I wish Coach Harper and her staff the best of luck. Yes if they were going to go outside it was a good hire, but Towson had it going and could have kept a person that was integral to their success, and from what I have been told from someone close to the situation would have kept the roster largely in tact. Like I said, I wish Coach Harper the best of luck. Coppin is a brutal job and she did a great job turning that program around. However, the way I was told this entire situation was handled with not only the candidate on the staff, but the entire departing coaching staff, is extremely disappointing and told me a lot about this current administration.
I am not sure what you mean regarding it being "more difficult for a male coach moving on." Five of the eight coaches in the women's basketball Elite 8 were male. A male coaching a female sport can succeed. Especially if they hire the right staff. Just like I feel a female can succeed coach a male sport. Given two candidates (a male and a female) with equal credentials for a female sport then you absolutely hire the female. In Towson's case you had a coach that worked his ass off for five years. Towson had a chance for continuity and a coach that had built positive relationships in the mid-atlantic region with basketball coaches and players, and could have had the team going into next season as unquestioned favorites to win the CAA. Like I said, I wish Coach Harper the best of luck, I will be rooting for her and the team, but the Towson administration has really made things difficult for her.