Vandy finally hires women's coach

NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE - Vanderbilt University will introduce Melanie Balcomb of Xavier as its new women&#39;s basketball coach on Tuesday, the school announced. <br> <br> A news conference Tuesday will be more than three weeks after the school&#39;s first choice withdrew because of a discrepancy in his resume. <br> <br> Balcomb, 39, will be introduced on Tuesday morning at Memorial Gymnasium, Vanderbilt officials said in an advisory faxed Monday to the media. She will replace Jim Foster, who left in April to take the same post at Ohio State. <br> <br> Former Colorado State coach Tom Collen was announced as Foster&#39;s replacement on May 2, but quit the next day after questions were raised about the accuracy of his resume. <br> <br> Balcomb leaves Xavier after seven seasons as its winningest coach, with a 135-78 record. She won two Atlantic 10 Tournament titles (2000, 2001) and was named the 2000-01 Atlantic 10 coach of the year. During her tenure, Xavier played three times in the NCAA Tournament. <br> <br> ``The Xavier women&#39;s basketball program has come a long way since coach Balcomb took the job in 1995,&#39;&#39; said Mike Bobinski, athletic director at Xavier. <br> <br> ``I am very thankful for all her work in developing the program to the point where it is today. She leaves having made the program one that is competitive nationally, and one that is respected for its integrity as well.&#39;&#39; <br> <br> Foster was 256-99 in 11 seasons with the Commodores and took them to the NCAA tournament 10 times. <br> <br> Vanderbilt is coming off a 30-7 record and its second straight appearance in the final eight of the NCAA tournament. The team returns center Chantelle Anderson, an All-American last season, and one other starter. <br> <br> Collen resigned because of a discrepancy over whether he had one or two master&#39;s degrees. He has one master&#39;s in health education and recreational programming, but a resume he submitted to Colorado State in 1997 listed two master&#39;s degrees. <br> <br> Collen said he never meant to be deceptive about his education, and that he believed for 17 years that he had earned two degrees. <br> <br> Virginia Tech&#39;s Bonnie Henrickson and South Carolina&#39;s Susan Walvius both negotiated extensions after talking to Vanderbilt about the vacancy. <br> <br> Charli Turner Thorne of Arizona State, Sherri Coale of Oklahoma, Joe McKeown of George Washington and Kathy McConnell-Miller of Tulsa were among those who have either declined to be interviewed or interviewed and withdrew from consideration at Vanderbilt.

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