The Ball State University women's basketball team is on the cusp of a record-setting season. The team tied the Mid-American Conference record and is off to a good start in the Kraft MAC Women's Basketball Tournament with a win in the first round.
Coach Tracy Roller has been at the helm of the women's team since the 2001-02 season, and in that time she's tallied an overall record of 115-63 and a MAC record of 65-31. The success of a basketball team for a single season can't be attributed to simply coaching, but the six seasons Roller has been with the team and her winning record are a testament to her ability as a coach.
The university would be wise to keep Roller and her coaching talent around for the future, but time is ticking. Roller's and two of her assistant coaches' current contracts expire March 30.
To be fair, Roller has expressed her desire to wait until this season is over before considering her future at Ball State. If nothing else, this should show the university her focus on the team and winning - desirable aspects of any good coach.
Roller and her assistants should be wary when negotiating contracts with Tom Collins, director of Intercollegiate Athletics. Collins showed wins weren't a deciding factor in extending coaching contracts when he failed to extend the contract of former women's volleyball coach Randy Litchfield. Litchfield left Ball State with a superb record of 15 consecutive winning seasons. He also helped his players make the Academic All-MAC on 50 occasions.
In another questionable decision, Collins showed consistent losing seasons didn't mean the end of a contract. Football coach Brady Hoke was given a contract extension in spite of his poor 13-30 overall record at Ball State.
Collins' decisions in both Litchfield and Brady's contracts seem to run contrary to simple logic. Keeping a losing coach and giving the boot to a winning coach is the contractual legacy Collins has left so far.
From these precedents, there's no telling what Collins will decide to do with Roller and her assistant coaches.
Coaching contracts should not be extended or terminated at the whim of a fire-happy athletic director. Extending coaching contracts should hinge on multiple factors, including cost, win percentage and overall performance. For Roller and her assistants, we see every reason to extend their contracts, even if based on the 2006-07 season alone.
The women's basketball team is in the midst of what could be its greatest season ever, and the future shows promise - but that promise hinges on Collins making the right choice.
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