MUSCATELL STEPS DOWN AS WOMEN'S BASKETBALL HEAD COACH

4/20/2009

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Sacramento State head women's basketball coach Dan Muscatell has announced today he is stepping down from his post to take an assistant coaching position at the University of Oregon.  He previously served as an assistant coach at Oregon from 1999-2003.

“We very much appreciate the effort Dan has put into the program over the last six years,” Sacramento State Director of Athletics Terry Wanless said. “He has left the program with a foundation to build on.

“The department will miss him and (his wife) Terri, and wish him well in this endeavor.”

During the 2008-09 season, the Hornets posted a 9-21 overall record, including a 7-9 mark in the Big Sky Conference. The conference record was the team's best since the joining the Big Sky in 1996-97. The team finished fifth in the league standings and fell in overtime in the Big Sky Tournament quarterfinals to Idaho State, 78-76.

During his six years with the Hornets, Muscatell posted a 36-133 record after taking over a program that had combined for just six wins the previous three seasons. Before the team’s performance in 2008-09, Muscatell tied the school record for conference wins in a single-season three times.

Muscatell focused on the team's academic success, as 20 of the 21 student-athletes who completed their eligibility graduated, with two additional student-athletes on pace to graduate this May. The program earned a 2007-08 NCAA Academic Performance Public Recognition Award, honoring teams that post multiyear APR scores in the top 10 percent of all squads in their respective sports. Sacramento State and Stanford were the only two women's basketball programs honored from the state of California. 

"I'd like to thank Dr. Wanless and President Gonzalez for the opportunity to be a head coach at Sacramento State the last six years," Muscatell said. "The experience has been a blessing for me and my family, and we leave with great memories and great friendships in the athletics department and the University as a whole.

In his new position at Oregon, Muscatell will serve as an assistant to former NBA and WNBA head coach Paul Westhead, who was announced as Oregon's new head coach on March 26, replacing Bev Smith.