Holt Places Family First Successful Women’s Basketball Coach Decides To Follow Husband To Kentucky

Julie Holt’s family won on Wednesday.

Holt, the University of Idaho women’s basketball coach, officially resigned to join her husband, Nick, who left the Vandals in December for an assistant football coaching job at University of Louisville.

Julie Holt considered every possible way to stay, but she felt none were in the best interests of the program and, more importantly, her family, which includes Nick VI, 5, and Ben, 1.

She illustrated her plight with a story.

“Every time we were in an airport, Ben was trying to go to strange men, dark-haired men that are bigger,” said Holt, painting a portrait of her husband. “It’s funny, but it’s also sad because he was trying to find his dad. These guys need their mom and dad together.”

Holt inherited a team that was 3-22 the year before her arrival. She reconstructed the program, adding top recruits such as Sandpoint’s Alli Nieman and Susan Woolf, and finished 14-14 a year ago and 15-15 this season.

“She’s just been awesome for me,” Nieman said. “She’s helped me through a lot of things and helped me grow, on and off the court.”

Prior to Idaho, Holt rebuilt Gonzaga’s program. GU was 10-17 her first year in 1989-90, but she was named West Coast Conference coach of the year following a WCC title and a 21-10 mark in 1993-94.

“You look at my win-loss record (178-262) and it’s terrible, but I know everywhere I went I’ve made the place better and improved the program,” said Holt, who doesn’t have any job opportunities lined up in Kentucky. “I’d like to be here at Idaho because we’re two years from literally being able to hit the national scene. That’s the hard part.”

Holt thought of taking a one-year sabbatical, but recognized potential drawbacks.

“I’m trying to do the right thing,” she said. A sabbatical “leaves the program in a lot of turmoil if I leave for a year and then maybe I come back or maybe I don’t come back.”

Holt recommended assistant coach Hilary Recknor as her replacement. Recknor, who played at Washington, was formerly head coach at Bellevue (Wash.) Community College. She has been at Idaho one season.

Idaho will conduct a national search, interim athletic director Kathy Clark said. “We feel we owe it to Hilary, Coach Holt and the program to search for the best coach out there. That may well be Hilary, but it will be a search.”

Holt departs Moscow with a 42-68 record and two consecutive Big West Conference tournament appearances. Idaho went 1-1 at each tourney.

Her impact at UI extended beyond basketball. She was popular with boosters and staff, some 40 of whom filed into a conference room at the Kibbie Dome to hear Holt’s announcement.

“This room is as full as I’ve seen it for anybody departing a program,” Clark said. “Everybody’s going to be sorry to see her go. Nobody on our coaches tour wanted to be behind Julie. She’s a tough act to follow.”

, DataTimes MEMO: Cut in Spokane edition

This sidebar appeared with the story: HOLT’S RECORD Julie Holt’s recent coaching record: Gonzaga 1989-90 10-17 1990-91 13-15 1991-92 8-19 1992-93 11-15 1993-94 21-10 Idaho 1994-95 5-21 1995-96 8-18 1996-97 14-14 1997-98 15-15 Total 105-144 in nine seasons, .422 pct.