Going by a one-letter nickname must be a prerequisite for being a head basketball coach at Duke, as Coach G will be replaced by Coach P.
Duke announced Wednesday that Michigan State head coach Joanne P. McCallie-known by her players as 'Coach P' because of her maiden name Palombo-will fill the top job at Duke, which had been vacant since Gail Goestenkors left for Texas April 3.
Director of Athletics Joe Alleva informed the current team of the decision at an early afternoon meeting, and a news conference has been scheduled for 1:30 p.m. Friday in Cameron Indoor Stadium to introduce McCallie.
"This has been a dream job of mine for many years," McCallie said in a statement. "We cannot wait to meet and get to know a team that we are so very impressed by academically, as well as athletically, and by the way they carry themselves."
McCallie, 41, had served as Michigan State's head coach for seven years. In 2005, she took the Spartans to the National Championship game and won Associated Press Coach of the Year honors.
She took Michigan State to five straight NCAA Tournaments, and the program reached as high as No. 2 in the polls during the 2005 season.
"We are elated to have Joanne McCallie taking over our women's basketball program," Alleva said in a statement. "Joanne has accomplished so much at both Maine and Michigan State, and we feel she is one of the top coaches in the game today. She elevated the Michigan State program to a new level and we look forward to her continuing the tremendous tradition we have established at Duke."
After Goestenkors decided to leave for Texas, Alleva had immediately targeted Duke graduate and Cal head coach Joanne Boyle.
Boyle received an offer after interviewing for the job, but she turned it down last week, saying she did not want to leave her players at Cal.
With the top choice out, Duke took a wider look at coaches who might be interested in the position. McCallie and Marquette head coach Terri Mitchell reportedly interviewed early this week, and McCallie emerged as the new top choice.
"Joanne McCallie is a terrific choice to take over the head coaching responsibilities of the Duke women's basketball program," men's basketball head coach Mike Krzyzewski said in a statement. "I was able to meet with Coach McCallie during the hiring process and was tremendously impressed with her coaching resumé as well as her commitment to the community."
In the end, Duke came out with one of the top young coaches in the NCAA and one who arguably has a stronger pedigree than Boyle.
"This is a wonderful appointment for Duke," President Richard Brodhead said in a statement. "Throughout her career, Joanne McCallie has been associated with excellence. She is an accomplished coach and teacher who understands the importance Duke gives to the development of our players as students and as athletes. The Duke women's team is in very good hands."
In late March, McCallie had signed a five-year extension to remain at Michigan State. At the time, Michigan State Director of Athletics Ron Mason said he was "never" worried McCallie would leave for another job.
The new contract from Michigan State, which was to take effect July 1, would have paid her $500,000 annually with the potential for incentives to raise it to $643,000 per year. As a private institution, Duke does not have to release her salary unless she is among the University's top five highest-paid employees. No information was immediately available as to whether that would be the case or not.
Before working in East Lansing, McCallie had been the head coach at Maine for eight years, guiding the Black Bears to the NCAA Tournament in her last six seasons there.
McCallie was born in California and grew up in Maine before attending Northwestern. She obtained an MBA from Auburn while serving as an assistant coach there after graduating from Northwestern in 1987. She is married to John McCallie, a visiting associate professor of economics at Michigan State, and the couple has two young children.
"The entire McCallie family is absolutely thrilled about the opportunity to serve at Duke," McCallie said. "We are very grateful to the President Brodhead, Joe Alleva and [senior women's administrator] Jacki Silar for their support and for this awesome opportunity."
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