BOULDER — Colorado will soon be in the market for a women’s basketball coach. The school has entered into negotiations to terminate the contract of Kathy McConnell-Miller, according to an athletic department source.
Colorado went 65-88 in five seasons under McConnell-Miller but posted only one winning record: 19-15 in 2007-08, when the Buffaloes reached the semifinals of the WNIT. CU could not sustain the momentum and went 11-18 in 2008-09 and 13-17 this season, going 3-13 in the Big 12 in both. Her best conference mark was 6-10 in 2006-07.
McConnell-Miller, 42, has a contract through the 2012-13 season, with an annual salary of about $360,000. The contract includes a clause that allows the athletic department to assign her to another position at a salary approaching $180,000.
CU had a public groundbreaking ceremony Thursday for the new practice facility for men’s and women’s basketball and women’s volleyball. Mc- Connell-Miller was absent from the event. It was announced during the ceremony that McConnell-Miller was in Arizona for a family vacation over spring break. She has not responded to messages left by The Denver Post.
Athletic director Mike Bohn would not comment, except to say it’s “premature” to say McConnell-Miller has been dismissed.
CU assistants said they expect to know something about the staff’s future next week.
“Right now, I’m still recruiting,” assistant coach Aisha Veasley said.
Abuzz about building. From the beginning, Colorado men’s basketball coach Jeff Bzdelik was passionate about the need for a practice facility. He had it written into his contract: If CU did not begin construction of a practice facility by the start of his fourth year (April 1, 2010), he could leave without a buyout.
Thursday’s groundbreaking ceremony is the start of a “rock solid” era in CU athletics, Bzdelik said. Located adjacent to the Coors Events Center, the $10.8 million facility is targeted for completion by August 2011.
Including almost 36,000 square feet, it will include practice courts and meeting rooms for men’s and women’s basketball and women’s volleyball. It also will house the volleyball operations center. The facility will allow the three teams to practice on their own schedules and not be affected by each other’s practices or by scheduling conflicts in the CEC, which hosts conferences, concerts and exams. Also, the facility will show potential recruits that Colorado athletics are “headed in the right direction,” Bzdelik said.
“Unfortunately, we live in a society where the majority of (recruits) are enamored with material things,” he added.
Volleyball coach Liz Kritza said CU is one of the few volleyball programs among those in power conferences that practices on only one court, adding, “This will level the playing field for us.”
All quiet on Western front. CU chancellor Phil DiStefano, who attended the groundbreaking, said he has not had any conversations with the Pac-10 about conference realignment.
“We don’t have any representatives talking to each other,” he said.
It has been speculated that if the Pac-10 were to expand by two teams, Colorado and Utah may be the likely candidates. DiStefano said he has not determined whether leaving the Big 12 for the Pac-10 would be beneficial for the university.
“There are a lot of unanswered questions, and I’m waiting to see if in fact the Pac-10 is going to give us a call,” DiStefano said.
Tom Kensler: 303-954-1280 or tkensler@denverpost.com
