Stephanie White is introduced as the new Vanderbilt women’s basketball coach. (Photo Credit: Joe Howell, courtesy of the Vanderbilt University athletic department)

After a very tumultous spring, the hiring season in Division I women’s basketball was reaching its conclusion with a real bang in late May.

Vanderbilt pried away Indiana Fever head coach Stephanie White to succeed Melanie Balcomb, who is out after 14 seasons and was the Commodores’ all-time winningest coach.

But a two-year absence from NCAA tournament play and a number of player transfers resulted in what Balcomb and the school have termed a resignation. The lateness of this move, coming on the heels of men’s coach Kevin Stallings leaving for Pittsburgh, had me wondering if Vandy had missed a chance to get somebody really good for the women’s program.

There was no need to wonder. White was one of three candidates interviewed by Vandy, according to The Tenneseean, along with Princeton head coach Courtney Banghart and Notre Dame associate head coach Niele Ivey. That’s an incredible trio, and testament to Vandy’s status in the SEC and its academic prestige.

The men’s team has an excellent hire in Bryce Drew, from Valparaiso, and so do the women. White won’t begin officially until after the Fever season is over, with former Vandy star, former Purdue, Florida and WNBA coach and ESPN analyst Carolyn Peck serving in an interim head coaching capacity.

Peck, who was at White’s introductory press conference, will eventually become associate head coach. She was Purdue’s coach who won the 1999 NCAA title with White leading the way as an All-American guard.

“Coach Balcomb has done an outstanding job. This is not really a rebuilding process,” White said in her opening remarks. “I think mainly we need to change a mindset a little bit and change the process of how we work every day. And changing the way we play the game.”

White said she wants to play more of an uptempo style, and with in-state All-American prep guard Chassity Carter, who signed with Balcomb, the Commodores can do that.

Hiring Joy Cheek away from Ohio State as recruiting coordinator is another stellar move by White as she juggles her ongoing pro job and laying the groundwork at Vandy. Peck and Cheek will be able to hit the July evaluation period in tandem, and the WNBA’s Olympic break in August will give White more time to make the transition.

This is one of the most intriguing hires in the women’s game at the major conference level in a number of years for a number of reasons, beyond the timing and conditions Vandy has agreed to make to get White.

Something that flew under the social progress radar is the public acknowledgement at White’s press conference of her family. Her wife, Michelle, and one of their three sons were front and center at the event, and Vandy chancellor Nicholas Zeppos identified them as such.

I’d like to think we may be edging toward a time where such things don’t matter as much in women’s college basketball as they have, and I don’t think this will affect what White is trying to do at Vandy. She has been vocal about gay-rights issues, and for years I’ve understood that when it comes to recruiting, kids are generally fine with this, that it’s mostly some parents who are concerned.

Combined with San Francisco coach Jennifer Azzi’s disclosure of her marriage to assistant coach Blair Hardiek, it’s worth noting that some important strides have been made without a lot of fanfare. A near-decade after Rene Portland’s reign came to an end at Penn State is far too long for those fighting against that kind of bigotry, but the sport has an openly gay coach hired by a major school in the Deep South.

And I think she will be fantastic at Vanderbilt.

One other thing: While the women’s college game is gaining a terrific young coach, it’s losing a talented television analyst in White, who’s done great work for years calling games on ESPN and the Big Ten Network.

Matthew Mitchell began filling out his staff at Kentucky with Kyra Elzy, dismissed at Tennessee, Niya Butts, let go at Arizona. But he really turned heads with the addition of Lin Dunn out of retirement. She had been a consultant for Mitchell last season, and should be a stabilizing force at a program with substantial staff and player departures.

Only five other Power 5 schools made coaching changes this year, out of 50 altogether in Division I. What follows is an analysis of the major Division I coaching hires.

In a separate post I will look at some of the other notable coaching hires at the mid-major level and below. There’s still one job to be filled as of this writing, at Coppin State.

Arizona: Former U of A star Adia Barnes returns to Tucson in her first head coaching job shortly after serving as an assistant at Washington, which reached the Final Four. The school’s all-time scoring leader, she inherits a formidable task with a Wildcats’ program that hasn’t enjoyed winning ways since she played for Joan Bonvicini in the late 1990s. The staff includes longtime Power 5 assistant Sunny Smallwood, recruiting coordinator Kelly Rae Finley (late of Colorado) and Barnes’ husband Salvo Coppa, formerly a professional coach in Europe. According to a document posted on tucson.com, the athletic department has submitted contract terms for Barnes to the U of A regents for approval this week that would pay her an annual base salary of $235,000 for five years. I don’t envy the job that Barnes has ahead of her in the Pac 12, and I want to believe that Arizona really is committed to getting back to where it was when she played there.

Colorado: JR Payne has parlayed a successful two-year stint at Santa Clara into a major conference job after the Buffaloes parted ways with Linda Lappe. A former player at St. Mary’s, Payne also was head coach at Southern Utah and was an assistant to current Oregon coach Kelly Graves at Gonzaga. She hired two of her Santa Clara assistants, Toriano Towns and Shandrika Lee, and Jeff Cammon of Cal. Payne’s five-year contract includes a base of $175,000 and other supplements. Like Arizona, this is a significant rebuilding job in the Pac 12, coming off one of its most competitive seasons ever. Unlike the previous regime, Colorado has an experienced staff to hit the ground running.

Nebraska: After a rough few months that included an internal investigation and the resignation of Connie Yori over allegations of abuse, former Cornhuskers star Amy Williams was hired to restart what has been a highly successful program. Williams led South Dakota to the post-season NIT title, and is bringing her entire staff with her: Tom Goehle, Tandem Mays and Chuck Love. Guard Natalie Romeo, who accused some of her teammates of immaturity in their mutiny of Yori, has transferred to Washington. That’s a big loss, as is senior guard Rachel Theriot. Big Ten freshman of the year Jessica Shepard, one other starter and several regulars return. Williams is being paid $575,00 a year over five years, much less than what Yori was making, and without some of the perks.

Virginia Tech: After dismissing the underperforming Dennis Wolff, Hokies AD Whit Babcock went to James Madison, his alma mater, to hire his classmate Kenny Brooks, who won 337 games in 14 years guiding the Dukes. This is a terrific hire for Tech, which hasn’t done much since Bonnie Henrickson left more than a decade ago, and long-overdue recognition of Brooks, who’s been one of the top mid-major coaches in the women’s game. Rebuilding in the ACC won’t be easy, but Brooks has signed a six-year deal worth $500,000 annually. His staff includes holdover Britney Anderson and Jennifer Brown, who came with him from JMU.

Wisconsin: Will the third time be the charm for AD Barry Alvarez? Jonathan Tsipis arrives in Madison following the departure of Bobbie Kelsey, the second women’s basketball coach Alvarez has terminated since 2011. In four seasons at George Washington, Tsipis got the Colonials back into the NCAA Tournament. He is retaining Sasha Palmer, a former Syracuse assistant, to be his recruiting coordinator, and is being paid more than $600,000 annually in a five-year contract—more than doubling Kelsey’s salary. His job is a sizable one, however, in the Big Ten, where high-scoring stars abound. Ironically, Kelsey put together her best recruiting class shortly before being let go. Five of her six signees have said they will attend UW, and Tsipis picked up Vandy graduate transfer center Kendall Shaw for next season.