Duke has granted Texas officials permission to speak with women's basketball head coach Gail Goestenkors, an athletics department spokesperson confirmed Tuesday.
Lindy Brown, associate sports information director, said Director of Athletics Joe Alleva granted Texas' request in their search to replace Jody Conradt, who retired after the Longhorns' last game of this season.
Rumors linking Goestenkors to the Texas opening first emerged two weeks ago, but Goestenkors deflected the attention away from her employment with her team still alive in the NCAA Tournament.
"I hope to be staying at Duke," Goestenkors said before her team's second-round game in the NCAA Tournament. "My focus is just on this team, on this tournament. I'm not thinking about the future except for five games."
Texas has the resources to offer Goestenkors more than her current salary at Duke, which is not public information. In looking at the Longhorns' opening, Goestenkors would also be considering more than just potentially higher compensation-Texas is a program with a proud tradition of success and a large, devoted fan base.
Goestenkors' Blue Devils ended their season with a loss to Rutgers in the Sweet 16 in Greensboro, N.C., Saturday.
Goestenkors arrived at Duke in 1992, taking over a program that had reached just one NCAA Tournament in its 17 previous years of existence. Since then, Duke has become one of the nation's elite programs, making it to the Final Four in four out of the past eight seasons. Goestenkors' teams have lost in their two appearances in the National Championship game, including an overtime defeat to Maryland in 2006.
"She is Duke basketball," sophomore guard Abby Waner said last week. "She's created what this program has become, and people come here to play for her."
-From staff reports
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