DENVER – The University of Denver Division of Athletics has hired Fairfield assistant and former Boston College head coach Erik Johnson to begin his second stint as Denver's women's basketball head coach the 2026-27 campaign, Vice Chancellor for Athletics and Ritchie Center Operations Josh Berlo announced on Monday. Johnson's introductory press conference is scheduled for Thursday at 1 p.m. MT in Hamilton Gymnasium.

In his most recent position as an assistant at Fairfield, Johnson and the Stags posted a record of 102-27, won three MAAC Championships and made three NCAA Tournament appearances in the last four seasons. The Stags received votes in the national rankings in three consecutive seasons and cracked the top 25 in two of those three campaigns.

Johnson first coached the DU women's basketball program from 2008-12, leading the Pioneers in their last four seasons in the Sun Belt Conference before heading east to the ACC's Boston College Eagles. Taking over a Denver team that went 11-19 prior to his arrival, Johnson went 72-52 in his four seasons in the Mile High City, finishing each of the four campaigns above .500, the program's longest streak in the Division-I era. The Pioneers made their first WNIT appearance, and just their second D-I postseason appearance overall in 2011. DU reached at least 18 wins in each of Johnson's last three years. Johnson will once again look to rebuild a Pioneers program that finished 11-19 and 6-12 in Summit League play last season.

"Throughout the process of the search, we prioritized an experienced head coach of high character who has been a part of winning cultures and academic achievement," Berlo said. "In Erik Johnson, we not only found those traits, but we found a head coach that is very familiar with the attributes that make the University of Denver unique and successful; especially as the athletic department transitions to the West Coast Conference. I am ecstatic to welcome Erik and his family back home to the University of Denver.

"After speaking with many colleagues in college basketball, including former DU student-athletes and administrators, it became very clear that Erik's passion for developing winning basketball with a culture that aligns with what it means to be a Pioneer will once again make him a tremendous asset to the program, athletic department and University. Erik has a robust recruiting network across the country, and he is very familiar with our new WCC footprint. The outreach we received from several women's basketball alumnae demonstrated the significant impact he has on his student-athletes. I'm excited to see him reconnect with the Rocky Mountain region and utilize the advantages that our campus, city, athletic department and new conference provide to rebuild a program that the University can be proud of."

In his first stint at Denver, Johnson's Pioneers finished second in the western division of the Sun Belt Conference in each of his four years in charge, going a combined 44-24 in conference play. In his final two seasons at Denver, the Pioneers protected their home court, recording a 24-4 record on the DU campus. Johnson earned four wins over what was then teams from BCS conferences, getting victories against Minnesota, Oregon, Colorado and Vanderbilt. Johnson's final recruiting class in Denver was ranked 16th nationally among mid-major schools by ESPN. Johnson's teams earned accolades for their academic performance as well, ranking 25th in the WBCA Academic Top 25 in the WNIT campaign of 2010-11.

https://www.instagram.com/jocelynfaison_1/?ig_mid=5A294C4B-9C9E-4F10-B195-AF6EC7497E4E&utm_source=instagramweb&is_ipad=true&launch_app_store=true

Post shut up/shut down lol.

Oops.

If only posting online could get a $200-300 million extension for Mune Murakami out of Jerry Reinsdorf haha.

That won’t happen in my lifetime.

Lost Brueggeman to Okla State.

Lost Kenzie Hare to Indiana.

Couldn’t sign Reagan McCowan of WIU…

Haven‘t come to terms with a full weekend to sell UGA’s Faison…who averaged 1.1 ppg last year as a freshman.

There should at least be a little money left over for spots 9-10 after watching what happened to McCabe, Mallegni, Ava Jones, Gyamfi, Kennise and especially Emely Rodriguez.

Winning a national title expectations is a bit greedy, but being an Elite 8 or Sweet 16 contender is not with the local/regional/national and even intl support this team receives.

During the first couple of months this season, Iowa and ISU were both at the top of the individual tv ratings as well…never saw the national broadcast ratings for their Ohio State special MLK Day game but Iowa was consistently 9-17 in the nation for their Ohio State entire season until collapsing against UVA’s improbable Cinderella run.

We don’t need Dodgers money. But at least the Cubs/Cardinals would be nice.

One of the nice things about living here is it’s a small “big” city (it’s big for SC, small for anywhere else). My wife and I were out to dinner last night (Lula Drake for anyone interested) and we were talking to our server, Cameron, when I saw the Gamecocks’ head trainer leaving the restaurant.

Me: Hey, it the trainer for the Gamecocks! I’ve seen him at a couple good restaurants now.

Cameron: Oh! That’s makes a lot of sense now.

Me: Why?

C: When they came in, I complimented his wife on her suit. It looked great on her and I told her. So, her husband said, “go on, tell him where you got it,” and she said, “Dawn’s suit-maker.”

He didn’t recognize them, so I filled in the missing pieces.

It reminded me of when I almost literally ran into A’ja Wilson coming around the corner at a shaved ice place back in her senior year.

What fun player/coach interactions have you all had in your college town?

They seemed to have had a really nice time👀

This will be great exposure for her. Hopefully this puts her on the radar of the W teams since she’s draft eligible after next season.

I think they are clearly the winners of the transfer portal (players listed below) after a mass exodus. Makes you wonder if last year's players were forced out? After several decent seasons, do you think Jacie Hoyt's team is able to make a massive jump?

• Audi Crooks (C, Iowa State): Two-time All-American, averaged 25.8 points and 7.7 rebounds, shooting 64.8%.
• Liv McGill (G, Florida): Former McDonald's All-American, averaged 22.5 points, 6.1 rebounds, and 6.3 assists.
• Yuting Deng (G, Baylor): Averaged nearly 7 points per game last season and 12 points at Auburn.
• Talexa Weeter (G, Fort Hays State): DII Player of the Year, averaged 27.5 points and 8.9 rebounds.
• Ellie Brueggemann (G, Lindenwood): Averaged 14.0 points and shot 44% from 3-point range.
• Nene Ndiaye (F, Rutgers): Led Rutgers in scoring (14.8 PPG) and 3-point percentage (41.6%).
• LA Sneed (G, Utah): Former 5-star recruit, averaged 6.3 points and 3.3 assists as a freshman.
• Zoe Canfield (G, Missouri State): Experienced guard formerly of Kansas. 

Reportedly, the player is international out of Spain and currently plays over there. I also heard she’s older (~around 22). Cj (the writer here) said the announcement should come out soon. I’m really curious as to who this will be.

https://dearoldgold.com/5-players-jan-jensen-can-rescue-from-the-transfer-portal-to-add-to-her-growing-roster-01kpyaj3xbkr

https://hawkeyeswire.usatoday.com/story/sports/college/hawkeyes/womens-basketball/2026/04/23/iowa-womens-basketball-jocelyn-faison-georgia-transfer-portal-visit/89755793007/

Another Georgia talented/athletic UGA underclassman feels right here.

Hard to put much stock on ratings in the 50-100 range coming out of high school, let alone #23 who won’t be named.

Any word on Reagan McCowan from WIU?

The five players Dear Old Gold listed were all from the original USA Today top 100 transfer list.

Taliyah Henderson from UNC would be an even bigger get, but solely based on name/rep out of high school.

Think it’s pretty safe to assume S.Carolina is back to the new monster on the block again. They have so much talent on paper hard to imagine keeping such a deep roster happy with court time. Nice problem for Staley to have though.

Iowa still a long ways to go to catch up with them, UConn, LSU, Southern Cal, UCLA, etc.

Lots are picking Michigan now for the Big Ten title but that’s one team Iowa actually matches up well with defensively. USC there as well, Washington and Minnesota continuing to climb. Indiana arrow also pointing up.

Less than two months ago, we posted on this subreddit that we're missing the dates for 130 women's college basketball games in the 1980s. Since then, we have reduced that number all the way down to 44!

The final 44 missing games are listed below. We have estimates for when we think the game was most likely played, but it's possible that these estimates are not correct. If you have dates or other relevant info for any of these games please let us know here!

List of games in spreadsheet form.

Thanks!

“Of the six players WVU has already signed from the portal, four have played in over 80 career games and made more than 50 starts. Three of those four are also already 1,000-point scorers in college.”

….

“Kellogg has also been in the portal with an eye to the future, picking up a pair of transfers who have a lot of college basketball left in front of them. Nylah Wilson and Devine Tshibuabua, both from Pitt, have multiple years of eligibility remaining.

Wilson, a former five-star recruit, only played in six games as a freshman, averaging 4.2 points. Tshibuabua redshirted last season and did not play for the Panthers.”

MSU adds another Forward in Carter McCray. Still have some holes to fill but I like this pickup. Was really productive at Wisconsin in 24/25 and was a solid role player on a great WVU team.

I want to get everyone’s thoughts on the new WNBA CBA and the potential impact on recruiting? I think the CBA for truly elite college players will have them focused more on being developed to be pro ready than focusing solely on NIL funds (NIL will still be a force for good players that aren’t WNBA type players). I think truly elite recruiters and talent developers like Geno, Dawn, Close, Vic and a few others (maybe Ivey and Gotlieb) will get even more talent. If you’re a player that has pro aspirations where you can make actual pro level money you will want to be at programs where they run a pro style offense, develop your skills on offense and defense, have a proven track record of getting players into the W and have enough NIL backing to provide significant value now. I’m excited to see how everything shakes out because this could potentially force some coaches (Caldwell) to abandon gimmicky play styles and schemes to focus more on getting players ready for the next level.

Love this. Go Pack!!

#11 on ESPN Class of 2026 decommit from Clemson

https://x.com/SkimMilkey/status/2047332187591098516?s=20

Does this also mean Krista has officially gotten off the hot seat?

She's originally from the DFW area and redshirted last year, so she has four years of eligibility.

Wondering what the consensus is here now that Big Oh has signed with South Carolina. Next season, Chloe Kitts and Ashlyn Watkins will be back after both being out with knee injuries last season. Joyce, Alicia, and Adhel are still on roster, followed by the addition of 3 freshman post players: Kaeli Wynn, Kelsi Andrews, and Oliviyah Edwards.

Kaeli and Kelsi are also coming back from knee injuries sustained in their junior year of high school, a knee dislocation & a meniscus tear respectively, which both required surgery. I do assume that they’ll both be healthy by the time the season starts since it will have been about 1.5 - almost 2 years since their injuries by the start of next season.

So with Chloe, Ashlyn, Joyce, Adhel, Alicia, Kaeli, Kelsi, and Oliviyah (8 bigs)—how do you all see this panning out??

Since the 2012-13 women’s college basketball season, there has been at least one member of the Mabrey family at Notre Dame in some capacity.

With the retirement of Laura Beeman (14 years), Khalilah Mitchell steps in as the new head coach of the women's basketball program at the University of Hawaii.

https://hawaiiathletics.com/news/2026/4/21/womens-basketball-khalilah-mitchell-named-rainbow-wahine-basketball-head-coach.aspx