Basketball
SMU does indeed care about building a winning program in women’s college basketball.
That’s what the Mustangs have shown by hiring Adia Barnes away from Arizona.
Less than a week after new athletic director Damon Evans fired former coach Toyelle Wilson after four unremarkable seasons, he got the folks in power at SMU to open up their checkbook to go poach a sitting Power 4 head coach — and one that was in the national title game just five years ago — to lead the program in the ACC. Sources confirmed to SB Nation early Saturday morning that Barnes will be the new coach of the Mustangs.
Barnes’ move marks the first time this coaching cycle that a sitting Power 4 head coach has left for another major conference job.
SMU officially announced Barnes’ hiring on Saturday evening.
“Having seen the commitment and alignment on the Hilltop, I believe we can compete on the national stage and for ACC championships,” Barnes said in a statement.
SMU wasn’t the first Power 4 program to target Barnes in this coaching cycle after reports surfaced that her relationship with the brass at her alma mater was souring. Auburn expressed interest, but didn’t want to pay Barnes’ six-figure buyout. The Mustangs were more than willing to stroke a check to Arizona for her.
According to multiple sources, Barnes had been searching for a way to leave Arizona on her terms and Wildcats’ athletic director Desireé Reed-Francois was happy to see her go. Barnes and Reed-Francois had come to a bit of a stalemate: Reed-Francois didn’t want to fire an alum — and one who had coached Arizona to a WNIT title and a Final Four berth — but Barnes was about to enter the final year of her contract and wasn’t going to get an extension from Arizona.
“She wanted out of Arizona bad,” one longtime coach told SB Nation. “She wants more NIL money to work with… SMU is a place that has money for players.”
“Arizona feels like they’re paying her too much,” one agent told SB Nation.
Barnes played at Arizona in the mid-1990s and was an All-American as a senior in 1998 after averaging 21.8 points per game and leading the Wildcats to an NCAA Tournament appearance. After a WNBA and overseas career, and stint as an assistant coach under Mike Neighbors at Washington, Barnes returned to Arizona as its head coach in 2016. In her third season, the Wildcats won the WNIT title, and two seasons later advanced to the NCAA national title game behind the play of All-American Aari McDonald.
Following Arizona’s success that season — and interest from Baylor, who wanted Barnes to succeed Kim Mulkey after she left the Bears for LSU — former Arizona athletic director Dave Heeke handed Barnes a lucrative extension that made her one of the 10 highest-paid coaches in the sport.
However, Barnes never reached that peak again with Arizona. They haven’t advanced to the second weekend of March Madness since 2021, missed the tournament this season, and have had several high-profile transfers leave the program. That group includes players like Madison Conner, Aaronette Vonleh, Kailyn Gilbert, Paris Clark, Jada Williams and Skylar Jones, all of whom landed with Power 4 teams.
Last season, Barnes’ base salary was $1.2 million. Should she make a similar figure at SMU, it would make her one of the highest-paid coaches in the ACC. It’s unclear what the salaries of private school coaches like Duke’s Kara Lawson and Notre Dame’s Niele Ivey are, but Louisville’s Jeff Walz makes north of $1.75 million per year. N.C. State’s Wes Moore is the only other coach at a public university in the ACC with a salary more than $1 million.
At SMU, Barnes undertakes a massive rebuilding project. The Mustangs haven’t made an NCAA Tournament since 2008 and are coming off a season in which they went an abysmal 2-16 in ACC play. But with the transfer portal — and if SMU’s deepest pockets are willing to support Barnes with NIL resources — a quick turnaround is possible.
Reed-Francois began calling potential candidates to replace Barnes at Arizona on Saturday morning, multiple sources told SB Nation. It was widely assumed by many in coaching circles that the Wildcats would simply hire Lindy La Rocque away from UNLV. Reed-Francois hired her at UNLV in 2020 and she has since guided the Rebels to three NCAA Tournament appearances. But sources confirmed to SB Nation that La Rocque — whose godfather is former longtime Arizona men’s basketball coach Lute Olsen — has already turned down overtures from the Wildcats.
La Rocque sent a tweet out on Saturday afternoon saying: “The future at UNLV and our program winning championships are my top priorities. I couldn’t be more excited to be here in Las Vegas.”
Another successful mid-major head coach — one who made the NCAA Tournament this season — also declined the offer to interview with Reed-Francois, a source familiar with the situation told SB Nation.
Barnes’ hiring at SMU leaves two Power 4 jobs still open: Georgia Tech and Arizona.
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