Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
ASU’s Daniel steps down
In a news release late Monday night, Arkansas State announced that women’s basketball Coach
Matt Daniel had resigned, effective immediately.
“I want to thank [Chancellor Kelly] Damphousse and [ President Chuck]
We l c h for the opportunity to serve as the head women’s basketball coach at Arkansas State,” Daniel wrote in part. “Personally, I believe it is in my and my family’s best interest that I step aside and allow the athletics administration to get their coach in place.”
Athletic Director Tom Bowen did not name an interim head coach Monday night but said in the release that he would name one this morning ahead of ASU’s game against Mississippi Valley State tonight at First National Bank Arena in Jonesboro.
“I was disappointed to learn of his decision, and I was emphatic in my conversation with him that we wanted him to remain as our head coach,” Bowen wrote. “While Coach Daniel’s decision to resign isn’t our Athletics Department’s desired outcome, we want to thank him for everything he did for our program as head coach and wish him the best moving forward.”
Daniel was in the middle of his third season with the Red Wolves, having compiled a 24-37 record over his first two-plus campaigns. ASU is 4-6 this season and failed to reach the NCAA Tournament in either of Daniel’s first two seasons.
A Jonesboro native and Harding University alum, Daniel got his first head coaching job in 2008 at the University of Central Arkansas. He led the Sugar Bears for four seasons, going from 6-23 in his inaugural season to 21-8 the next year, the 200910 season, winning Southland Conference Coach of the Year before doing so again in 201112.
Daniel then spent five seasons as the head coach at Marshall, totaling a 71-85 record before resigning at the end of the 2016-17 season.
Associate head coach Destinee Rogers is a candidate to step into Daniel’s spot, having previously served as a head coach at the high school level. Rogers took El Dorado to the Class 5A state semifinals in 2016-17, her first season with the Wildcats, and 52-28 over three years before returning to the college ranks. She was an assistant at UCA for four years after playing for the Sugar Bears.