UNCW women's coach Cooper-Dyke leaving after 2 seasons

HOUSTON, Texas -- Cynthia Cooper-Dyke resigned as University of North Carolina - Wilmington (UNCW) women's basketball coach on Tuesday to become the coach at Texas Southern University in the Southwestern Athletic Conference.

Cooper-Dyke compiled a 44-22 record in two seasons with the Seahawks and guided the team to back-to-back WNIT appearances, the first postseason bids in program history.

"I love the city of Wilmington, the UNCW student body and all of the coaches and student-athletes have been awesome," Cooper-Dyke said in a phone interview. "Of course my players have been the best as well, so it was a very tough decision.

"The lures of home and an athletic director that I've worked with in the past and just the bright eyes of my kids when I even broached the subject to them about going back to Houston, it really helped me make the decision. It was a tough one, but I thought it was the best one for me."

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VIDEO: UNCW A.D. TALKS ABOUT COOPER-DYKE ACCOMPLISHMENTS

Cooper-Dyke to be new women’s coach at Texas Southern

HOUSTON, Texas - Cynthia Cooper-Dyke stepped down Tuesday as women’s basketball coach at North Carolina-Wilmington and is expected to assume the same position at Texas Southern, pending approval by the TSU Board of Regents.

Cooper-Dyke, who led TSU rival Prairie View A&M from 2005-10, will likely be announced as the Tigers’ next coach Friday. She will replace Yolanda Wells-Broughton, who resigned last Friday after going 33-88 in four seasons.

“Cynthia is our sole finalist,” said TSU athletic director Charles McClelland, who hired Cooper-Dyke in 2005 when he was athletic director at Prairie View. “Upon final approval, Cynthia will be our next head coach at Texas Southern University.”

Cooper-Dyke, a basketball Hall of Famer and former WNBA star with ...

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Cooper-Dyke resigns as UNCW women's basketball coach

WILMINGTON, North Carolina - Where there is smoke, there is typically fire and one has been burning since the end of the women's basketball season at UNCW. The fire was extinguished on Tuesday.

Director of Athletics Jimmy Bass announced that head coach Cynthia Cooper-Dyke resigned her post to become the next head coach at Texas Southern University. At TSU, Cooper-Dyke will be reunited with Athletic Director Charles McClelland, who hired her in 2006 when he was the AD at Prairie View A&M.

TSU, which plays in the Southwest Athletic Conference, finished the 2011-12 season with a 5-26 record under coach Yolanda Wells-Broughton, who resigned on April 6. In Cooper-Dyke's two seasons at UNCW, the women's basketball teams went 44-22, advancing to the WNIT twice. The post-season appearances and back-to-back 20-plus win seasons were program firsts.

She was also named the Colonial Athletic Association's Coach of the Year in her freshman campaign after her team finished with a school-record 24 wins and a tie for second place in the league standings. Shortly after being named head coach, Cooper-Dyke, an Olympic gold medalist, was inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame.

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