CSUN Official Not Surprised by Milke’s Exit

Leslie Milke might have surprised some people when she resigned as coach of the Cal State Northridge women’s basketball team last Friday, but CSUN Associate Athletic Director Judy Brame was not caught off guard.

“(Milke) has been thinking about it for the last three years,” Brame said Thursday. “She enjoyed coaching, but she knew she did not want to spend the rest of her life doing it.

“She really loves teaching and I think she wanted to concentrate more on that.”

Milke’s resignation came a little more than four months before the start of the 1990-91 season, Northridge’s first at the NCAA Division I level.

“I think she just wanted to make sure that this was what she really wanted to do,” said Brame, who coached Milke when she played for Northridge from 1975-79. “I’m sure she didn’t want to make a quick decision, then regret it. I think it was a good time and a good decision for her.”

Milke, who could not be reached for comment, compiled a 100-94 record during seven years as coach. She was a Northridge assistant from 1980-83.

After posting a school-record 22-9 mark in 1988-89, Northridge was hit hard by injuries last season and finished 11-18.

Milke, a part-time physical education and kinesiology teacher at Northridge, was honored as the California Collegiate Athletic Assn. Coach of the Year after the 1985-86 and ‘88-89 seasons, and was the District VIII Coach of the Year for ‘85-86.

As a player, she was an All-CCAA selection as a senior in 1979, and ranks sixth on the all-time Northridge career scoring list with 910 points.

A nationwide search for her successor will start shortly, according to Brame, who coached Northridge from 1974-79 and again from 1980-83.

Northridge will accept applications until July 30, and hopes to make a hire before the fall semester starts on Sept. 3.

“It’s hard for me to imagine (Milke) not having some association with the team,” Brame said. “But I think she made the right decision.”