Two key figures within Tech athletics received contract extensions earlier this week, as Athletic Director Dan Radakovich and women’s basketball Head Coach MaChelle Joseph agreed to deals that will keep them at Tech through 2015.
For Radakovich, the new contract came as he enters his fifth full academic year as athletic director. He took over in February 2006, becoming the seventh athletic director in Tech’s history and has overseen growth off the field and success on the field in all Tech sports.
Notably, it was Radakovich who hired current head football coach Paul Johnson, who has led the team to a 20-7 record in two seasons. In both seasons Tech earned at least a share of the ACC’s Coastal Division regular season title, and the 2009 squad won the ACC title and earned a trip to the Orange Bowl.
Over the 2009-10 academic year, Tech’s athletic teams were successful across the board. Seven teams qualified for the NCAA Tournament in their respective sports, with four (baseball, softball, golf and women’s tennis) hosting an NCAA regional. Tech’s collective .727 winning percentage across all sports was the best in school history.
Radakovich has also overseen the construction of several new facilities for Tech’s athletic teams. Among these are Mewborn Field, the softball team’s new home stadium; and the Zelnak Center, a practice facility for the basketball teams.
After a slow start to her coaching stint at Tech, Joseph has led the women’s basketball squad to 20 wins and a berth in the NCAA Tournament in four straight seasons.
Joseph’s teams have earned some of the most notable wins in the history of Tech women’s basketball. The 2006-07 squad became the first Tech team to win an NCAA Tournament game.
That year, the Jackets edged DePaul 55-54 in their opening round game before falling to Purdue in the second round.
The 2008-09 team earned the Jackets’ first-ever win over an opponent ranked in the national top five, defeating then-No. 2 North Carolina 66-62. Last year, the Jackets recorded 23 wins, their highest mark since joining the ACC, and forward Brigitte Ardossi became the third player from a Joseph-led team to be selected in the WNBA Draft.