Four women’s basketball candidates to replace Beth O’Boyle at VCU

The first firing of the 2026 women’s college basketball season has happened.

Virginia Commonwealth University announced Beth O’Boyle’s dismissal on Monday. Rams assistant Kirk Crawford will serve as the interim coach for the remainder of the season.

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“We want to thank Coach O’Boyle for her service to VCU and her dedication to our student-athletes. We will not renew her contract and she will not coach the remainder of the season. We wish her all the best in her future endeavors,” VCU athletic director Ed McLaughlin said in a statement. “We will begin a national search immediately.”

USA Today Sports reported last month that VCU was quietly putting feelers out to agents and potential candidates about the job.

O’Boyle had been the head coach at VCU for 12 seasons, with an overall record of 191-168 which made her the winningest coach in program history. She won the A-10 regular season title in 2019, and in 2021 won the conference tournament to punch the Rams’ ticket to the NCAA Tournament — VCU’s lone trip to March Madness in her decade-plus tenure.

VCU had a 26-win season in 2023-24, but went 12-19 last season and are 8-15 so far this season. The Rams’ dip has come during a time where other mid-major programs around Virginia, including James Madison and city rival Richmond, have experienced consistent success and gone to the NCAA Tournament.

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McLaughlin has publicly said VCU will push $5 million in NIL payments towards its men’s and women’s basketball programs. That, coupled with VCU having strong facilities, being in a competitive women’s basketball conference and being close to fertile recruiting ground in the DMV, had multiple agents and coaches describing the opening to USA Today Sports as an “elite” and “great” job.

So, who might fill the opening? Here’s a handful of names worth considering.

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Publish date : 2026-02-02 20:08:00

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