UW AD: Jackson will remain women's hoops coach
SEATTLE (AP) - Washington women's basketball coach Tia Jackson will return next season despite the worst three-year run in school history, athletic director Scott Woodward said Tuesday.
Woodward told The Associated Press that he sees progress with the 37-year-old Jackson and that she will come back for the fourth season of a five-year contract. It is paying her $180,000 annually for her first head-coaching job.
Washington is 12-16 and 7-11 in the Pac-10 entering Thursday's conference tournament game against Oregon State. The conference losses are the most the Huskies have ever had in one season. And Jackson is 33-56 at Washington.
Yet the team picked to finish last in the league this season won its final three regular-season games to finish tied for sixth.
"Tia's going to be our coach next season. I have all the confidence in the world in Tia. Obviously, I was worried last season with the way things were going," Woodward said of an 8-22 record in 2008-09 that included a 12-game losing streak and a 77-point loss to Stanford.
"But those were the growing pains of a new head coach," Woodward said. "I've seen progress this season - and I expect some more. I expect big things from Tia."
The former assistant at Virginia Commonwealth, Stanford, UCLA and Duke replaced the popular June Daugherty in April 2007. Daugherty was fired and Jackson was hired by Woodward's predecessor, Todd Turner.
Jackson's most recent victory was a nine-point win at home on Sunday over Oregon, which had beaten the Huskies by nine on New Year's Day. It gave Washington - with sophomores as its second- and third-leading scorers, and with eight sophomores and freshmen on the 13-player roster - its second three-game winning streak in two months.
Asked before Woodward was contacted Tuesday if she now feels more comfortable in her job, Jackson said: "There's a lot of comfort in the fact we've got some impressive young players. ... I was watching film of these last three games and I'm like, 'God! They have finally figured out what to do that we've been coaching so much in the past!"'
Woodward said he knew Jackson's rebuilding process would take more than three years, especially after two-thirds of a heralded freshman class recruited by Daugherty quit during Jackson's first year. They were zapped by exhausting practices and a new commitment to defense.
Asked if he would consider a contract extension for Jackson before next season ended, or whether he minded her potentially entering the final year of her deal in limbo in late 2011, Woodward said: "I always want to see progress. And I like what I'm seeing already with Tia.
Woodward told The Associated Press that he sees progress with the 37-year-old Jackson and that she will come back for the fourth season of a five-year contract. It is paying her $180,000 annually for her first head-coaching job.
Washington is 12-16 and 7-11 in the Pac-10 entering Thursday's conference tournament game against Oregon State. The conference losses are the most the Huskies have ever had in one season. And Jackson is 33-56 at Washington.
Yet the team picked to finish last in the league this season won its final three regular-season games to finish tied for sixth.
"Tia's going to be our coach next season. I have all the confidence in the world in Tia. Obviously, I was worried last season with the way things were going," Woodward said of an 8-22 record in 2008-09 that included a 12-game losing streak and a 77-point loss to Stanford.
"But those were the growing pains of a new head coach," Woodward said. "I've seen progress this season - and I expect some more. I expect big things from Tia."
The former assistant at Virginia Commonwealth, Stanford, UCLA and Duke replaced the popular June Daugherty in April 2007. Daugherty was fired and Jackson was hired by Woodward's predecessor, Todd Turner.
Jackson's most recent victory was a nine-point win at home on Sunday over Oregon, which had beaten the Huskies by nine on New Year's Day. It gave Washington - with sophomores as its second- and third-leading scorers, and with eight sophomores and freshmen on the 13-player roster - its second three-game winning streak in two months.
Asked before Woodward was contacted Tuesday if she now feels more comfortable in her job, Jackson said: "There's a lot of comfort in the fact we've got some impressive young players. ... I was watching film of these last three games and I'm like, 'God! They have finally figured out what to do that we've been coaching so much in the past!"'
Woodward said he knew Jackson's rebuilding process would take more than three years, especially after two-thirds of a heralded freshman class recruited by Daugherty quit during Jackson's first year. They were zapped by exhausting practices and a new commitment to defense.
Asked if he would consider a contract extension for Jackson before next season ended, or whether he minded her potentially entering the final year of her deal in limbo in late 2011, Woodward said: "I always want to see progress. And I like what I'm seeing already with Tia.