Bev Smith was enthusiastic in a Thursday press conference that announced her as the new coach.
After a spring filled with a resignation and an in-depth investigation, the Oregon women’s basketball team has finally added a new head coach to its equation.
Bev Smith, a 41-year-old former Duck star from 1978 to 1982, was announced Thursday as the new coach by Athletic Director Bill Moos in a press conference at the Casanova Center.
“I turn my back on this program for a couple minutes, and everything breaks loose around here,” said Smith, who becomes the fifth head coach in the program’s 28-year history. “It’s great to be back. I’ve tried to temper my excitement and enthusiasm for the last month and a half, because I didn’t want to let it go until I was down here and able to shake Bill Moos’ hand.
“And I’ve done that, so it’s all happening right now to me.”
Smith signed a three-year contract with a base salary of $105,000 per year, although with incentives and other contracts, it could reach $182,500 annually. She will receive a combined $60,000 per year from the Oregon Sports Network for radio and television deals and from Nike for shoe and apparel agreements.
The Salmon Arm, British Columbia, native has no Division I collegiate head coaching experience, but she has been the Canadian National Team’s coach since 1997.
Smith will take over a program that has been to eight straight NCAA tournaments under former head coach Jody Runge, who resigned April 30, but Smith believes that there won’t be any added pressure from the high expectations.
“I don’t think anyone can put as much pressure on winning as I will on myself,” said Smith, who announced that she will retain Oregon assistant coach Dan Muscatell and make him an integral part of her staff.
As for the players, junior forward Alyssa Fredrick said the common mood among the team members is relief now that it’s all over with. Smith met with team members Fredrick, Kourtney Shreve, Jamie Craighead, Alissa Edwards and Katy Polansky Thursday morning and hopes to contact the rest of the team while she remains in town until Monday.
“She seemed pretty excited about the job,” Fredrick said. “It’s a sigh of relief that it’s over. I think she’s going to be interested in knowing us as people and not just as a person with a number and a name on our back.”
Although the Runge situation will be hard for many to forget, Smith said the key will be to respect the players’ feelings toward it and try to provide a new and “fun” atmosphere in which to build a future.
“I think we must remember the past, take lessons from the past, and we must move forward,” Smith said. “There’s a lot of healing that has to take place. I remember what I needed from my coach when I was a player.”
While at Oregon, Smith was a two-time All-American who set numerous records. She’s still the Ducks’ second-leading scorer of all time with 2,063 career points, and the top rebounder with 1,362 total boards.
After Smith graduated, she played a pivotal part on the Canadian National Team from 1978-88 and 1992-96 as a player and then became the team’s successful coach. She guided the Canadian National Team to 10th place at last summer’s Olympic Games and to a silver-medal finish at the 1999 Pan Am Games.
Moos interviewed five people for the job, with Smith and Utah head coach Elaine Elliott being the top two choices.
“During the last five weeks, there’s been a tremendous amount of energy and effort put into the search,” Moos said. “We’ve left no stone unturned. When it was all finished, I felt that [Bev] was the best qualified and met the needs for our program at this time.
“It’s very special when an institution can bring one of theirs home, and we’ve done that today.”
Men’s basketball head coach Ernie Kent was hired in 1997 to coach here, at his alma mater, as well.
Unlike Kent’s situation when he first came aboard, Smith will inherit an NCAA Tournament-caliber team. The Ducks will return 2000 Pacific-10 Conference Player of the Year Shaquala Williams, single-season three-point field-goal record-holder Jamie Craighead and six other letterwinners to a team that will also be boosted by the addition of a talented six-player recruiting class.
“I’m not here to reinvent the wheel; what this program has done in the past speaks for itself,” Smith said. “I feel it’s a sleek and efficient car that is ready to go down the Pac-10 highway and onto bigger and better things. I think we need to pump up the wheels a bit, patch a few holes that have let some air out and maybe give it a little different spin.
“And then get ready for a great big, wonderful ride. I just really hope that this car turns into a big bus, and I hope that we can involve everybody as we head down the road to bigger and better things … on to things that haven’t been accomplished here at the University of Oregon.”
Smith, who said she hates to lose, will return to Canada to coach at a basketball camp from June 15-30 and then officially begin her Oregon tenure July 1.