SLIPPERY ROCK — Sean Strickland saw the handmade sign hanging on the wall inside the Slippery Rock HighSchool gymnasium and walked slowly toward it.

"They're going to make me cry," Strickland said, smiling.

Each returning SlipperyRock basketball player autographed the sign that wished Strickland well in his new job as the assistant women's basketball and women's head golf coach at Baldwin-Wallace College in Ohio.

They wished he was coming back to lead the Rockets' boys basketball team.

So does Strickland.

"To be honest with you, I didn't want to leave," said Strickland, who coached the Rockets' boys basketball program for four seasons. He told his team late last week that he would not be back for his fifth.

He has yet to tender his resignation to the Slippery Rock school board, but he begins his new job at Baldwin-Wallace July 1.

Strickland planned to stay at Slippery Rock and hoped to add athletic director to his job title. But he said he encountered opposition to his candidacy, which prompted him to apply for positions elsewhere.

The Slippery Rock School Board approved Dan Szolek of North Lima, Ohio, Monday to replace Jim Hart as athletic director.

"The players and the parents know I wanted to be the A.D. and basketball coach here at Slippery Rock," Strickland said. "Interesting enough, I applied for three other positions and got offers from all three. So, basically, I interviewed for four spots and the only spot that I didn't get was right here at Slippery Rock."

Strickland joins a Baldwin-Wallace women's basketball program that is a perennial power inDivision III.

Under coach Cheri Harrer, the Yellow Jackets have advanced to the Elite Eight in the NCAA Division III tournament three times and are coming off a 27-3 season in which they lost in the second round of the national tournament.

"I am going to a nationally ranked program and they see the assets I bring to the table," Strickland said. "One door shut and an even bigger door opened up."

Senior Derrick Orloski said the news wasn't entirely shocking to the team.

He said they had heard rumors that Strickland was on his way out. Still, when Strickland made it official, it stung, Orloski said.

"We were hoping he would come back," Orloski said. "But we had an idea it would happen. It's hard because he won't be with us in our senior years.

"We can't quit, though. I have to be a leader and keep working."

Strickland, who three years ago started a summer league that is now 24 teams strong, is hopeful the new coach will continue the league.

He's also hopeful the new coach will keep the program heading in the right direction.

Strickland posted a 28-68 record in his four seasons with the Rockets, but the team improved each year.

Last season, Slippery Rock went 15-10 and made the District 10 Class AAA playoffs without two of its top three scorers, who were suspended for the final five games of the regular season.

Four of the top eight players return next season, includingOrloski, who was a terror down the stretch with his quickness to the basket and his defense.

"I really do think the next four or five years will be the best years for Slippery Rock basketball if they get the right person in here," Strickland said.

Strickland won't be a part of the hiring process for his replacement. During the summer league, assistant coach Randy Giesler will take over the team.

Still, Strickland has an interest in who will succeed him.

"The players' biggest concern is my biggest concern," Strickland said. "Who's going to be the next coach?

"All I can say to both the players and the parents is get involved in who the next coach is going to be," Strickland added. "There are great families and great kids involved in this program. I just hope they get the right person to run it and keep it going in the right direction."