SMU names Adia Barnes new women's basketball coach after 9 seasons at her alma mater Arizona
Barnes takes over an SMU program that is coming off a 10-20 record in its first season in the Atlantic Coast Conference. The Mustangs were 2-16 in league games.
The hiring came a week after SMU fired Toyelle Wilson, who was 55-64 overall in four seasons. SMU's only NCAA Tournament appearance was in 2007-08.
Arizona was 169-114 under Barnes and made four consecutive NCAA women's tournaments from 2021-24, including a 54-53 loss to Stanford in the 2021 national title game. The Wildcats were 19-14 in their first Big 12 season, going 10-8 in conference play.
After scoring 2,237 points at Arizona from 1994-98, Barnes played professionally for 12 seasons in the WNBA and overseas. She was on Seattle's WNBA championship team in 2004. She also served as an assistant coach at Washington.
'Having seen the commitment and alignment on the Hilltop, I believe we can compete on the national stage and for ACC championships,' Barnes said. 'My family and I can't wait to get to Dallas and I can't wait to get to work.'
Arizona in a statement thanked Barnes for her nine seasons and 'her profound impact' on the Wildcats program.
___
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
USA Today
32 minutes ago
- USA Today
Pat Fitzgerald, Northwestern settle lawsuit over firing from hazing allegations
Former Northwestern coach Pat Fitzgerald has agreed to a settlement from his lawsuit against the university after he was fired in wake of the football team hazing scandal. Fitzgerald, who led the Wildcats from 2006-22 and is the team's longest tenured and most-winning coach, filed a $130 million lawsuit against the university and its president in October 2023, alleging he was wrongfully fired earlier in the year. He claimed Northwestern breached both his original employment contract and a subsequent "oral contract" the two sides agreed to in July 2023. That case was due to go to trial Nov. 3. Nearly two years later, Fitzgerald said on Thursday, Aug. 21 a settlement was reached. The two sides are not disclosing the terms of the settlement. In a statement released through his lawyers announcing the settlement, Fitzgerald said he had no knowledge of hazing in the football program prior to his suspension, when an outside investigation substantiated the allegations. The next day, the university's student newspaper reported the sexual nature of the allegations. Two days after the story, Northwestern moved to fire Fitzgerald for cause, acknowledging in a statement hazing "included forced participation, nudity and sexualized acts of a degrading nature." "For the past two years, I have engaged in a process of extensive fact and expert discovery, which showed what I have known and said all along − that I had no knowledge of hazing ever occurring in the Northwestern football program, and that I never directed or encouraged hazing in any way. "Through discovery, I learned that some hazing did occur in the football program at Northwestern. I am extremely disappointed that members of the team engaged in this behavior and that no one reported it to me, so that I could have alerted Northwestern's Athletic Department and administrators, stopped the inappropriate behavior, and taken every necessary step to protect Northwestern's student athletes," Fitzgerald said. The former coach added "the rush to judgment" about him knowing about the hazing caused him and his family "great stress, embarrassment, and reputational harm in the last two years." "Though I maintain Northwestern had no legal basis to terminate my employment for cause under the terms of my Employment Agreement, in the interest of resolving this matter and, in particular, to relieve my family from the stress of ongoing litigation, Northwestern and I have agreed to a settlement, and I am satisfied with the terms of the settlement," Fitzgerald said. Northwestern said in a statement to USA TODAY Sports evidence uncovered did not establish any player reported hazing to Fitzgerald or he condoned any actions and he was "incredibly upset and saddened" when he learned of the alleged details. It added it has taken action to ensure hazing "will not occur again." "Northwestern appreciates Coach Fitzgerald's 26 years as a Northwestern player and coach. Northwestern is proud of Coach Fitzgerald's team's success on the field as well as its success in the classroom," the statement read. "Northwestern wishes Coach Fitzgerald the best in resuming his football career." The settlement of Fitzgerald's lawsuit comes three months after the university settled the 34 remaining lawsuits filed against it by former football players. The former players alleged that incidents of hazing took place during their time on the team and members of the coaching staff, including Fitzgerald, knew about them. Fitzgerald hasn't coached college football since his firing, instead serving a parent volunteer for the football program at Loyola Academy high school in Illinois where his two sons attended. Contributing: Tom Schad
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Former Northwestern coach Pat Fitzgerald settles wrongful termination lawsuit with school
Northwestern and former coach Pat Fitzgerald have settled the wrongful termination lawsuit he brought against the school after his firing in the summer of 2023. The longtime Wildcats coach was fired after allegations of hazing within the program were made public. Fitzgerald's firing came after he was initially given a two-week suspension, but was fired days after a story was published detailing the hazing allegations. Fitzgerald said in a statement on Thursday that it had been proven he did not know about the hazing allegations while he was head coach. However, he did confirm that hazing had taken place under his watch. Fitzgerald had filed a suit asking for $130 million and terms of the settlement are not publicly known. 'For the past two years, I have engaged in a process of extensive fact and expert discovery, which showed what I have known and said all along — that I had no knowledge of hazing ever occurring in the Northwestern football program, and that I never directed or encouraged hazing in any way,' Fitzgerald said. 'Through discovery, I learned that some hazing did occur in the football program at Northwestern. I am extremely disappointed that members of the team engaged in this behavior and that no one reported it to me, so that I could have alerted Northwestern's athletic department and administrators, stopped the inappropriate behavior, and taken every necessary step to protect Northwestern's student athletes.' Former players told the Daily Northwestern that players could be subject to a hazing ritual called 'running' where he 'would be restrained by a group of 8-10 upperclassmen dressed in various 'Purge-like' masks, who would then begin 'dry-humping' the victim in a dark locker room.' When Fitzgerald was fired, Northwestern president Michael Schill said he was the one who made the decision. When Fitzgerald was suspended, the school said that it didn't find that he or his coaches were aware of the hazing but there were 'significant opportunities' for coaches to find out that it was taking place and report it. Fitzgerald was Northwestern's coach for 17 years after he got the head coaching job in 2006. The program won 10 games in three different times in his tenure and went 110-101. However, Northwestern was just 4-20 over his final two seasons and went 1-11 in 2022. David Braun is entering his third season as Northwestern's coach after he was promoted to replace Fitzgerald ahead of the 2023 season. Braun arrived that offseason after he was the defensive coordinator at North Dakota State from 2019 through 2022.
Washington Post
an hour ago
- Washington Post
No. 16 SMU prepares for encore after smashing ACC debut that included playoff spot
DALLAS — Kevin Jennings looks back on SMU's lopsided loss to Penn State in the College Football Playoff last season as a necessary step on a path to go even further than the Mustangs did in their sparkling Atlantic Coast Conference debut . 'I took a lot from that game,' said Jennings, who threw two pick-6s early in a 38-10 first-round loss on a frigid day in Pennsylvania. 'I tell myself all the time, honestly, I needed that game. I needed a bad game like that to bounce back and come back in and remind myself that I can play at this level.'
