Titans’ Coach Ayres Quits; Says She Needs a Change

Deborah Ayres said it was “time for a change,” and has resigned after five years as women’s basketball coach at Cal State Fullerton.

Athletic Director John Easterbrook made the announcement in a staff meeting Tuesday.

Easterbrook said a search committee would be formed to seek a replacement. Associate athletic director Maryalyce Jeremiah will be the chairwoman.

Ayres said she informed Easterbrook of her decision Monday after she was invited over the weekend to apply for another head coaching vacancy. Ayres declined to identify the school.

“I’ve applied for a couple of other college positions, and they’ve indicated to me that they expect to move on them quickly,” Ayres said.

Ayres’ contract was up March 31, and she said she had not been offered a new one. “We weren’t supposed to talk about it until later, before the end of the month,” Ayres said.

The Titans had five consecutive losing seasons under Ayres, 38. Her overall record was 44-92.

The Titans were 10-16 this past season, 6-10 in the Big West Conference. Fullerton missed qualifying for the postseason conference tournament for the second consecutive season.

The Titans’ best season under Ayres was in 1994-95 when Fullerton was 14-15 and reached the Big West tournament semifinals.

Ayres coached at Vallejo (Calif.) High and was an assistant at Iowa State before taking over as head coach for two seasons at Solano Community College in Northern California. Her teams at Solano were 34-24.

Ayres succeeded Jeremiah at Fullerton when Jeremiah became associate athletic director.

“We’ve had some fine players here,” Ayres said. “ . . . Hopefully, we got things going in the right direction, and someone can come in with some fresh energy.”