Joanne McCallie will not return as Duke women’s basketball coach

After 13 seasons, Joanne P. McCallie will not be returning as a women’s basketball coach at Duke due to what she described as uncertainty about the contract extension when she entered the final year of her current contract.

In a video posted Thursday on the team’s official Twitter account, McCallie said she is healthy and spoke about her reasoning.

“I’m choosing to walk away as head coach at Duke,” said McCallie. “As a coach in the last year of my contact, uncertainty is natural and takes away confidence and fun. I’m pretty sure there is a level of uncertainty among the Duke family.”

“I want to bring clarity, with great pride to everyone. Throughout my coaching career, I have thrived on providing stability and enjoyed long-term relationships with every program I have had the honor to serve. Clarity and principle about uncertainty should prevail. “

“Hello, Coach P. I hope everyone is safe and healthy during these difficult times.

I just had a very difficult conversation with a group of women that I love, adore and admire … “pic.twitter.com/5pN2Swdfau

– Duke Women’s Basketball (@DukeWBB) July 2, 2020

The school confirmed that McCallie walked away. She compiled a 330-107 record at Duke and was a three-time Coach of the Year for the Atlantic Coast Conference. Her Blue Devils won three ACC tournament titles and reached 10 NCAA tournaments.

“Joanne’s extraordinary passion for excellence produced championship-level success and provided many timeless and engaging moments for both our student athletes and our fans,” Duke Athletic Director Kevin White said in a statement. “Without a doubt, Joanne’s unwavering commitment to leadership and service has had a tremendous impact on the development of countless young women in the past three decades.”

McCallie’s contract was most recently extended in 2017 through the 2020-21 season. She said she chose to “give up most of my last year of compensation to support my staff during this incredibly challenging and transitional time overall.”

Duke had an 18-12 record last season, including a 12-6 record in the ACC. The Blue Devils were expected to be included in the NCAA tournament before that event was canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic, but that would have marked only the third appearance in the past five seasons.

The program’s career of 21 consecutive NCAA tournament appearances under McCallie and her predecessor Gail Goestenkors ended with the 2015-16 season. Duke also had her first non-winning season in more than 25 years in 2018-19, when she finished 15-15.

Duke had no incoming recruits ranked in the top 25 by ESPN HoopGurlz and had not signed a recruit in the top 25 since the class of 2017.

The decline in on-court results, plus a 2016 investigation by the school for undisclosed reasons that ultimately led to no action, led to frequent speculation in recent years that McCallie was on the bench.

McCallie won more than 75% of his games at Duke, but was unable to extend the success Goestenkors enjoyed in making Duke a perennial national contender.

Goestenkors, who won 80% of his games in 15 seasons before leaving for Texas, made the Final Four four times and twice made it to the national championship game.

McCallie failed to make it to the Final Four at Duke, although that streak was not without bad luck. The Blue Devils reached four consecutive regional finals from 2010 to 2013, losing to Bayt by Brittney Griner, UConn by Maya Moore, Stanford by Nneka Ogwumike and Notre Dame by Skylar Diggins in succession.

McCallie leaves Duke with an overall record of 646-255, including his other training periods at Maine and Michigan State, where he reached the national championship game and was named AP National Coach of the Year in the 2004-05 season.

Duke said the national search for a replacement would begin immediately. Classes for the fall semester are scheduled to begin on August 17.