Report: Two frontrunners for Arizona women’s basketball head job emerge

There are apparently leaders in the clubhouse for the Arizona women’s basketball head coaching position. Mitchell Northam of SB Nation, among others, is reporting that Becky Burke of the University of Buffalo and Vanessa Blair-Lewis of George Mason are the finalists to replace Adia Barnes.

Blair-Lewis is very experienced with 22 years of coaching experience on her resume. She has taken her last two schools to their first NCAA Tournament appearances, including leading George Mason there this season. She has coached multiple conference players, rookies, and defensive players of the year. She has also been a finalist for Her Hoop Stats’ Kathy Delaney-Smith Mid-Major Coach of the Year award the last two years.

Burke is much younger at 35 years old. She played for a Final Four team at Louisville but like the other candidate, has not coached at a Power 4 (or Power 5) level. Her best postseason result was winning the WNIT this year. The WNIT is the current tertiary tournament for women’s basketball following the NCAA Tournament and the WBIT.

Whether they would come cheap is a question if Barnes’ salary was truly the breaking point at Arizona.

Burke made a $250,000 base salary in 2023-24, although bonuses could bump her up to $307,000. She is signed through the 2027-28 season.

When Blair-Lewis was hired in 2021, she was paid a base salary of $300,000 with bonuses of up to $232,500 for a possible $532,500 total. She has signed two extensions since. Current details of her salary are not available.

The problem is getting them out of their contracts. Both of them recently signed extensions. Blair-Lewis has signed one each of her last two years. The last extension ran through the 2028-29 season, but the buyout terms are not readily available. As of April 1, 2024, Burke had a buyout of $500,000.

Barnes is expected to be introduced as the next head coach at SMU tomorrow at 1 p.m. MST.