Dreier Carr/Technician
Interim head coach Stephanie Glance walks through a tunnel of cancer survivors onto the court before the Hoops for Hope game vs. Virginia at Reynolds Coliseum on Feb. 15.
Word leaked out that Lee Fowler had decided not to hire N.C. State women’s basketball interim head coach Stephanie Glance as head coach next year. With the Athletic Department and everyone surrounding it remaining tight-lipped about the matter, students have been left to formulate their own opinions without an official explanation provided by those involved.
The Athletic Department’s reluctance to bring Glance onboard as head coach will symbolize as a changing of the guard of sorts for a program that has become well-known over the past 30 years.
Peter McAnulty, a junior in chemical engineering, said he understood the Athletic Department’s decision not to bring Glance aboard as a full-time coach.
“I support the Athletic Department in that decision,” McAnulty said. “Kay Yow led the program throughout almost its entire existence, and in order for a program to reach national spotlight, it needs a different perspective on things. I think they could reach the sweet sixteen or even be national champions, but they need new leadership.”
Glance served as Yow’s right-hand women for over a decade and oversaw much of the team’s recruiting. She landed two top-five ranked players during her tenure with N.C. State and took over head coaching duties during the worst stretches of Yow’s illness.
Allison Cross, a sophomore in fashion and textile management, cited sentimental reasons for why Glance should succeed Yow.
“I think it’s unfortunate because she’s been with the program for so long and I think she deserves to be the coach,” Cross said. “It’s what Kay Yow would have wanted to do.”
While Glance has coached the pack, the team has compiled a 272-161 record and made NCAA appearances in 11 of her 15 years. Daniel Farrell, a sophomore in biomedical engineering, called Glance “the good, obvious choice,” and said he was disappointed that she wasn’t hired.
“With all the experience she had under coach Yow, one of the most successful women’s basketball coaches in history, she learned from the best,” Farrell said. “She knows the players and the program well.”
Fowler indicated that the decision regarding the head coaching position would not be announced until mid-April.