UCLA AD Dan Guerrero on Nikki Caldwell's exit

From UCLA:

"We are extremely sad to see Nikki Caldwell depart UCLA," said UCLA athletic director Dan Guerrero. "After giving Nikki her first opportunity to be a head coach, we have all worked together to build the women's basketball program into one of the best in the West, increasing attendance and donation levels.

"I met with Nikki earlier this week and made her what we felt was a very attractive multi-year offer to keep her in Westwood. It was our hope that Nikki would want to continue building what she has started at UCLA and we did all we could to make that desire a reality.

"We certainly wish Nikki all the best in the future. We will begin a national search for the coach that will continue to build our program immediately," Guerrero said.

In her three years as UCLA's head coach, Caldwell led the Bruins to 72 victories, two consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances and two appearances in the Pac-10 Tournament championship game. This past season, her Bruin team set school records for regular-season victories (26), Pac-10 Conference victories (16) and scoring defense (55.3 ppg) and earned a program-best No. 3 seed in the NCAA Tournament.