Missouri women’s basketball coach Robin Pingeton will return for a 14th season with the Tigers, according to MU athletic director Desireé Reed-Francois.
The decision came after the Tigers finished 18-14 during the 2022-23 campaign. MU ended its season with a 75-47 loss to Kansas in the second round of the WNIT on Monday in Lawrence, Kansas.
Pingeton and Reed-Francois met on multiple occasions toward the end of the season to discuss the future of the program. According to Reed-Francois, Pingeton must meet certain goals to retain her job following the 2023-24 season.
While no specifics were mentioned, qualifying for the NCAA Tournament is a goal that Reed-Francois has emphasized on multiple occasions.
After being hired from Illinois State, Pingeton has compiled a 225-181 record over 13 years with Missouri. Four straight NCAA Tournament berths from 2016-2019 highlight her tenure, with the Tigers peaking at No. 11 in the AP Top 25 poll over that span.
However, Pingeton’s teams have never made it past the second round of the NCAA Tournament, and the team has failed to win more than 20 games during her tenure.
Pingeton’s success has petered off as of late, with the Tigers entering the past two seasons with experienced teams but failing to meet postseason expectations.
“We’ve got work to do in the offseason, and it’s on all of us,” Pingeton said. “As a staff, we’re going to have to flip everything upside down, evaluate everything we’ve done on the court, off the court and be willing to make some changes.
Missouri’s incoming recruiting class features two of ESPNW’s Top 100 recruits who will join forces with an experienced returning group trying to return to the NCAA Tournament and keep Pingeton in Columbia for another season.
