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MARSHALL, Minn. - Mike Jewett, who has spent the past four seasons as the head women's basketball coach at Southwest Minnesota State University, announced on Monday afternoon that he has declined a contract renewal and will no longer serve as the head women's basketball coach.  Jewett will continue to serve as an assistant professor in the Department of Wellness and Human Performance at SMSU through the end of the academic year.

SMSU Director of Athletics Chris Hmielewski announced that current SMSU assistant coach Jina Johansen has been named interim head coach.  A national search for a permanent head coach will begin soon.

“The past four years have been both challenging and rewarding, and I am thankful to have had the opportunity to coach at SMSU,” Jewett said.  “My experiences here have made me a better person and professional.  I would like to thank the young ladies in our program for their hard work and commitment.  Their efforts have strengthened the program and elevated it to a competitive level in a very tough conference.”

Jewett, the sixth head coach in program history, spent four seasons on the Mustang sideline compiling a record of 48-65.  The program saw marked improvement each of his four years, going from seven victories in his first season in 2006-07, to 15 victories this past season, including recording the program's first winning campaign since 2004-05.  The Mustangs finished 15-12 this season and missed qualifying for the NSIC tournament by one game.

“Although I am still passionate about coaching, I believe that the program needs new leadership in order to move forward,” Jewett said.  “I will miss working with the student-athletes I recruited to SMSU but know that they will continue to develop as basketball players and people under the guidance of a new coach.  As I leave to pursue other opportunities, my family and I will look back at our time at SMSU with good memories.”

Jewett came to SMSU following a successful two-year stay as an assistant coach at St. Cloud State.  During his two years at SCSU, the Huskies recorded 52 victories, which included two NCAA region championships, including a Final Four appearance in 2006.

“I know this decision did not come easily for Mike,” Hmielewski said.  “He has poured his heart and soul into the women's basketball program for the past four years.  Mike's leadership and commitment to SMSU and our student-athletes has resulted in an elevated level play each year.  Mike took great pride in the academic success of his student-athletes with his team ranking among the top women's basketball teams in the NCAA each year in overall grade point average.”

Prior to joining the SCSU staff, Jewett was the head women's basketball coach for three seasons (2001-04) at Franklin College in Franklin, Ind.  During his tenure with the Grizzlies he compiled a 62-20 record and during his final season in 2003-04, led his team to a conference championship, a second round appearance in the NCAA tournament and was named conference coach of the year.

Jewett also had a four-year stint as an assistant coach at Augustana (S.D.) College, helping lead the Vikings to 76 victories and an appearance in the 2001 NCAA tournament.  His coaching career began in 1994 as the head girls' basketball coach at Brandon Valley High School in Brandon, S.D., where he spent three seasons (1994-97).

Jina Johansen recently completed her second season as an assistant coach this past season.  Her responsibilities with the women's basketball program include serving as the recruiting coordinator, developing guards and managing the team's strength and conditioning program.

Prior to SMSU, Johansen spent the 2007-08 season at Augustana helping lead the Vikings to a 22-9 overall record and a third place finish in the North Central Conference.  Johansen began her college coaching career in 2005, serving as a graduate assistant coach at South Dakota State University and working in all facets of the program.  During her two years with SDSU, the team recorded a 44-15 record and reached the quarterfinals of the WNIT in 2007.

A native of Dannebrog, Neb., Johansen was a four-year letterwinner and three-year starter at the University of Nebraska.  During her career she scored 568 points while dishing out 567 assists, ranking second all-time in school history.  As a senior in 2004-05, she was named honorable mention All-Big 12 starting all 32 games while setting a senior single-season school record with 191 assists.