When Wisconsin women's basketball coach Jane Albright brought her Badgers into the Bryce Jordan Center on Sunday, it was her last regular-season game as head coach of Wisconsin.
One week ago, Albright announced her resignation from her duties as head women's basketball coach effective at the end of the season. Albright requested a meeting with Wisconsin Associate Athletic Director Jamie Pollard to discuss her future as a Badger before the season was over. After Albright sat down with Pollard, in the week before the resignation was announced, Pollard decided to not recommend a long-term contract extension to the winningest women's basketball coach in Wisconsin history. This was based on the fact that Albright's teams have struggled in the Big Ten tournament and in the NCAA tournament.
Albright's decision left her players playing for a coach they knew would not be around next season. The decision to tell the players before the season was over was made by Wisconsin's athletic office and not Albright.
"It was not my desire to tell the team now," said Albright in a press conference about her resignation. "I wanted to know now and then I was told we would tell the team."
When Albright tendered her resignation, there were two regular-season games left and the Big Ten tournament. The Badgers have since dropped both games -- to Minnesota and Penn State -- by more than 20 points. When Albright was asked about the difficulty of the situation after the Penn State game, all she would say was: "pretty tough."
Albright's career record is 161-105, which is pretty impressive considering she took over a program in the 1994-1995 season that before her tenure had one winning season in 10 years. Albright leaving the Badgers would have seemed an impossible notion at one point last season as the Badgers were 16-1 and No. 5 in the country. However, they stumbled from there, finishing 3-11. Combined with this season's record, Wisconsin is 10-31 over its last 41 games.
"Coach Albright was given every opportunity to achieve all the goals that we set out," said Pollard, when asked about whether this season was a setback. "I would look at this year and say it was another opportunity."
Albright is a well-respected coach by her peers. Penn State women's basketball coach Rene Portland described what happened as, "scary."
"She will be a Div. I coach next year," Portland said. "I think some people are saying no she won't. Yes, she will because her record is good and what she has done. She has just struggled at tournament time."
Portland also mentioned how she has transformed the women's program at Wisconsin, as its home attendance average has been in the nation's top 10 since 1995. Even with the struggles this season, the Badgers' home attendance is still No. 10 in the country. They average close to 6,600 fans, putting them third in the Big Ten just ahead of Penn State. Pollard said that the turnstile count did not reflect the actual fans in attendance and the fans that did show up voiced their displeasure with the program.
With just the Big Ten tournament left in its season, Albright has said the team will not quit working hard.
"As the season draws to a close, we will approach each day as we have approached the season, with hard work and optimism," Albright said. "And we will complete this season with dignity and with class."
