Colleges

UF fires struggling women's coach

The Gators have lost 13 straight and fallen to 6-20 under Carolyn Peck, who will finish out this season.

By ANTONYA ENGLISH
Published February 13, 2007

GAINESVILLE - Florida athletic director Jeremy Foley had pondered it for some time before he came to a decision over the weekend: He needs a new women's basketball coach.

Foley fired coach Carolyn Peck on Monday, a day after the team suffered its 13th consecutive loss, and will immediately begin a national search for her replacement.

Peck, 41, has one year left on a six-year contract that pays about $350,000 annually. She will finish out the season three regular-season games and the SEC tournament and will be compensated for the final year.

"We came to the evaluation that this is the time," Foley said. "Certainly anybody can look and see some things weren't occurring on the court that hopefully could have occurred in terms of moving this program to the next level."

Even Peck had to admit this wasn't the way she envisioned the program when she took over. The Gators are 0-11 in conference play, 6-20 overall and seemingly on a downward spiral. Three players left the team in December, leaving the Gators with nine scholarship players and no starter taller than 5-11. The starting lineup consists of a freshman, two sophomores, a junior and senior, and the bench is two freshmen, a sophomore and a senior.

"Where we both really envisioned for this program to be five years ago has not reached that point," said Peck, who paused midway through her brief statement to compose herself. "... The job wasn't getting done, not done as soon as it needs to be, and (Foley) had to make a tough decision. I know he will bring in someone great because this is a great place."

Peck led Purdue to a national title in 1999 and was named the Associated Press' national coach of the year. She was general manager and coach of the WNBA's Orlando Miracle from 1999 to 2002. But her tenure at Florida was inconsistent, and she was never able to recruit top high school players.

Foley said he was somewhat surprised Peck didn't have stronger recruiting classes.

Florida is 69-74 during Peck's tenure and has never won more than eight games or finished higher than fourth in the SEC. The Gators have not had back-to-back winning seasons under Peck.

Foley said "red flags" went off last season, but he decided she deserved another year after the way the team finished. The Gators were 21-9, including upsets of Tennessee and eventual Final Four team LSU, but was upset in the first round of the NCAA Tournament, 83-59 to 11th seed New Mexico.

Although speculation had been growing that Peck's job might be in jeopardy, the decision seemed to catch some players by surprise.

"It feels like a shock more than anything because I wasn't expecting the timing of it," senior guard Kim Dye said. "Obviously it's disappointing, and it's kind of a downer right now."

"It's sad when the person that brought you in isn't going to finish what they started," sophomore guard Kim Critton said.

Foley said he will not attempt to contact any coach during the season but will begin asking around to determine which of the potential candidates may be interested in the Gators.

"We have to respect people's seasons," he said. "... The search could take a while. Then again, it may not."

[Last modified February 13, 2007, 00:11:07]