Craighead Signs 3 Year Contract

[iSac]

Craighead signed a 3 year deal as WBB coach. She definitely earned it with the team's solid performance this season.


CRAIGHEAD PROMOTED TO HEAD COACH ON PERMANENT BASIS
http://www.hornetsports.com/sports/wbball/release.asp?release_id=8717

3/25/2010

SACRAMENTO, Calif. - Sacramento State Director of Athletics Dr. Terry Wanless has announced the interim title has been removed from women’s basketball head coach Jamie Craighead, after the coach signed a three-year contract which is slated to begin in the 2010-11 season.

Since taking over on May 1, 2009, Craighead has piloted the Hornets to their most successful season in the Big Sky Conference era, leading the team to a school record 10 league victories and a 15-15 overall record. The 15 wins were the most since 1992-93, and the first time the team was .500 or better since the 1993-94 campaign.

“We are very excited to have Jamie Craighead continue on as our head women’s basketball coach,” Wanless said. “The results from this season show she has the basketball knowledge and coaching ability to continue to grow our program into a perennial Big Sky contender.”

In her third season in the program, coach Craighead brought her style of fast paced and high scoring basketball to the Hornets Nest. Sacramento State finished the regular season ranked sixth in the country in scoring (79.1 ppg), fifth in the three-pointers made per game (8.8) and 10th in assists (17.4 apg).

“I’m thrilled to have the opportunity given to me by Dr. Wanless and President Gonzales to be the caretaker of this program,” coach Craighead said. “We had a good season, but we are by no means satisfied. We will continue to build on the success, and I’m very excited about the players we have coming back and our incoming recruits.”

Coach Craighead’s team set three Big Sky Conference records, including three-pointers made (264), three-pointers attempted (797) and field goals attempted (2,170). The scoring average of 79.1 ranks second in conference history, and their conference-only scoring average of 81.9 ppg ranks first all-time. The Hornets eclipsed 100 points twice on the season.

Spending the season as the youngest Division I women’s basketball head coach in the country at age 29, Craighead led the program on a seven-game winning streak, which resulted in a stretch of 10 victories in 11 contests. The winning streak was the longest for the Hornets since joining the Division I ranks during the 1991-92 season.

 

[superhornet]

The only problem I have with this is that they waited so freaking long after the season ended. They should have had a contract on her desk before she got back from Washington....

And this from the guy who wanted to hire Gina Johnson....

 

[wrkrb]

SH - good sportsmanship on your part with that last line!

This is a good move for all and will insure the program continues on its upward path!

Congratulations to Coach Craighead and all Hornet Women's Basketball faithful!

 

[SDHornet]

I agree with wrkrb.

 

[Green Laser]

Congratulations Coach Craighead! This was long overdue, she put together a successful and entertaining season, I look forward to next year. Another Horent Program in good hands!

 

[superhornet]

Does anyone know why Wanless waited so long? Craighead had to be going out of her mind with worry over whether or not the school was going to take care of her after this incredible season.

 

[JackHornet]

In three years we will be looking for a new coach. Not a good decision, actually an easy decision, which is what we do all the time, and that's why things never improve here.

 

[Green Cookie Monster]

It improved this year.

 

[SactoHornetAlum]

In three years we will be looking for a new coach. Not a good decision, actually an easy decision, which is what we do all the time, and that's why things never improve here.

If you can't contribute positively to the discussion here, please don't contribute at all. Your posts make you look...well, you can figure that out.

 

[SDHornet]

In three years we will be looking for a new coach. Not a good decision, actually an easy decision, which is what we do all the time, and that's why things never improve here.

If you can't contribute positively to the discussion here, please don't contribute at all. Your posts make you look...well, you can figure that out.

I disagree SHA. One doesn’t have to agree with everything or anything to have a say. Granted JH’s comments seem to be pretty negative, but that is his/her choice…just one of the many beauties of free speech. With that said, Coach Craighead delivered one of the most successful season in women’s hoops recent history so there is no reason she shouldn’t have been signed on. I just hope Wanless didn’t take too long to get off his lazy ass such that the delay had an impact on recruiting.

 

[SactoHornetAlum]

In three years we will be looking for a new coach. Not a good decision, actually an easy decision, which is what we do all the time, and that's why things never improve here.

If you can't contribute positively to the discussion here, please don't contribute at all. Your posts make you look...well, you can figure that out.

I disagree SHA. One doesn’t have to agree with everything or anything to have a say. Granted JH’s comments seem to be pretty negative, but that is his/her choice…just one of the many beauties of free speech. With that said, Coach Craighead delivered one of the most successful season in women’s hoops recent history so there is no reason she shouldn’t have been signed on. I just hope Wanless didn’t take too long to get off his lazy ass such that the delay had an impact on recruiting.

There is no factual basis for the opinion that things haven't improved around the program...I have seen all year long how well this program has turned around.

 

[JackHornet]

1999 Cal State Northridge had an interim coach. She led Northridge to the Big Sky Championship and the NCAA. During the Big Sky tourny, she was given a five year contract extension.

She went from 21-8 to 18-10 to 8-18 to 0-5 when she resigned.

She was a young coach, not as young as Craighead.

One fluke season doesn't mean a coach should get an extension. There are more qualified coaches out there.

The accomplishments this season were due mostly because of the seniors. The returning talent doesn't match up.

So prepare to suffer the next few seasons and welcome a new coach after Craighead is get go.

 

[SDHornet]

1999 Cal State Northridge had an interim coach. She led Northridge to the Big Sky Championship and the NCAA. During the Big Sky tourny, she was given a five year contract extension.

She went from 21-8 to 18-10 to 8-18 to 0-5 when she resigned.

Interesting.

She was a young coach, not as young as Craighead.

I think the Butler HC showed age isn't the end all, be all.

One fluke season doesn't mean a coach should get an extension. There are more qualified coaches out there.

Sac State wouldn't want to pay for a "more qualified" coach.

The accomplishments this season were due mostly because of the seniors. The returning talent doesn't match up.

So prepare to suffer the next few seasons and welcome a new coach after Craighead is get go.

We'll have to see how it plays out next year but I agree about the senior player comment.

 

[JackHornet]

I agree that Sac St may not have payed for a more qualified coach but they never did a search. They just gave Craighead the interim label and then gave her a three year contract.

But Stevens doesn't prove anything. It could have been a fluke or it takes a very special coach to do that. If it was easy, young coaches would be hired and be successful every year. That doesn't happen.

I was happy with the success of the team this year. I don't want to go back to the days of single digit win seasons.

 

[SDHornet]

Why spend the time and money on a coaching search when Craighead PROVED that she could coach and handle a team at the D-I level? The search would have just resulted in another regional JC coach being hired (see Katz and Sperbeck). Fortunately for Sac State (and probably more so for Wanless) both hires look to be working out as both coaches have their respective programs on the rise. Finally, it’s the status quo of the collegiate coaching business to grant extensions to coaches based on one “fluke” season. If Sac State wouldn’t have hired her, someone else would have.

I think the only question left regarding the selection of Craighead is her ability to recruit. I would think that her wide open style game plan will draw interest from recruits. It is something we will have to wait and see, we should know in the next few months.

 

[Green Cookie Monster]

Agreed, a national search would have cost money we weren't prepared to spend anyway, why waste it to check off a box. I would think WBB's is one of the sports with a very limited budget based on past history and interest, so the HC pay is probably not even close to what an assistant would make at a similar school. We'd go through the national search and then determine we couldn't afford them for that program.