Tom Collen Resigns as Women's Basketball Coach
March 23, 2007 | Women's Basketball
March 23, 2007
Louisville, Ky. - The University of Louisville women's basketball coach Tom Collen has announced his resignation to take the head coaching job at the University of Arkansas. Collen leaves Louisville after four seasons at the helm. Collen steps down after guiding the Cardinals to their most successful season in school history with a 27-8 record.
"This was a difficult decision for me to make," said Tom Collen. "My staff and myself worked very hard over the last four years to rebuild and it was really hard to walk away without finishing the process. I feel good about the program and where it is heading. I have faith that Tom Jurich will find a rising star to continue taking the Cardinals toward national prominence.
"It was especially hard for me to walk away from Tom Jurich. He took a chance on me at Colorado State and gave me my first head coaching job and then hired me again at Louisville. He supported me 100 percent. I hold loyalty in high regard and to walk away from my players and Tom's leadership was one of the hardest things I ever had to do. It was a decision I had to make for my family and my career."
Collen guided the Cardinals to an 87-37 record in his four seasons. Under Collen's guidance the Cardinals earned their first national ranking this season, finishing the year ranked No. 24 in the USA Today/ESPN coaches poll and No. 25 in the Associated Press poll. He became the first coach in school history to guide the Cardinals to three consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances. The Cardinals also were given their best seed in school history and won their first NCAA Tournament game since 1998.
Collen served as the recruiting coordinator for four seasons at Arkansas from 1993 until departing to become the head coach at Colorado State in 1997. His last two seasons at Arkansas, Collen was also promoted to assistant head coach.
