By ROBERT CESSNA
Eagle Staff Writer

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Texas A&M associate head women's basketball coach Vic Schaefer withdrew his name for the head coaching position at North Texas on Tuesday morning.

"I've had lots of mixed emotions over the last few days," Schaefer said. "In the end, I did what was best for everyone involved."

Schaefer has been with head coach Gary Blair for 11 seasons, the last five at A&M.

"I'm coaching here at A&M and am looking forward to next year's team," Schaefer said. "I just think you gotta look at things day to day. You never know what's going to happen. But I wake up every day knowing I'm coaching at one of the greatest institutions in the country."

Schaefer is in charge of A&M's defense, which helped the Aggies have a record-setting season. A&M was 29-8, advancing to the Elite Eight for the first time in school history.

Schaefer was mentioned as a possible candidate at Wichita State, which filled its vacancy while A&M was still playing. Schaefer interviewed last Thursday at North Texas to replace Tina Slinker, who did not have her contract renewed after 19 seasons.

Oklahoma State assistant coach Kenya Larkin, Clemson associate head coach Shanice Stephens and former Texas-Arlington head coach Donna Capps also interviewed.

The Denton Chronicle reported on its Web site Tuesday afternoon that Stephens will be introduced as the head coach Wednesday. A source close to the situation said last week that UNT probably would hire a woman.

"I think some of the schools Vic looks at probably feel like he's overqualified," Blair said. "But I think he would have done an excellent job at Wichita State or North Texas or wherever.

"I know what type of job he's done at A&M. I'm proud to have him, but at the same time, I don't want to hold him back from getting a BCS job or a job he knows he can win at and advance to that next level."

Blair praised Schaefer throughout the postseason, saying power conference schools needing to hire a coach were missing out by skipping over him.

"I think he's the best assistant coach in the country, and sometime it's going to work out for him," Blair said late Tuesday night. "At the same time, we're building something here, and he's a very integral part of that. But myself and [athletics director] Bill Byrne will make any call for him anytime, and there are still some jobs out there or there will be some jobs that will play out in the next few weeks with people moving on."

Blair said his goal is to get to the Final Four and win a national championship.

"I'd like to accomplish that with Vic alongside me, with [assistant coaches] Kelly [Bond] and Johnny [Harris]. But with more success comes more opportunities for members of your staff to move on."

Last summer, Schaefer coached the U.S. William Jones Cup Team to a bronze medal in Taiwan.

Schaefer was Sam Houston State's head women's basketball coach from 1990-97. Schaefer was an assistant men's coach at Sam Houston State from 1987-89.

• Robert Cessna's e-mail address is robert.cessna@theeagle.com.

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