Former Santa Rosa Junior College women’s basketball coach Molly Goodenbour has been hired as the new coach at Division I UC Irvine.
Goodenbour, 36, who led Division II Chico State to a 52-11 record the past two seasons, will inherit a program that went 7-24 last year, its fifth consecutive losing season.
Goodenbour, who also interviewed at Santa Clara and UC Santa Barbara, was the California Collegiate Athletic Association Coach of the Year last year. She is married to Sonoma State men’s basketball coach Pat Fuscaldo.
“I wouldn’t have taken this job if I didn’t think we can make it better,” said Goodenbour, who coached at SRJC from 2003-05. “It’s a different type of job than I’ve ever had before. We have a lot of work to do.”
Goodenbour will be replaced at Chico State by head assistant coach Brian Fogel on an interim basis. Fogel is a 1990 alum of Sonoma State, where he ranks third on the school’s list for career three-point percentage.