This offseason has been one of change for the various women's progams at UW. Kathi Bennett has now departed for Northern Illinois, and softball head coach Chandelle Schulte is out.
Following the women's basketball season there were plenty of opportunities for now former assistant Kathi Bennet, but after being turned down for head coaching jobs at Wright State and Indiana Stat it looked like Bennett was going to be back in Madison for one more year. Then without any notice she was in DeKalb, Ill. taking the head coaching job at Northern Illinois.
The Badgers now are moving on and looking to replace Bennett, and they now may have their man. Again Lisa Stone is looking at another head coach rather than a career assistant to fill the void. Today, the Badgers announced that they will hire John Barnes to fill the vacant spot.
Barnes who spent the last seven seasons as the head coach at Michigan Tech will be the newest addition to the Stone coaching staff. In his tenure at Michigan Tech Barnes led his team to five NCAA Dvision II tournament appearances, and a birth in the elite eight just this past season.
On the softball side of the athletic department their remains a large whole to fill at the head coaching position. Chandelle Schlute was canned last week after five seasons, but the story is even wierder than your normal departure.
Madison.com is reporting that following the season ending loss to Michigan State, Schlute handed the awards out in the locker room rathern than waiting for team banquet later that night. The banquet had been cancelled without any notice being given to the players families who had traveled from all across the country to be their that night.
Schlute was later fired after she was asked to resign by the athletic department. She decided not to resign and was later fired. No new head coach has been hired to this poitn.
A crazy end to an crazy spring for the women's coaching staffs in Madison.
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