Joanne P. McCallie first fell in love with Duke in 1982 when she toured the campus on a recruiting visit. Even though she was enamored with the school, her mother convinced her to spend her playing days at Northwestern.
Twenty-five years later, however, McCallie finally followed her heart.
McCallie was introduced as Duke's fourth women's basketball head coach at a press conference in Cameron Indoor Stadium Friday afternoon. She said the Duke position has been her "dream job" since she started coaching in 1988.
"This is amazing," McCallie said. "It's an amazing opportunity for which our family is so, so grateful. I can't tell you how thrilled we are."
At Michigan State, McCallie led the Spartans to the 2005 National Championship game and was named 2005 Associated Press National Coach of the Year for her efforts. Before turning the Spartans into title contenders, she guided Maine to six straight NCAA Tournaments. She has been a head coach for 15 years, posting a lifetime record of 316-148.
From the very beginning of her press conference, McCallie stressed the importance of family in her life. Her husband, John, was an economics professor at Michigan State, and they have two young children.
That strong sense of family is something that the Duke players embrace.
"She's a wonderful family person," junior Emily Waner said. "She walked in yesterday, and the very first thing she did was introduce her family to us. We are a family here, so I think that those values are important to all of us."
One of McCallie's defining traits is her ability to increase attendance at home games. She set attendance records in four of her last five years at Michigan State. The Blue Devils filled Cameron to capacity just twice last season, in home victories over Maryland and North Carolina. The new coach said her goal was to sell-out the stadium for 10 straight games.
The Duke job opened when former head coach Gail Goestenkors opted to leave for Texas April 3. The school's search committee-which included Director of Athletics Joe Alleva and men's basketball head coach Mike Krzyzewski-offered the coveted position to Cal's Joanne Boyle, a Duke graduate, but she declined the job.
That surprising development shifted the committee's attention from Berkeley to East Lansing, Mich. McCallie said that Duke gauged her interest in the job, and she immediately jumped at the opportunity, despite the fact that she recently signed a contract extension at Michigan State.
"When the job was clearly open, I talked to my husband. I wanted that job," McCallie said. "Duke did not have to come searching for me and ask too many questions. I believe I made it very clear that I wanted the job."
Since the start of the search process, the Duke players expressed a strong interest in having an active role in finding their next coach. Sophomore Abby Waner was the leader in this endeavor. She met personally with Boyle and McCallie and often served as the link between the team the administration.
On Friday, though, the focus was on the future rather than the past. McCallie will have more talent on next year's Duke squad than she ever had in either of her previous programs. The team returns three of five starters. Chante Black-who sat out last season with a knee injury and likely would have started-also will be back.
One part of McCallie's history links her past and future-her Spartans lost to Duke in the 2006 NCAA Tournament 86-61. Although McCallie has knocked off almost every big name in women's basketball, she never beat Duke.
For her, the remedy to that problem was simple.
"Might as well join them," McCallie said. "Can't beat 'em? Join 'em."
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