Rutgers women's basketball coach C. Vivian Stringer will wait until next season to continue pursuit of 1,000 career victories.
The Scarlet Knights were among the last four out of the NCAA tournament, and initially accepted a bid to the WNIT.
But then Rutgers decided not to participate in the WNIT, which the Scarlet Knights won in 2014 and also played in in 2016.
"I believe in my heart that our team was worthy of an NCAA bid," Stringer, who stands at 997 career wins, said in a release from the school. "It pains both the players and the staff to not have our name called this evening. We have decided that our season should end at this point and focus on the future and putting ourselves into a position to control our destiny come next season."
Rutgers was 20-12 this season, but lost 10 of its last 14 games.
Both UConn's Geno Auriemma and North Carolina's Sylvia Hatchell hit the 1,000-win mark this season, both on the same day: Dec. 19. It looked as if Stringer would join them until the Scarlett Knights hit their losing skid.
Next season, Stringer will be in her 24th year at Rutgers and 48th college season overall.