MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich. — Central Michigan is looking for a new women's basketball coach.
On Thursday, the university announced Heather Oesterle will not return to Mount Pleasant as the head coach of the Chippewas. She was the head coach at Central Michigan for four seasons.
“Heather Oesterle has been an integral part of the most historic run in CMU women’s basketball history,” Central Michigan Director of Athletics Amy Folan said. “I want to thank Heather for her dedication to and impact on our student-athletes, the university, and Mount Pleasant community during her 13 years of service at Central Michigan University.”
The search for a new head coach begins immediately for Central Michigan.
“At this time, I have determined that we need to go in a different direction with the leadership of our women’s basketball program," Folan said. "I am confident that our program’s history of success, our commitment to women’s basketball and the development of young women will attract a high-caliber candidate pool during our head coaching search.”
In all, Oesterle spent 13 seasons at Central Michigan. She spent four as the head coach and nine as an assistant under legendary Chippewas head coach Sue Guevara. Oesterle was Central's associate head coach for seven seasons before being promoted to head coach.
Oesterle did see success at Mount Pleasant. The Chippewas won the MAC regular season title in 2020 and took home that MAC tournament championship in 2021.
However, over the last two years, wins have been hard to come by. The Chippewas combined for 10 wins over the last two seasons finishing the 2021-22 season with a 4-25 record and a 6-23 record last season. The team did not qualify for the MAC Tournament during the last two seasons.
Associate head coach Courtney Shelton will serve as the interim head coach until a new coach is hired.
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