The Ohio State Women saw their streak of 10 consecutive tournaments come to an end this year. They turned down a WNIT bid, so they will be staying home this March for the first time in quite some time. Today, Ohio State announced that Jim Foster will not be returning as Head Coach for The Lady Bucks.
“Jim Foster has meant so much to so many over his career,” Smith said. “His work in mentoring young people on and off the court has been exceptional. The Ohio State women’s basketball program was made better under Jim’s leadership over the last 11 years. He and (wife) Donna have been wonderful representatives of our university and we wish them the best.”
Foster leaves with a 279-82 record and as OSU’s winningest coach. He was also at the helm for a B1G record six consecutive B1G regular season championships. The 10 consecutive tourneys is a school record, as is the 31 win mark hit by the 2009-10 squad.
Foster has enjoyed a lot of success throughout his career. He has spent 35 years as a head coach and is one of only two coaches (men or women) to win at least 200 games at three different schools (St. Joseph’s, Vanderbilt and Ohio State).
Some may think, when looking at the above numbers, that Foster was John Cooper-d out of a job. That isn’t necessarily the case. While one “down” year doesn’t seem like it should be grounds for dismissal, the team had become stale, so to speak, and many felt an injection of some new blood was a necessity. There was a consistent lack of success outside of the B1G and there was a history of early exits from the NCAA tourney. Also, Ohio is very deep in the class of 2014 and no doubt that was on the minds of the administration. If in-state talent wasn’t 100% certain Foster was going to stick around, it could mean losing out on some top-rate talent.
Thank you, Coach Foster, for your years in Columbus and some wonderful memories! Good luck wherever you head from here!
