Kirkham to take over as UCCS women’s basketball coach

Kirkham to take over as UCCS women's basketball coach

by Doug Fitzgerald, UC-Colorado Springs Sports Information Director

COLORADO SPRINGS - University of Colorado at Colorado Springs Athletic Director Stephen Kirkham will assume duties at the women's basketball coach for the 2009-10 season.

"In this era of tight budgets, this was a move that will help us stretch our resources since I won't be accepting any additional pay for coaching," said Kirkham, who has been the athletic director at UCCS since May 14, 2004.

Kirkham will be on the sideline when the Mountain Lions face Air Force in their season opener on November 6. But forget about tight budgets. Had Kirkham looked for a new coach for years, he could not have found one more qualified than himself.

He has posted a 300-158 record as a Division II basketball coach with all but two of those games coming when he led then-powerhouse Mesa State to four Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference championships. His teams were ranked in the national Top 25 five times and his record in conference play over that period was 175-69. Including stints as a coach at the high school and junior college levels, Kirkham's career record is 432-233.

When he retired following the 2003-04 season, Kirkham was the winningest women's basketball coach in RMAC history and his 2001-02 Mavericks were the only RMAC team to ever earn the honor of hosting a regional tournament. His graduation rate for seniors was a perfect 100 percent.

"I've been having fun getting back into the swing of recruiting and small-group workouts," said Kirkham. "I'm looking forward to starting practices in earnest in October.

"We'll see if I'm as enthusiastic about the travel schedule, though," he added with a laugh, "with the bus trips, hotels and fast food."

Kirkham replaces Jessika Caldwell, who resigned after posting a 41-71 record in her four seasons.