Arizona women’s basketball head coach Adia Barnes has made no secret over the years that she needed resources to compete at the level she wanted to. She has also made it clear that feeling wanted is high on her list of things that make a job desirable, and she always felt she was under previous athletic directors Greg Byrne and Dave Heeke.
Both resources and backing by new department leadership were open to question at her alma mater the past two years, but she may have found them in Texas. Talia Goodman of on3.com is reporting that SMU will likely hire Barnes as their next head coach.
Barnes has just one year left on her contract at Arizona. Athletic director Desireé Reed-Francois didn’t seem to be pressed to negotiate an extension, telling the Arizona Daily Star last month that she would wait to talk to the coaches until after their seasons were over. She also didn’t seem pressed to want to pay two coaches for women’s basketball by firing Barnes, instead letting the program sit in limbo.
Coming back as a lame-duck coach with no commitment from the department would be difficult for Barnes. It would also be difficult for the future of the program, which had been resurrected by the alumna and is one of the biggest draws in the sport. The program drew 120,515 fans this season, including the postseason WBIT game. Arizona averaged 6,695 fans per game.
Barnes has been in the mix for head coaching jobs in both college and the WNBA on an annual basis since the program won the WNIT in 2019. She became a popular name after taking a program that had just one postseason appearance since 2005 and turning it around in her third season.
The Wildcats have made six straight postseason appearances. Four of those were NCAA appearances. One of them ended in the national title game.
Barnes has a 169-114 overall record as a head coach. Her conference record in the Pac-12 and Big 12 are a combined 70-72.
She was rumored to be in the mix for the job at Auburn last month. At the time, she said that jobs come open every year and “everyone follows that stuff.” Auburn hired Larry Vickers of Norfolk State, but the lack of talk about a contract left questions about her future open.
SMU appears to offer a lot of the things that Barnes wants.
New SMU athletic director Damon Evans took over in late March. The school issued a statement indicating third-year head coach Toyelle Wilson had been fired on Mar. 30.
Wilson led the team to a 10-20 season this year and a 55-64 record during her tenure. The willingness to take decisive action just days after taking the top administrative job suggests that Evans doesn’t consider women’s basketball expendable.
SMU joined the ACC this academic year. The volleyball program had a great deal of success in its first year at the major conference level, going 25-8 despite being in a league with the likes of Stanford, Final Four contender Pitt, and national runner-up Louisville. It proved that women’s sports could be successful at the institution.
Evans came to SMU after serving as the AD at Maryland, which has a long tradition of success in women’s basketball under former Arizona Wildcat Brenda Frese. He was also the AD at Georgia from 2004-10.
The Mustangs’ location in Dallas, Tex. would give Barnes access to a large base of talented recruits. It would also put her in a wealthy state that has shown a willingness to financially support women’s athletics at a number of institutions.
Barnes has a $300,000 buyout if she leaves before Apr. 30, 2025.