Rene Portland resigned abruptly as Lady Lions basketball coach last Wednesday, prompting many to ask how the highly successful, sometimes controversial coach will be remembered.

Some will remember Portland as the coach who this year became one of just nine coaches to win 600 games at one program, joining coaches like Connecticut's Geno Auriemma, Tennessee's Pat Summit and Jody Conradt, formerly of Texas.

Some will remember her as the coach who was ordered to attend diversity training and pay a $10,000 fine after the university found her in violation of the school's discrimination policy for creating a "hostile, intimidating and offensive environment" for some of her players.

Some will remember Portland as the 2005 Renaissance Person of the year and the coach who championed Title IX, won two Women's Basketball Coaches Association National Coach of the Year awards and coached the Big Ten's all-time scoring leader in both men's and women's basketball, Kelly Mazzante.

Some will remember her as an alleged bigot, a coach accused of dismissing Jen Harris because of her perceived sexual orientation, precipitating a lawsuit that was just recently settled out of court.

Portland has two separate and distinct legacies -- one of great success and one of great controversy -- and it's impossible and unfair to ignore either when recounting her career at Penn State.

But now all that remains of Portland at Penn State is her legacy. And for the first time in nearly three decades, Penn State is charged with finding another coach to lead the Lady Lions.

This is a chance for Penn State to make a statement proving that it's an institution dedicated to fostering a healthy environment for diversity.

Last week, SpeakOUT, a gay rights student activist group, said Portland's resignation has opened a door to for change at the university, something Penn State should not take lightly.

Last spring, Penn State had an opportunity to prove it's an institution dedicated to fostering a healthy environment for diversity when it found Portland in violation of the discrimination policy, but the university allowed the coach to keep her job for another year.

Now, Penn State has a chance to remedy that mistake.

Athletic Director Tim Curley would be well served to find a replacement sensitive to the growing diversity issues in college athletics, as well as one with a track record of success that can revive a stumbling basketball program.

The ball is in Penn State's court again.

And if the university makes a proper choice, maybe next time a Lady Lions coach leaves the program, we won't have to ask how he or she will be remembered.