BREAKING: Hornet women’s basketball head coach accepts TCU coaching job
Exit comes after leading Sac State to first NCAA Tournament appearance
Head coach Mark Campbell yells offensive plays to his team against San José State on Sunday, Nov. 14, 2021. Campbell accepted the job of Texas Christian University head coach Tuesday after two seasons at Sac State.
March 21, 2023
Sacramento State women’s basketball’s head coach Mark Campbell has stepped down and been named the new head coach of the Texas Christian University women’s basketball team, according to TCU Athletics.
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Campbell led the Hornets to their most successful season in school history, as the Hornets went 25-8 this year, won the Big Sky tournament, won a share of the Big Sky Coach of the Year and appeared in the NCAA tournament— all for the first time in Sac State history.
“I’m very excited to be a TCU Horned Frog,” Campbell said in his introductory article to TCU Athletics.
The news comes just three days after the Hornets’ season ended in the first round of the NCAA tournament 67-45 to UCLA.
“I would like to thank Coach Campbell for his leadership in directing our women’s basketball program to new heights,” Sac State athletic director Mark Orr said in a statement.
In Campbell’s two seasons as head coach, the Hornets went a combined 39-24 and had both Big Sky MVPs, Lianna Tillman and Kahlaijah Dean.
In Campbell’s first season, he led the Hornets to an 11-game improvement from just three wins the previous year to 14, engineering the seventh-best turnaround in the nation in just one season.
“All I can say is congratulations,” sophomore guard Katie Peneueta said, “Mark was a great coach and I am thankful for the opportunity he gave me to come to Sac. I wish him and the rest of the staff the best of luck in the future.”
Campbell becomes the second Hornet coach to take a job at a Power 5 college in the last four months, joining former football coach Troy Taylor who accepted a head coach position at Stanford in December 2022.
Sac State said in a statement that their national head coaching search will begin immediately.
“I am grateful to Athletics Director Orr for his leadership in helping us succeed during my time at Sac State,” Campbell said. “The program is in great hands moving forward.”
