Sean Isabella

sisabella@thenewsstar.com

Louisiana Tech is handing over the reins to a former Lady Techster to take over the women's basketball program.

Tech has hired Northwestern State co-head coach Brooke Stoehr as the Techsters' new coach. Stoehr's husband, Scott, is also expected to join the program.

Brooke Stoehr, 35, played for Tech from 1998 to 2002 and later served as an assistant from 2005 to 2008. She spent the last four years at Northwestern State as co-head coach with Scott Stoehr. The husband-wife duo compiled a 71-58 record during their tenure and made consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances.

Northwestern State finished 19-12 in 2016 and third place in the Southland Conference with a 13-5 record.

A press conference announcing the hire will be held Tuesday. Tech confirmed the news Monday afternoon.

The Brooke Stoehr file: Get to know the Techsters' new coach

Tech has been without a coach since April 7 when Tyler Summitt resigned for his involvement in an inappropriate relationship with a player. Another former Techster, Mickie DeMoss, has served as the program's interim head coach since April 8.

Summitt, who lasted just two years with the program and finished with a 30-31 record, made $175,000 a year.

Last August, the University of Louisiana System Board of Supervisors approved contract extensions of a base salary of $85,000 Brooke Stoehr and $46,500 for Scott Stoehr effective May 1, 2015 through 2020. The base salaries, coupled with money from NSU's Demons Unlimited Foundation, pushed their annual salaries to around $115,000 and $60,000, respectively.

Per the new terms of the August 2015 approval, a $25,000 buyout is owed if Brooke Stoehr leaves before April 30, 2016.

As evidenced by the salaries, Brooke and Scott Stoehr are co-head coaches in title only. Louisiana ethics laws prevent family members or spouses from hiring each other, thus the co-head coach label.

Brooke Stoehr is the third coach at Tech in as many years. Former Techsters and WNBA standout Teresa Weatherspoon was fired in March 2014. The opening led to Summitt's hire in April 2014.

Tech is coming off a 14-16 year, which is just the third losing season in program history.

Brooke Stoehr was a two-year captain for the Techsters during her playing career, amassing a 119-16 career record. She was part of the final years of the Leon Barmore era, the legendary Tech coach who left the program in 2002.

At Tech, Stoehr helped lead the Techsters to the 1999 Final Four and back-to-back Elite 8 appearances in 200 and 2001.

From splash hire to scandal, questions of maturity hold true with Summitt's resignation

She previously served as an assistant coach at Arkansas-Little Rock, Southern Miss and Texas Tech.

Stoehr's first order of business is to see which players on the current roster are returning in 2017 along with potential recruits to fill any holes from recent departures.

Memphis guard Jaida Roper signed with Tech last November but asked for her release following Summitt's resignation. Tech's athletic department denied her request, along with any other release requests, until a new coach was put in to place. A second signee, 6-foot-3 center Jaiden McCoy, said last week she wouldn't decide on her future until a coach was hired.