Even though the USC women's basketball program has fallen far from its former peak and receded from the national spotlight in recent decades, the Trojans' rich tradition proved to still resonate strongly when it came time to find a new head coach.

Lindsay Gottlieb, who was officially announced as the Trojans new coach on Monday, had her introductory news conference Tuesday and emphasized the significance of joining a program with such a storied history that includes national championships in 1983 and 1984 and another Final Four appearance in 1986.

Gottlieb, who previously coached Cal for eight seasons while reaching the Final Four in in 2013, is leaving her position as an assistant coach with the NBA's Cleveland Cavaliers to take the USC job.

"I am honored to wear the letters USC across my chest and represent the likes of Cheryl Miller, Lisa Leslie, Cynthia Cooper, Tina Thompson, the McGee twins, Jacki Gemelos, Cassie Harberts, Courtney Jaco, India Otto and countless other women who make up the tradition of what this program has been and whose legacy will propel us to what we can become in this new era. I am truly honored," Gottlieb said Tuesday, rattling off the names of Trojans through the years.

ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski reported that Gottlieb signed a six-year contract with USC and will formally start the job after finishing out the final games of the Cavs' season.

She replaces Mark Trakh, who retired after going 11-12 this past season, concluding his second stint as Trojans head coach. He was 65-50 over the last four seasons after a previous tenure at USC from 2004-09 that included two NCAA tournament appearances. But the program hasn't been to the NCAA tournament since 2014 and has only that one appearance in the last 15 years.

"Lindsay has a proven track record of success and brings instant credibility locally and nationally to our program," USC athletic director Mike Bohn said Tuesday. "She has led a team in our conference to many NCAA tournaments, including a Final Four appearance, and most recently she has earned over-the-top respect as one of the finest and first female assistant coaches in the NBA. Her elite basketball acumen and vision for excellence will lead our program back to national prominence."

Gottlieb went 179-89 in eight seasons (2011-19) at Cal, reaching the NCAA tournament in seven of those seasons and going 32-4 with that Final Four appearance in her second year there. She then became just the seventh female NBA assistant when she was hired by the Cavs in June of 2019 and the first NCAA women's head coach to be hired by an NBA team.

Gottlieb made it clear she didn't necessarily have her sights set on a return to college basketball -- at least not this soon -- but Bohn and USC's administration swayed her by pledging an increased commitment to the women's basketball program in the way of resources.

"I did not go to the NBA to escape college basketball, but I also didn't go with the intention of trying it out and coming right back to college basketball," she said. "I didn't go with a specific plan to become a NBA head coach or get here or there. I went to the NBA to be present and [take on] a new and incredible challenge. ... I wanted to be pushed. I wanted to get out of my comfort zone to learn and grow and impact the guys I worked with, as well as little girls and boys everywhere who might see me and think, 'Of course, women can.' I hope I was doing that and I certainly had no intentions of going anywhere.

"In fact, we were preparing to play the Chicago Bulls, which happened to be my scout when I was in the coaches locker room just checking social media and I saw that USC was going to need a coach after the retirement of Mark Trakh, and I was specifically taken in by the comments by Mike that USC was ready to really recommit to women's basketball. And then Mike called me. You can only bear to leave one thing you love that you love doing and are invested in when something else comes along that feels transcendent -- the right thing at the right time for the right person. And that's why I'm so excited for the chance to lead USC right now in this moment."

Gottlieb was asked if she could expound on what she was told in terms of bolstered resources and commitment to rebuilding USC women's basketball back to its former heights.

"Mike made it clear from the very beginning that it's time to put an investment in women's basketball. ... This idea that there was kind of this runway in front of me, this blank canvas to say, you tell us what a winning basketball program needs in terms of support staff," she said. "I have really strong thoughts on mental performance training and that side of it, or the support staff that is needed to allow these players to use this degree and not just be in a basketball shell but to get out on campus and figure out how they can use this degree to empower them afterwards.

"I get the chance to say, OK, what positions do we need, how do we make this program unique. That was really appealing to me in terms of the commitment. ... This is a transcendent opportunity I think to have USC women's basketball be just different than any other program."

Gottlieb was also asked a lot about her two years in the NBA, obviously, and how that will shape her as a coach moving forward.

She answered some version of the question a few different times, talking about the emphasis on player development she was part of with the Cavs, seeing how an organization is run from top to bottom and some of the basketball strategy nuances of the NBA game.

"A lot of it I would say is the technical side, the basketball side of the NBA -- the spacing is incredible, the way that you utilize bigs to not just be around the rim but to spread the floor that opens up lanes for other people, a lot of pick and roll kind of cool things going on there. So I got a lot of notes," Gottlieb said. "... I have a lot of work to do before we start the season of [evaluating] what will work for our team, but I'm excited to integrate the philosophies I had before and the new basketball philosophies I have."

Gottlieb was also open about the unique experience of being the only woman on the coaching staff -- and one of few in the league overall.

"I was so welcomed there and they understood that they were bringing in a female coach to just kind of come in and do her thing and be thrown in the fire, and I appreciated that -- I wasn't looked upon as different in the building at all. However, it was my first time in my life that every single time I was in a room I was the other," she said. "I try to be a really good ally, but you can't be the best ally until you're in the shoes in some ways. So now I think about the young women I will coach who are African-American who sit in a class where not everyone looks like them -- I will be a better ally. I think about people who are in a new situation for the first time, maybe coming East coast to West coast -- I will be a better ally. So that was just an unbelievable experience for me."

As for the team she is inheriting, USC went 11-12 last season and 8-10 in the Pac-12 with a young roster of developing players who will return another year older and more experienced.

Endyia Rogers (14.8 points per game) and Alissa Pili (11.0) were sophomores last season, while Jordan Sanders (11.7) was a graduate transfer and lone veteran who would have the option to return for another year.

Gottlieb had an introductory Zoom call with her new team on Monday, she said.

"It was really cool for me to see them locked in. I think they want leadership, they want to be great, they want to figure out what that looks like. I said to them, we have talent in this room. Together we have to figure out what impacts winning and what are the things we're going to be about," she said. "It's just a really cool first meeting. It's not the same as being in person, but I got really good vibes from it and I hope they did too."

Ultimately, the message Gottlieb wanted to emphasize and reiterated several times was that she believes USC is committed to building the program back to its previous levels and that opportunity is what pulled her away from a good situation in Cleveland.

"This campus, the city of LA, the tradition, the talented women on their team, we have all been waiting for the commitment and leadership of this president of this university and this AD to say these young women matter and the success of this program matters. So I'm excited to be the leader chosen to take on this challenge," she said.