No front runner for new ISU coach

Looking for a job in the coaching field? Then Gene Smith, Iowa State’s

Athletic Director, is the man to talk to. ISU hast what you’ve been looking

for: head coach of women’s basketball.

ISU has been searching for a head coach since Theresa Becker stepped

down on May 12.

“We’ve been advertising the job in USA Today, NCAA News

and the national coverage has helped,” Athletic Director Gene Smith

said. “The application deadline is June 27, then we’ll begin the process of

collecting the applications and reviewing [the applicants’]

backgrounds.”

The ISU athletic department feels confident that they will have a coach

named by next month. “We’ll know by mid-July at the latest, we’ll have

somebody,” Smith said. “We’re just waiting for people to apply.”

Becker had a 18-63 record spanning three years at ISU, posting eight

wins in 1993-94, quadrupling their win total of two games from the year

before. Those eight wins were the most since the Cyclones won 11 games

during the 1990-91 season.

The Cyclones had a tough time even doubling their record last season,

posting only eight wins for the second season in a row.

Becker expressed her concerns over the lack of commitment to her

program when she resigned. Smith declined to comment.

Less than a month after her resignation, Becker was named assistant

women’s basketball coach at Nebraska, a position she held prior to coming

to ISU.

“[Hiring new coaches] is becoming a habit; we’re in a groove,” Smith

said. “We have a blend of veteran and new coaches.”

Smith feels that the experiences and successes of coaches, like

cross-country coach Bill Bergan and track coach Steve Lynn, is beneficial

to ISU athletics.

“They can share experiences with coaches that want to learn what they

did to be successful,” Smith said. “Once we get the new [athletic] facility

done and everybody is under one roof, it will be much easier [to do

that].”

Smith and the athletic department are looking to the future and are

taking the Cyclones with them.

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