Penn State women’s basketball coach Rene Portland is stepping down today after 27 seasons at the helm of the Lady Lions.
A news conference has been scheduled for this afternoon.
The Lady Lions are coming off their second consecutive losing season under Portland, posting a 15-16 record. They were bounced from the Big Ten Tournament with a 73-71 overtime loss to Ohio State in the semifinals.
In her 27 seasons in Happy Valley, Portland compiled a record of 606-236. Prior to coming to Penn State, she coached at St. Joseph’s and Colorado.
Portland had come under fire in the past two seasons not only for the team’s sub-.500 play, but because of lawsuit involving former player Jennifer Harris.
Harris alleged that Portland kicked her off the team because of her sexual orientation and race, an allegation that the head coach denied. But in 2006, the university fined Portland $10,000 for breaking its non-discrimination policy with respect to sexual orientation but not race.
Then, late last year, a civil suit against Portland and Penn State was settled out of court. Terms of the settlement were not disclosed.
This season, the Lady Lions started off strong, winning their first four games. However, they dropped their next four games — all on the road — a trend that would continue all season long.
They won just two games on the road — Drexel and Georgetown — before finally defeating Illinois, 61-49, in the quarterfinals of the Big Ten Tournament.
Portland leaves Penn State with an impressive resume.
She was named Big Ten Coach of the Year four times. When in the A-10, she was named Atlantic 10 Coach of the Year once. She also picked up National Coach of the Year honors from various organizations on five different occasions. Her teams won six A-10 Tournament championships and five Big Ten regular-season titles.
Portland’s tournament resume is impressive as well. Before the two under-.500 seasons, Penn State had been to the NCAA Tournament 21 of 24 seasons. In 2000, the Lady Lions made it to the Final Four before being eliminated by UConn.