UpDate - Vol. 15, No. 26, Page 3
April 4, 1996
Coach Joyce Perry resigns

     Women's head basketball coach Joyce Perry, Delaware '73 '79M,
announced her resignation March 26 during a press conference in the
Bob Carpenter Club. She has served as basketball coach since 1978 and
compiled a 266-212 record.
     Among Perry's accomplishments were three consecutive East Coast
Conference championships in 1989, '90 and '91 and seven seasons when
her teams won 18 or more games.
     Perry said a major factor in her decision to resign was the large
amount of travel associated with recruiting and away season play in
the North Atlantic Conference, which extends from the mid-Atlantic
states to Maine.
     In a Wilmington News Journal article about her resignation, Perry
said she preferred that her head coaching legacy not be remembered in
terms of wins and losses.
     "The success of most college programs is based on wins and
losses," she was quoted as saying, "but I think at Delaware we've
looked at some other things that were more important, like graduation
rates and the type of people we recruit, bring in and graduate who
become productive members of society.
     "We've had some great people come through our program and many
are very good friends right now. I'm very proud of that."
     According to Athletic Director Edgar Johnson, who said he
accepted her resignation with deep sadness, "Joyce has been our coach,
and a colleague and a friend of mine for 18 years. Her impact on the
women's basketball program has been significant."
     Johnson added that a search is now under way to hire a new head
coach and he hopes to have that accomplished within six weeks.