Women's College Basketball

Athletic Directors really don't care about women's college basketball. They don't even pay attention. I saw this column today on ESPN, but have heard similar stories (though not the chain) about several programs that gave a coach an extension and within the year wanted to fire her for behavior toward the student-athletes. Shouldn't the AD be aware of the treatment of the players? Shouldn't he or she be able to notice if things aren't right? Are won-loss records the only determining factor for extensions and raises?

A coaching cautionary tale

Well, I'll say this for the coaching staff at Southern Illinois: It introduced the term "jackass-less" to my cursing lexicon.

This spring, reporters from The Southern Illinoisan newspaper in Carbondale, Ill., have been chronicling problems in coach Dana Eikenberg's program, with the acrimonious departures of several players. A particularly detailed story was done by Pete Spitler in late March.

It described that this year's senior class learned of a sign on Eikenberg's door that read, "Conference & Jackass-less Countdown" that had a paper chain with the seniors' names connected to it.

That sort of thing puts a damper on Senior Night, doesn't it?

Eikenberg later apologized to the team for it … but then wasn't on the floor for the seniors' send-off. She provided a bizarre explanation for that to the newspaper, saying there was a "miscommunication" with the assistant athletic director for marketing about the specifics of the senior ceremony, thus she didn't know when it was going to be held. She said an e-mail about it was sent on a Friday night to an assistant who was out recruiting and couldn't access her e-mail that late.

OK … does this mean Eikenberg didn't know -- let alone set -- her own team's pregame schedule? That an assistant AD decided ceremony details on a Friday night? And then informed only one staff member, who was out of town and might be the only Division I assistant left in the country without 24-hour access to e-mail?

It's goofy that Eikenberg even bothered to offer such a preposterous reason for her absence -- considering she admitted to the newspaper that the sign was on her door. It's clear why she missed the ceremony.

Eikenberg, who played at Penn State, used to coach at UMKC. The disappointment of going 10-20 this season and no longer having "good-cop" assistant Jody Adams -- who had a very successful 2007-08 season as Murray State's head coach and just took over at Wichita State -- might have been a toxic combination for Eikenberg.

SIU athletic director Mario Moccia conducted an "extensive review" of the program and in a release basically said he felt everything would be fine. Which is pretty much absurd, but …

He might not have much choice, from a practical perspective. The newspaper reported that Eikenberg -- who signed a five-year extension after winning the Missouri Valley title in 2007-- is guaranteed her full salary through the end of the contract if she's dismissed.

SIU appears to be over a barrel. What school, especially in this economic climate, can possibly afford to pay someone more than half a million dollars to not coach the women's basketball team?

Without discussing actual X's and O's, recruiting, etc., there are several hires over the last couple years that leave me scrathing my head based on how the coach relates to players and treats people in general. However, it just seems like AD's do not care enough to investigate choices and make an inspired hire. There are problems in men's basketball, for sure, but I do not think those arise due to an AD's apathy. It is a shame that many problems, at least on the surface, could be averted if AD's paid more attention to the women's programs.

I can't imagine anyone, in any field admitting to the chain and keeping his or her job. What's the practice environment like? If she treats the players so poorly behind closed doors, what does she do to their face? It is a shame that so many players, men and women, have less than satisfactory college experiences strictly because of the way their coach treats them.