RAMSEY: Air Force women's coach not giving up
Ardie McInelly is a stubborn optimist and a bad loser.
That means she is the best and worst person to coach the Air Force women's basketball team.
"I hate to lose," McInelly said. "I've never lost this much in my life, ever, but I will not give up. I'm not a quitter."
Believe me, McInelly will need every last bit of her resolve.
The Falcons fell a long time ago, and they can't get up. Since 1996-97, the Falcons have won 14 conference games and lost 168.
Yes, those numbers are correct. That's 1.08 conference wins per season. That's a serious streak of misery.
The agony continues this season. The Falcons are, like their brothers on the men's team, 0-6 in the Mountain West Conference, and the losses include nights of utter devastation.
Air Force lost by 51 to San Diego State, 34 to New Mexico and 25 to Utah.
Athletic director Hans Mueh promises better days ahead, but declines to get carried away with big promises.
"It's probably not going to change dramatically," Mueh said. "I think at best ..."
His voice faded.
"I truly believe we can finish in the middle of this conference."
Not the strongest prediction, but Mueh believes McInelly works under especially rugged conditions.
Young women, Mueh said, decline to jump at the chance to play for a military academy, and he doesn't see the trend changing any time soon.
"It's just a fact of life," Mueh said. "I believe that coming to the Air Force Academy is - how do I put this? - not a normal choice for women in America. I wish it was."
The female enrollment at AFA, Mueh said, is approximately 20 percent.
Mueh offers excuses for McInelly, but, to her credit, she declines to take them. She earns $187,000 per season, including benefits, as she tries to resurrect a program.
She came close. She believed she was on the brink heading into the 2006-07 season. She was coming off a 4-12 finish in the MWC and had, it seemed, the blessing of promising center Ellen Jaeschke and point guard Lauren Henderson.
But Henderson left the academy and Jaeschke transferred to Northwestern, where she's a sometime starter. The breakout season turned to a bust.
Still, McInelly refuses to surrender hope. She's won 12 conference games and lost 98 during her eight seasons, but she sees sunshine lurking behind all those clouds.
She believes she can recruit a strong collection of freshmen, start at the bottom and slowly climb to the top, or near the top, of the MWC.
"That's what I'm thinking," McInelly said, "but then again, I'm an eternal optimist."
The interview was finished, and McInelly started to walk away.
She stopped.
"If we don't turn this around in two seasons, I'm going to buy you a steak dinner," she said.
I laughed.
She didn't.
"I'm serious," she said. "I will buy you a steak dinner if we don't turn this around."
Ardie, that's one meal I hope to never eat.
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Columnist David Ramsey can be reached at 476-4895 or david.ramsey@gazette.com. Check out David's blog at daveramseysez.freedomblogging.com.
