Dacko out as Minutewoman coach
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AMHERST - The University of Massachusetts will not renew the contract of women's basketball head coach Marnie Dacko, ending her eight-year tenure which produced a losing record.
Athletic director John McCutcheon announced the decision Monday.
"We want to thank Marnie for all her contributions to the program and the University of Massachusetts," McCutcheon said in a prepared statement. "We feel there has not been the competitive progress that we have been looking for and that a change was necessary. We will be initiating a national search immediately."
Dacko, whose contract expires April 10, did not return phone messages seeking comment.
She had a 98-135 record in eight seasons at UMass. In her first year, the Minutewomen were 14-14 in 2002-03, Dacko's only winning season was 2006-07 at 17-13. Her UMass teams had no postseason appearances beyond the Atlantic 10 Tournament.
The Minutewomen were 11-19 overall in 2009-10 and finished at 5-9 in the Atlantic 10 for the third straight season.
Dacko previously was the head coach for seven years at Cornell University.
The UMass players selected sophomore center Nicole Jones as their spokeswoman about the decision.
"I'm actually really surprised. I didn't think it was going to happen like this," Jones said. "I'm disappointed. I'm sad. I'm disappointed for Marnie, everyone on the coaching staff and everyone on the team.
"Marnie is a really good person," she added. "She was like a mother figure to us. She didn't care about us only on the court, but about other things in our lives."
McCutcheon said he believes that the job at UMass should be attractive.
"We're going to look for somebody who has the background and preparation to take our program to a more competitive level," he said. "I think we have a great situation here. I think we're in a very competitive conference and that we can compete at a national level and vie for NCAA Tournament participation."
There is no timetable for making a hire, McCutcheon said.
"We're going to begin immediately and begin as quickly as we can. But the most important thing is to get the right person in," he said. "Obviously at this time of year, a lot of the people we would like to talk to are involved in conference tournament or NCAA Tournament play. But we will move it along as quickly as possible."
McCutcheon declined to name potential candidates. "You have always have people in mind when something like this is a possibility," he said.
Matt Vautour can be reached at mvautour@gazettenet.com. For more UMass coverage, including a UMass sports blog, go to http://www.gazettenet.com/blog/umass-sports.
