UCLA came knocking on Kathy McConnell-Miller's door and she listened, but it was never her intent to use last month's interview as leverage in her contract negotiations with Colorado, the CU women's basketball coach said Friday.

McConnell-Miller interviewed at UCLA on April 15.

One day later, she withdrew her name from consideration.

That same day, Colorado athletic director Mike Bohn and McConnell-Miller released a joint statement saying they were exploring opportunities for a multi-year contract.

McConnell-Miller is expected to receive a two- or three-year extension either later this month or next month during one of the next two meetings of the CU Board of Regents. Her current five-year deal, worth about $350,000 per year, has two years remaining on it.

"Mike and I, we've talked over the past 12 months about my position here, the progression of the program,"McConnell-Miller said in her first interview since she considered the UCLA job.

"He was very clear on the direction he wanted the program to go and I was clear on where I wanted it to go. ... But my intent was not to get anybody to react one way or the other. That wasn't my intent."

She said her intent was to listen to what UCLA had to offer.

"Professionally, you owe it to yourself to at least listen," McConnell-Miller said. "But when it reaffirms that the job you have is the job you believe in ... that's what it's all about. That's what that experience did. It reaffirmed my commitment to Colorado."

When it was discovered that McConnell-Miller interviewed at UCLA, the move alienated some fans, especially after she had just built some excitement in guiding the Buffs to the WNIT semifinals and CU's first winning season since 2004.

McConnell-Miller doesn't regret interviewing for the UCLA job, which went to former Tennessee assistant Nikki Caldwell.

"I hope I have weathered the storm," McConnell-Miller said. "I hope we've gotten to the point where we're past it. Everyone in the university -- administratively and on the team -- we're past it. But I've learned a great deal from that experience and would likely do things different in the future. But I wouldn't use the word regret."

McConnell-Miller said she didn't have to patch up any relationships with her players.

"When it got out, I would say that a lot of them came to me one-on-one," McConnell-Miller said. "But as a group, they didn't see me leaving. I don't think they ever saw me leaving."

Her contract extension has been a matter of debate.

McConnell-Miller was a disappointing 5-11 in the Big 12 this season, winning one less league game than last year. Her record at CU is 41-53 overall and 14-34 in the Big 12 after three years.

But McConnell-Miller has five scholarships to offer to players in the 2009 graduating class, which is expected to be strong both nationally and in-state. A contract extension would tell recruits that McConnell-Miller will likely be here beyond 2010.

McConnell-Miller said her progress in the Big 12 has been slower than other coaches because she kept the players she inherited when she came here, instead of running them off. The Buffs were 9-19 the year before McConnell-Miller came to CU.

"You can go research other coaches across the country," McConnell-Miller said. "When they come in, they clean house and they get rid of players. ... Right or wrong, I have a very different philosophy.

"So I feel like we were as competitive as we could have been in the first couple years. ... I don't think we're where we want to be. ... But I definitely see the progression in a few areas -- the confidence of the players, the development of their skills, the win-loss column and the improvement in recruiting."

Colorado men's basketball coach Jeff Bzdelik dismissed player Xavier Silas during this past season, and so far six of former coach Ricardo Patton's players have left CU under Bzdelik.

McConnell-Miller doesn't disagree with Bzdelik's actions.

"That was another thing that got me to thinking when I was listening to UCLA," McConnell-Miller said. "I said, 'If I was ever to do this again ... would I do it the same way?' My answer is 'Yes.' That's me.

"It's going to take time. If you hire me, you're not going to see it happen over night because you're taking some players that may or may not fit into your system and either they've got to change or you've got to change, or, at times, both of you have to change. That's not always an easy thing to do."