I Assume If Susie Gardner

[hogman64]

isn't fired, it is safe to say no one at the U of A that matters cares even a little about women's basketball............

[Whataboar™]

Should have never run Gary Blair off.

[12under]

Should have never run Gary Blair off.

absolutely correct.  but we just HAD to have a woman coach

[hogman64]

A 29 point home loss to Kentucky......and I saw some of it on TV, it was the kentucky  womens team............should be unacceptable......

[RAZORBART]

I would be satisfied with a woman coach especially if it were one like this one.




OU sooner coach Sherri Coale

[psycHOGlogist]

I don't think it's the coach's gender that's the issue as much as it's her competence and ability to recruit. Supposedly we had a bigtime JC transfer recruit (post player) on campus this weekend. Hope she didn't see this.

[12under]

I don't think it's the coach's gender that's the issue as much as it's her competence and ability to recruit. Supposedly we had a bigtime JC transfer recruit (post player) on campus this weekend. Hope she didn't see this.

when gary blair was fired, bev stated(not in the paper, but to someone i know) that she wanted a female coach

[psycHOGlogist]

Yes, she did want a female coach. However, Gary was not allowed/encouraged to leave because he is a man. He wanted more $$ than Bev was willing to pay, some people (fans with good seats) didn't like his courtside manner with some players (yelling, using indelicate language), and he was a bit of a media darling. None of these was attractive to Bev, so she let him take A&M's offer without countering. To replace him, yes, she wanted a woman. However, she recently hired male coaches for both soccer and softball (and the softball coach replaced a woman, the soccer coach replaced another man), so I don't think it's fair to say she ONLY wants women coaches. For this hire, yes.

Now .... as for her decision making, that's another story.

I have to say, though, as negative as I have been about Susie previously, this season they have done MUCH better than anyone (including me) expected. To do that with no real post players, and with the signing class that she has coming in (which may include a legit JC transfer All American post player) will likely earn her one more year. I have very mixed feelings about that. More 29 pt blowouts to mid-tier SEC teams is not going to help. Plus, I don't see another W on the schedule this season. Maybe Ole Miss, but doubtful.

[Macgyver Hawg]

I don't think Gary Blair was fired.

[psycHOGlogist]

I forgot to add ... and given what Blair is doing at TAMU, he was pretty clearly worth what he was asking for, indelicate language and media whore status notwithstanding.

[Hognoxious]

You can count on the "Why did they fire Gary Blair?" "Susie Gardner has no clue" "HAD to have a woman coach" posts after a loss, but not a peep after the wins.

These posts often comes from people who have never been to more than a few Lady'back games, if any.

"Media darling" seems to work pretty good, though.  Any idea how many times Gary Blair finished in the top half of the SEC?

Certainly easier in the Big 12/8/SWC....

[hogman64]

You can count on the "Why did they fire Gary Blair?" "Susie Gardner has no clue" "HAD to have a woman coach" posts after a loss, but not a peep after the wins.

These posts often comes from people who have never been to more than a few Lady'back games, if any.

"Media darling" seems to work pretty good, though.  Any idea how many times Gary Blair finished in the top half of the SEC?

Certainly easier in the Big 12/8/SWC....

Just curious..........are you saying Susie was a good hire?  and it is a little more than just complaining after losses, of which she is accumulating like crazy, I posted on here at the time we were 4-1 in conference that the team wouldnt win more than 2 games the rest of the wayand I will stick with that. she has taken the program down, not up, since being handed this job................

[Cajun Hog]

I don't think Gary Blair was fired.

He was told to take the Texas A & M offer.  Basically don't let the door hit him on the way out.  Let's see A & M in the Top 25 and beat Texas at Texas.    The only idiots I see are Bev (she has to a women) and John (I love Vandy's wellness program).  I haven't been to a LadyBacks game sense Gary was removed and won't until Susie is gone.

[Mr A Ziffell]

You can count on the "Why did they fire Gary Blair?" "Susie Gardner has no clue" "HAD to have a woman coach" posts after a loss, but not a peep after the wins.

If they did it wouldn't be very often....

[hogman64]

anyone supporting susie gardner to  remain  as ladyback coach, just goes to show no matter the situation 100% of the people will never think the same way..........I think her situation is the  ultimate test for that theory..........

[chiefsfan]

You can count on the "Why did they fire Gary Blair?" "Susie Gardner has no clue" "HAD to have a woman coach" posts after a loss, but not a peep after the wins.

These posts often comes from people who have never been to more than a few Lady'back games, if any.

"Media darling" seems to work pretty good, though.  Any idea how many times Gary Blair finished in the top half of the SEC?

Certainly easier in the Big 12/8/SWC....

Havent I posted that they need to fire Gardner after a win?

Beating up on the weaklings of the SEC every year is something that is so...how should I say this...Heathish...   Losing to Teams like FIU and Portland State, shouldve convinced everyone that she needed to be gone.  But NO, they wanted to give her time.

Face it, SHE SUCKS.  Heath is a much better coach then she is.  Also Bev Lewis is an idiot...

[imahoggie]

if/when gardner is gone we should go after dawn staley the head coach at temple. she was a really good guard in college in the olympics and in the pros. she has also put temple on the map of womens college basketball. not sure what it would take to get her but im sure the chance to get in on a program that can only go up in the best conference in womens basketball would be very appealing.

[Hognoxious]

Just curious..........are you saying Susie was a good hire?  and it is a little more than just complaining after losses, of which she is accumulating like crazy, I posted on here at the time we were 4-1 in conference that the team wouldnt win more than 2 games the rest of the wayand I will stick with that. she has taken the program down, not up, since being handed this job................

Glad you asked.

I said at the time, "I have no problem with letting Gary Blair go.  I'm sure that Bev has a great hire in mind."  I was pretty sure that the former 'alternate lifestyle' coach at SMSU (can't belive I can't remember her name) was coming.  I also said, "It'll be a great hire - I never thought she would get Blair here from Stephen F Austin..."

Well, we got Susie.  And until the start of this SEC season, I saw nothing to convince me this was even a faily good hire.  But this year's team was going to have problems scoring WITH Sarah Pfiefer.  Without her, Susie had this team at 6-1 in what is by far the toughest conference in the country.  That restores my faith in Bev, Gardner shows some promise of being a good coach.  At the midway point of the conference season, I proclaimed that - if she could go just .500 the rest of the way - it might be the coaching job of the decade.

But it may still be too early to decide if she was a 'good hire'.  It certainly may make for an interesting SEC tourney in-state, don't you think?

[Marshfieldhog]

Gardner can't recruit, may be able to coach, can't get fans in the stands, doesn't seem too fan friendly= should lose her job BUT the U of A likes to keep below average coaches for some reason.

[chiefsfan]

Well, we got Susie.  And until the start of this SEC season, I saw nothing to convince me this was even a faily good hire.  But this year's team was going to have problems scoring WITH Sarah Pfiefer.  Without her, Susie had this team at 6-1 in what is by far the toughest conference in the country.  That restores my faith in Bev, Gardner shows some promise of being a good coach.  At the midway point of the conference season, I proclaimed that - if she could go just .500 the rest of the way - it might be the coaching job of the decade

we didnt start 6-1 considering we are 5-6 in the SEC right now...  and considering the only 2 real wins in that bunch (Vandy Florida) were at home, It doesnt prove anything.

We should not have lost to Tennessee by 40 or Kentucky by 25.   Both are inexcusable...

[psycHOGlogist]

Hognoxious, I really appreciate your viewpoint -- you are a fan of all Hog and Lady'Back sports thru and thru, and generally I appreciate your sticking up for UA coaches who get unnecessarily bashed on the message boards.

And I'm not 100% disagreeing with you -- I suppose maybe the jury is still out on Susie. Things have been better than anticipated this year, especially having lost Pfeifer. The team is playing with courage and guts (at least until today -- losing by almost 30 at home to a mediocre KY team does not sound courageous or gutsy). The wins at the outset of the SEC season seemed impressive -- but even Susie has said that the schedule was very friendly this year. They played MSU twice before playing almost anybody good. They were lucky to beat Vandy (and I'm ALL for lucky wins, don't get me wrong), and FL is clearly over-rated (witness their 18 point loss to SC today -- AT HOME). This is a team that lost to Portland State and Florida International. That's just embarrassing. And your bragging about the SEC being tougher than the Big 12  .... normally, you could not be more right. But this year? After LSU, TN, and UGA .... nobody's very good. It's a down year.

I will grant you that losing Pfeifer was a bad blow. But there is no good reason why the team should be dependent on Pfeifer to have a modicum of success. Yes, fine, she's the best player. But good teams have depth, not 5'11" guards playing in the post. I know you can't make chicken salad from chicken s**t, but ... why do we have chicken s**t??? Why is the cupboard so bare? That is her fault. Yes, she's signed some posts for next year, but ... why didn't she get any last year? You can't tell me it wasn't a priority because we had 6' Sarah Pfeifer coming back! Nope - instead we get more 5'11" wing players and a JC transfer who's 5'10" in shoes. Pathetic.

I will give her credit for putting some inspiration into the team, but I think it's clear that her tenure has, for the most part, been a failure. If she gets another year, I won't be completely furious, but I will be disappointed.

[hogman64]

If the girl that plays "Debbie Downer" on the SNL skits every quits, Susie would be a great hire for that job... she definitly has the personality for it............

[WilsonHog]

Whatever happened to Ruby Vaden?

[coolhog]

The end of last year I emailed Bev about the Susie hire>
She was quick to point out that Susie had to elevate the recruiting.
I took it that she didnt think Gary left much for susie to work with.
I guess Shamika and Pfiefer were just average players.
SO know Im looking at Susie's record this year and ONLY if she had Pfiefer!
We were in the Tourney with Blair and he will take A & M there too.
We havent been with Susie and wont be this year either.
BEV! you screwed UP!! YOu wanted a cheap hire, you got one.

[hogman64]

Results of last 4 games


Lost by 34
Lost by 40
Lost by 5
Lost by 29


Next game LSU names the score

Throw in losses to Florida International and Portland State

If she keeps her job, it only shows that no one cares , or at least no one that matters.

[chiefsfan]

Whatever happened to Ruby Vaden?

Ruby is enrolled at ASU.  She asked for and WAS NOT granted a release by the University of Arkansas.   She is eligible to play @ ASU next year, but I dont know whether she will or not...

[psycHOGlogist]

Yes, it is telling that the players she really wanted to have at the beginning of the year were Pfeifer (Blair recruit) and Allen (Blair recruit), who rushed back from maternity to play this spring -- and now she's only played in 8 games and has started 0. Yeah, that's not a waste of a year of eligibility.

And if Blair left the cupboard empty, Susie's had a couple years to fill it up, and she's failed. Miserably. I suspect, though, that her incoming class will buy her another year. It has tall people!

In other posts, I've commented that she seems to have gotten the team to fight harder this year. That's a plus. But she fashions herself something of an offensive coach (judging by her ladybacks.com bio). Her teams, even in games that they win, regularly shoot below 40%, and sometimes below 30%. That's some good coaching!

Also, I understood that Vaden claimed a medical hardship. Not sure how that jives with the refused release, but that may be why. Generally, in the past Bev has been (as are almost all AD's) very quick to give releases of student athletes who don't want to stay. Not to do so makes you look petty and small to recruits, so if that info is true I suspect there is a reason beyond vindictiveness.

[hogman64]

I watched about 25% of todays game  around doing some work in my office and I saw some of the wildest shots I have ever seen...R . Vaughn  hit nothing but back board from about 6 foot away and the outside shooting looked like 7th and 8th grade girls  shooting.. terrible........

[psycHOGlogist]

But she fashions herself something of an offensive coach (judging by her ladybacks.com bio).

She fashions herself as a lesbian with an attitude.  Who knows if thats the case?

Tell me -- what does her alleged sexual orientation have to do with anything? Grow up.

[hogman64]

Well I can tell you first hand I had a friend whose daughter was recruited by her... one of the fringe recruits, you know gets the letters , goes to camp, invites to games, but never going to get the scholarship and he understood that, she just enjoyed the recruiting, she was offered by another school,, but my point is I can tell you from his words she is going to have a hard time recruiting .... a real hard time..........I too have never seen a happy look from that woman....in fact her  constant sour look drives me nuts..........

[psycHOGlogist]

I see you're the Suzie Gardner defender.   

Seriously ... can you read the posts above? I am a defender of Gardner? In what universe?

Well I can tell you first hand I had a friend whose daughter was recruited by her... one of the fringe recruits, you know gets the letters , goes to camp, invites to games, but never going to get the scholarship and he understood that, she just enjoyed the recruiting, she was offered by another school,, but my point is I can tell you from his words she is going to have a hard time recruiting .... a real hard time..........I too have never seen a happy look from that woman....in fact her  constant sour look drives me nuts..........

That's exactly what I'm saying.

No, that's not what you're saying. You said she was a "lesbian with an attitude." Hogman is saying she is a lousy recruiter and generally seems off-putting to recruits. Tell me again -- what does her alleged sexual orientation have to do with it? Leave the adolescent name calling somewhere else if you want to have any credibility.

[Bill_Smith]

I don't think it's the coach's gender that's the issue as much as it's her competence and ability to recruit. Supposedly we had a bigtime JC transfer recruit (post player) on campus this weekend. Hope she didn't see this.

when gary blair was fired, bev stated(not in the paper, but to someone i know) that she wanted a female coach

Really -- can you pull that quote up?

[Bill_Smith]

You can count on the "Why did they fire Gary Blair?" "Susie Gardner has no clue" "HAD to have a woman coach" posts after a loss, but not a peep after the wins.

These posts often comes from people who have never been to more than a few Lady'back games, if any.

"Media darling" seems to work pretty good, though.  Any idea how many times Gary Blair finished in the top half of the SEC?

Certainly easier in the Big 12/8/SWC....

Havent I posted that they need to fire Gardner after a win?

Beating up on the weaklings of the SEC every year is something that is so...how should I say this...Heathish...   Losing to Teams like FIU and Portland State, shouldve convinced everyone that she needed to be gone.  But NO, they wanted to give her time.

Face it, SHE SUCKS.  Heath is a much better coach then she is.  Also Bev Lewis is an idiot...

Before making some more insightful -- and inciting -- comments, just how many women's games have you seen in person?

[Bill_Smith]

Let's clear some stuff up right now.

Not going to stand for the personal attacks; sexual inuendos, etc.  There isn't a one of you that would say those things about any of the male coaches.

Besides, that's the kind of stuff that bubbles up on those other boards that I firmly believe this board is above.

Now, that said -- feel free to question the hire, the style, the results, the recruiting.

But someone up this thread said it best:  where was all this when we were winning?  Well, obviously, if you're winning it's all OK.

Let me interject a couple of items in the debate:  Susie Gardner can't control injuries; and lord knows we've had our share.  Right now, you've got 25 points sitting on the bench between Pfeifer and Peoples.  No excuses -- but when you're pounded on the inside (Pfeifer) and the guards are cold (another option if Peoples can play) -- there you are.

Second, and most important in this  of all the transition time.  Go back in time and look up when the first contact with A&M broke in the papers.  NCAA Selection Sunday, 2004.  Work it from there.

[Bill_Smith]

Let me jump in one last time before I have to leave for the coaches' luncheon today --

Take a look at the four players we've already signed for this fall and understand that we are on more to make this class impactful.

Remember, Pfeifer returns and Howard gets a full year next year.

I'll be back this afternoon -- spool them up if you want more answers.

[LA HAWG]

Arkansas has a Women's basketball team?  Who knew?

[hogman64]

Let's clear some stuff up right now.

Not going to stand for the personal attacks; sexual inuendos, etc.  There isn't a one of you that would say those things about any of the male coaches.

Besides, that's the kind of stuff that bubbles up on those other boards that I firmly believe this board is above.

Now, that said -- feel free to question the hire, the style, the results, the recruiting.

But someone up this thread said it best:  where was all this when we were winning?  Well, obviously, if you're winning it's all OK.

Let me interject a couple of items in the debate:  Susie Gardner can't control injuries; and lord knows we've had our share.  Right now, you've got 25 points sitting on the bench between Pfeifer and Peoples.  No excuses -- but when you're pounded on the inside (Pfeifer) and the guards are cold (another option if Peoples can play) -- there you are.

Second, and most important in this  of all the transition time.  Go back in time and look up when the first contact with A&M broke in the papers.  NCAA Selection Sunday, 2004.  Work it from there.

Well my first question would be when were we winning?  Do you mean when we beat a 1-10 miss st.  team twice and got a miracle win over vandy?  that is the only winning really that I know of we have accomplished under Susie... our team has been bad every year she has been here... and as for complaining I said ,and it was obvious ,when we were 4-1 that we would not win over 2 more games the rest of the year........looks now it is going to be 1 more..and I have heard  plenty of people complaining about her hire for quite some time now....by the way if you know her personally why dont you tell her it would be a great improvement if just occassionally she put a smile on her face and tried to shake the "Debbie Downer" personality...

[psycHOGlogist]

Secondly, don't come on preaching to me about credibility newbie. 

Great response -- more name calling. Stick with what you know. But let me get this straight -- because you have posted more posts on here, regardless of their quality, that automatically gives you credibility? Right. I get it. Thanks.

Bill -- Thanks for your comments. I couldn't agree with you more about the lameness of the sexual innuendo. I was wondering about the hire, though -- were Gardner's limitations in the personality department (and their relation to recruiting) not obvious during the hiring process? Because, irrespective of the sexual innuendo, I do think it's fair to question how Gardner's lack of charisma and people skills relates to her failure to (perhaps until now) recruit blue chip athletes to the program. She comes across as a deer in headlights and/or wooden. And, from what I hear, her relationship with several of her players could best be described as frosty.

[psycHOGlogist]

"PC nonsense" to you means pointing out that making cracks about a woman's sexual orientation and its relationship to her coaching is childish? That's PC? I disagree. I didn't say you should call her "otherly inclined," "alternatively oriented," or any other such crap. I just pointed out that whatever her sexual orientation may be, it is not the business of this chat board. Nor does it make you sound like you know what you're talking about. That is not PC -- it's sticking to the point -- which apparently we agree on.

Susie -- and Bev -- have some explaining to do.

And I didn't mean to suggest that all of your posts were bad -- sorry if it sounded that way.

[12under]

I don't think it's the coach's gender that's the issue as much as it's her competence and ability to recruit. Supposedly we had a bigtime JC transfer recruit (post player) on campus this weekend. Hope she didn't see this.

when gary blair was fired, bev stated(not in the paper, but to someone i know) that she wanted a female coach

Really -- can you pull that quote up?

if you read my post i said NOT IN THE PAPER.  but i can send someone over to corroborate(sp?) my statement.

[coolhog]

Bill, You stated that you need Pfiefer's points(another Blair recruit).
What about all the upgrade recruits Susie has? They must not be producing?
A @ M is top 25 and we are not. He has done a good job and susie has not.
She got blown out by Kentucky! Get real!!

[Anti-OtisII]

Let's clear some stuff up right now.

Not going to stand for the personal attacks; sexual inuendos, etc.  There isn't a one of you that would say those things about any of the male coaches.

Besides, that's the kind of stuff that bubbles up on those other boards that I firmly believe this board is above.

Now, that said -- feel free to question the hire, the style, the results, the recruiting.

But someone up this thread said it best:  where was all this when we were winning?  Well, obviously, if you're winning it's all OK.

Let me interject a couple of items in the debate:  Susie Gardner can't control injuries; and lord knows we've had our share.  Right now, you've got 25 points sitting on the bench between Pfeifer and Peoples.  No excuses -- but when you're pounded on the inside (Pfeifer) and the guards are cold (another option if Peoples can play) -- there you are.

Second, and most important in this  of all the transition time.  Go back in time and look up when the first contact with A&M broke in the papers.  NCAA Selection Sunday, 2004.  Work it from there.

1)  Right or wrong, I'm pretty sure that there would be plenty of posters that would attack ANY male coach that was suspected of living an "alternate lifestyle". 

2)  When someone is winning against inferior or average teams with an occasional minor upset at home there isn't alot to complain about.  Most take a "wait and see" approach in that situation to see how things go against the tougher competition.

3)  "No excuses", but that is all you have.  SG did not adequately recruit enough talented players to field competitive teams over the last 3 years.  We can always "wait until next year" and I suspect that is what will happen once again because your average fan just doesn't really give a crap anymore about LadyBack basketball.  Whether we wait another year to give SG a chance to change that by actually winning some games or bring in another coach is up to BL.  I'm just glad I didn't buy tickets this year for the Women's SECT like I did the last time it was played at Alltel.  I just don't have the excitement that I did back then.

4)  The transition time wasn't in 2004.  It was in the spring of 2003.

[Cajun Hog]

Whatever happened to Ruby Vaden?

In school at Memphis and I heard she was going to play next year.

[ExArky]

WNIT: Arkansas State 98, Arkansas 84 ... that should have been an automatic dismissal for Gardner, and I say that as an ASU alum ... SEC teams don't want to be losing to Sun Belt teams in any sport at any time ...

[Bill_Smith]

I don't think it's the coach's gender that's the issue as much as it's her competence and ability to recruit. Supposedly we had a bigtime JC transfer recruit (post player) on campus this weekend. Hope she didn't see this.

when gary blair was fired, bev stated(not in the paper, but to someone i know) that she wanted a female coach

Really -- can you pull that quote up?

if you read my post i said NOT IN THE PAPER.  but i can send someone over to corroborate(sp?) my statement.

Go right ahead

[Bill_Smith]

Let's clear some stuff up right now.

Not going to stand for the personal attacks; sexual inuendos, etc.  There isn't a one of you that would say those things about any of the male coaches.

Besides, that's the kind of stuff that bubbles up on those other boards that I firmly believe this board is above.

Now, that said -- feel free to question the hire, the style, the results, the recruiting.

But someone up this thread said it best:  where was all this when we were winning?  Well, obviously, if you're winning it's all OK.

Let me interject a couple of items in the debate:  Susie Gardner can't control injuries; and lord knows we've had our share.  Right now, you've got 25 points sitting on the bench between Pfeifer and Peoples.  No excuses -- but when you're pounded on the inside (Pfeifer) and the guards are cold (another option if Peoples can play) -- there you are.

Second, and most important in this  of all the transition time.  Go back in time and look up when the first contact with A&M broke in the papers.  NCAA Selection Sunday, 2004.  Work it from there.

1)  Right or wrong, I'm pretty sure that there would be plenty of posters that would attack ANY male coach that was suspected of living an "alternate lifestyle". 

2)  When someone is winning against inferior or average teams with an occasional minor upset at home there isn't alot to complain about.  Most take a "wait and see" approach in that situation to see how things go against the tougher competition.

3)  "No excuses", but that is all you have.  SG did not adequately recruit enough talented players to field competitive teams over the last 3 years.  We can always "wait until next year" and I suspect that is what will happen once again because your average fan just doesn't really give a crap anymore about LadyBack basketball.  Whether we wait another year to give SG a chance to change that by actually winning some games or bring in another coach is up to BL.  I'm just glad I didn't buy tickets this year for the Women's SECT like I did the last time it was played at Alltel.  I just don't have the excitement that I did back then.

4)  The transition time wasn't in 2004.  It was in the spring of 2003.

I'm glad to see you'd be equal opportunity on that.  I still don't think its a valid point.

You're right, my mistake, it was March 2003.

[Bill_Smith]

Bill, You stated that you need Pfiefer's points(another Blair recruit).
What about all the upgrade recruits Susie has? They must not be producing?
A @ M is top 25 and we are not. He has done a good job and susie has not.
She got blown out by Kentucky! Get real!!

Yes she did, and did she not call that like it was -- the worst performance we made at home this year?  Give her credit for that.

Have you looked at our recruits for next year?  I think the recruiting was addressed in the off season, and we're seeing results this fall.

[Bill_Smith]

Sorry -- I've made a mess of this one trying to parce hogman64's quote to insert comments.  Hope all can follow

Well my first question would be when were we winning?  Do you mean when we beat a 1-10 miss st.  team twice and got a miracle win over vandy?</quote>

Fair enough, but I would tell you that is as much a factor of what in my personal opinion is a flawed SEC system for women's basketball.  Let me repeat -- my opinion -- you get the two rotating east and west teams and it's a crap shoot.  Right now we're 3-of-4 against the rotation (two wins MSU, 1-1 Vandy) this year.  Last year we were 0-4 against the rotation (0-2 Tennessee, 0-2 Ole Miss).

<quote>
that is the only winning really that I know of we have accomplished under Susie</quote>

So, beating Auburn and Florida were not significant wins this year?

<quote>our team has been bad every year she has been here... and as for complaining I said ,and it was obvious ,when we were 4-1 that we would not win over 2 more games the rest of the year........looks now it is going to be 1 more..and I have heard  plenty of people complaining about her hire for quite some time now....by the way if you know her personally why dont you tell her it would be a great improvement if just occassionally she put a smile on her face and tried to shake the "Debbie Downer" personality...

My suggestion would be to get to one of the coach's luncheons.  There's video of some of those posted on the website.

[Cajun Hog]

I don't think it's the coach's gender that's the issue as much as it's her competence and ability to recruit. Supposedly we had a bigtime JC transfer recruit (post player) on campus this weekend. Hope she didn't see this.

when gary blair was fired, bev stated(not in the paper, but to someone i know) that she wanted a female coach

Really -- can you pull that quote up?

Bill, nothing at the U of A is a secert and it's very well known that Bev had stated she wanted a women. We could have had Vic with Amber as the #1 assistant and that was rejected, along with the huge dollars to support the womens program. If it wasn't for Amber and Sarah, I could care less if they won a game.

[Bill_Smith]

I don't think it's the coach's gender that's the issue as much as it's her competence and ability to recruit. Supposedly we had a bigtime JC transfer recruit (post player) on campus this weekend. Hope she didn't see this.

when gary blair was fired, bev stated(not in the paper, but to someone i know) that she wanted a female coach

Really -- can you pull that quote up?

Bill, nothing at the U of A is a secert and it's very well known that Bev had stated she wanted a women. We could have had Vic with Amber as the #1 assistant and that was rejected, along with the huge dollars to support the womens program. If it wasn't for Amber and Sarah, I could care less if they won a game.

I guess we'll have to agree to disagree on this one.  Since I sat in the room as we interviewed two males, two females, at WBCA; then interviewed both Vic and Amber, I feel pretty confident about what went on.

Now, I won't dispute that numerous people have gone around and said that Bev wanted a woman.  And if you repeat it enough times, it becomes true.

Let me try to close off this line -- because I don't think I'm going to change many minds on this -- by point out that there is no correct answer here.  For every poster who thinks we went out and only looked at female coaches for this particular job, there will be as many who think that we should have only looked at females for the job because it's a women's team.  This is a constant nationwide.