By Tom Nader

Publisher and Editor

Kent State University announced on Thursday that it extended the contract of women’s basketball coach Todd Starkey through the 2029-30 season.

Starkey just recently completed his eighth season with the Golden Flashes, and he has posted seven winning seasons, earned five postseason berths and won more than 20 games three different times, including the last two seasons when Kent State won 21 games.

Starkey ranks as the second-winningest coach in Kent State history with 143 wins, behind only Bob Lindsay’s 418 wins from 1989-2012.

The contract extension adds four additional years onto Starkey’s current deal.

“I would like to thank President (Todd) Diacon, (athletic director) Randale Richmond and the entire Kent State community for their continued support and vision for where Kent State women’s basketball can go,” Starkey said. “This community’s passion for women’s basketball became evident during our championship run this season. We are excited about pursuing more as we move forward.”

Kent State won the program’s first Mid-American Conference championship since 2002 and qualified for the NCAA Tournament, where they were a No. 15 seed and lost in the first round to second-seeded Notre Dame, 81-67.

“I am thrilled to announce a well-deserved extension for coach Starkey,” Richmond said. “He has maintained a high level of excellence in all facets of the Kent State women’s basketball program. The potential for this program under coach Starkey is limitless, as we continue to work together to graduate student-athletes, boldly prepared for life after sport and continue to win championships.

Starkey was announced as the head coach at Kent State on April 21, 2016. He came to Kent after spending two seasons as an assistant at Indiana University. Prior to his time with the Hoosiers, Starkey spent nine seasons as the head coach at Leoir-Rhyne (Hickory, N.C.) and had a 165-95 record.