One of new Athlete Director Danny White's first acts after he starts Monday will be to find a new women's basketball head coach.
After serving through her contract, Buffalo's Division of Athletics announced today that Linda Hill-MacDonald will not be retained.
Hill-MacDonald has been the head coach for the Bulls for the last seven seasons. She finished with a 75-137 record, which includes a 35-77 mark in Mid-American Conference play.
She has coached seven players to All-MAC honors, including former forward Kourtney Brown - who won Defensive Player of the Year honors twice, in 2009-10 and 2010-11, an Academic All-MAC award in 2008-09, and was named MAC Player of the Year in the 2010-11 season.
The final season for Hill-MacDonald was a rough one, as the Bulls finished with a 9-22 record overall, just 4-12 in the MAC. They were bounced out of the first round of the MAC tournament for the second time in the last three years.
This was a decision that, while eventually approved by White, was ultimately handled internally under the current staff, led by interim AD John Lambert.
"On behalf of the entire Division of Athletics, I'd like to thank Linda and her staff for their service and dedication to our women's basketball program," Lambert said in a statement released by the university. "I appreciate the leadership Coach Hill-MacDonald provided UB and our student athletes during her tenure at Buffalo and personally extend my gratitude and best wishes to Linda and her staff at this time."
The nationwide search for a new head coach and coaching staff will be handled by White, who will officially begin his term as Athletic Director starting Monday, June 3. Keep up with The Spectrum next week for an interview with White regarding the search and the future of the women's basketball program.
Email: sports@ubspectrum.com
Photo: Courtesy of Tal Hamel, Endvisionprod
Photo: Paul Hokanson/UB Athletics
