Mittie plans to stay put as head coach
Some say A&M interview isn’t sign of disloyalty
By Lauren Hanvey
Staff Reporter

Women’s basketball head coach Jeff Mittie said Wednesday he plans to stay at TCU next year. This comes after he was contacted last week by Texas A&M University about its head coaching position.

Gary Blair, head coach at Arkansas, was hired for the position Monday instead.
Athletic Director Eric Hyman said Mittie still has a long-term contract with TCU. Hyman refused to comment on the exact length of Mittie’s contract.

“He’s our coach and he’s been our coach all along,” Hyman said.

Mittie, who has never had a losing season in his four years at TCU, said he is looking forward to another year here.

“I’ve got a great situation at TCU; we’ve got a great team coming back,” he said. “I’m excited to be at a school that cares about its women’s basketball team and we’ve been very fortunate to be one of the 64 teams (in the NCAA tournament) three years in a row.”

The talk with A&M was very preliminary, Mittie said, and there was never any contract offer.

“A&M asked for permission to speak and we spoke about it, and that was as far as it went,” Mittie said.

Mittie refused to comment on what he would do if contacted by other schools and whether he would attempt to re-negotiate his contract at TCU.

If another school offered Mittie a contract, Hyman said, the circumstances would determine whether or not TCU would re-negotiate his contract.

Even though Mittie’s name circulated in the world of college athletics as someone who would possibly take the position at A&M, Hyman said he does not think Mittie’s current players feel like his heart is not in their program.

“Just because you talk to somebody, I don’t think that’s disloyal,” Hyman said.

A TCU women’s basketball player, who spoke on terms of confidentiality, said she agrees the team will not be negatively impacted by Mittie’s talk with A&M.

“I think no, it doesn’t (affect us),” she said.

When asked whether any other schools were interested in Mittie since A&M brought him into the spotlight, Hyman said he does not keep up with all the rumors in the athletics community.

“We’re in a very highly speculative business,” he said.

Hyman said in Mittie’s four years at TCU, he has had no other official contacts or offers from other schools.

Mittie was Coach of the Year in Conference USA in 2001 and for the Western Athletic Conference in 2000.

l.e.hanvey@tcu.edu