Jody Conradt confirmed Monday night what Lady Longhorn basketball fans had wondered about for weeks – would the iconic women’s coach retire this year? After two consecutive disappointing seasons, logic held that she would. But the suddenness of her announcement – just 15 minutes after learning of the team’s failure to qualify for the NCAA tournament – came all too soon for friends and fans who had followed her 31-year career at UT. “Losing is not acceptable,” Conradt said, explaining her decision to retire, one week after achieving her 900th coaching victory in Oklahoma City. Conradt’s career milestones could fill a book; she took her team to a national championship in 1986 and she has groomed hundreds of talented players. Now the search is on for Conradt’s successor. Some potential candidates include Duke University’s Gail Goestenkors, and Baylor’s thoroughly entertaining firecracker of a coach, Kim Mulkey.
This article appears in March 9 • 2007.
