BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- A former Indiana women's basketball
coach, whom the school paid to settle a discrimination lawsuit four
years ago, committed suicide at his Florida home, a medical
examiner said.
Jim Izard, 57, coached IU from 1989 to 2000, compiling a 188-159
record.
He died of a gunshot wound Tuesday at his home in Rosemary
Beach, Fla., said Donna Shank, spokeswoman for the Walton County
sheriff's office. The Pensacola Medical Examiners Office ruled the
death a suicide.
Izard's wife, Sarah, who played for him at IU from 1995 to 1998,
called authorities.
Izard led Indiana to the NCAA Tournament in 1994 and 1995. His
Hoosiers were the NIT runner-up in 1992 and reached the NIT Final
Four in 1998. He was fired in 2000 after the Hoosiers went 10-18.
Izard later coached for two years at Berry College in Rome, Ga.,
before resigning in January 2005. He was not coaching at the time
of his death.
His lawsuit against Indiana alleged the school violated federal
law when it fired him as coach after 12 years and hired Kathi
Bennett in March 2000. He also claimed IU violated equal-pay law by
giving Bennett a five-year contract that paid her $110,000 her
first year. Izard had worked on a year-to-year basis, earning
$76,775 his final year.