seasons (129-98 overall, 63-67 in the ACC)
Season-by-season record:
2011-12: 25–11 (9-7) WNIT quarterfinal
2012-13: 16–14(8-10)
2013-14: 14–17 (6-10)
2014-15: 17–14 (7-9) WNIT 1st round
2015-16:18-16 (6-10) WNIT 3rd round
2016-17:20-13 (7-9) WNIT 2nd round
2017-18:19-14 (10-6) NCAA 2nd round
Reason for departure: Boyle is retiring due to the fact that she must travel to Africa to finish the adoption of her daughter. There is no timetable on how long that will take so she stepped down from her position.
Potential replacements:
Tina Langley, head coach, Rice: Speaking of coaches who have been successful at a academically challenging school… Langley has been fantastic at Rice, one of the most prestigious academic schools in the country. After taking over a team who had won nine games the season prior to her arriving ,in Langley’s second year she won 22 games and the WBI championship, plus 23 games this year. Langley spent seven seasons as an assistant at Maryland (and two at Clemson) so she is more than aware of what it takes to be successful in the ACC. Langley has to be one of the first calls.
Tonya Cardoza, head coach, Temple: What about the other UVA great that helped take them to the Final Four. Yes, Staley’s teammate Cardoza took over for her at Temple and has done a nice job, going 200-128 (101-53) over 10 seasons. Prior to becoming a head coach, Cardoza was an assistant at UConn for 14 seasons. While Temple hasn’t been spectacular, you could easily argue that the program has hit it’s ceiling under her (and Staley). It might be time to move on to bigger and better things, and what better place to go than your alma mater. Cardoza would be a reasonable hire.
Lindsay Gottlieb, head coach, Cal: After a stellar start to her time at Cal, including a trip to the Final Four in year 2, things have cooled off a bit in recent times. In fact, excluding that Final Four run, the Golden Bears haven’t made it out of the first weekend of the NCAA tournament so maybe it’s time for a change of scenery. Cal and Virginia are equals on the academic side of things so that wouldn’t provide a issue for Gottlieb. She also cut her coaching teeth as an assistant at Richmond for three years and is from the east coast originally. Perhaps UVA will look for someone whose name is hotter right now, but maybe Gottlieb can find her early Cal success in Charlottesville.
Felisha Legette-Jack, head coach, Buffalo: Perhaps Buffalo’s run to the Sweet Sixteen has opened up the door to Legette-Jack’s second chance at the Power 5 level. After failing at Indiana, Legette-Jack’s has built Buffalo into a legit mid-major contender, winning 20+ games for three straight season’s and has her team in the Sweet Sixteen. She isn’t old, she has a big personality and she does have nine years of experience in the ACC as an assistant. Buffalo is an academically rigorous school and one that she has shown she can get recruits from all over to. The Indiana years weren’t great, but Legette-Jack has done enough to warrant a call.
Charlotte Smith, head coach, Elon: Maybe the ACC job that so many expected Smith to take isn’t her alma mater after all. One of the great players to ever wear the Tar Heel jersey, Smith has now created a name for herself as a coach. The Phoenix have now gone to two straight NCAA Tournaments under Smith and show no signs of slowing down. A rumored finalist for the Florida job last year, Smith would be a splash hire and one that would likely pay immediate dividends on the recruiting side.