The status quo in DePaul athletics will remain for another five years.

The school announced during its basketball tip-off luncheon Tuesday that Athletic Director Jean Lenti Ponsetto’s contract will be extended through 2017. Her contract expired at the end of the last school year, but talks between Ponsetto and DePaul President Rev. Dennis Holtschneider, C.M. began in February, and the AD signed immediately, according to Ponsetto.

“It feels really good,” said Ponsetto, who’s been in the position since 2002. “I got a lot of support at DePaul – Father Dennis has been great administratively since we’ve gone to the Big East, he’s really helped us come up with the funding that we’ve needed for our programs to become competitive in the Big East.”

Both DePaul basketball head coaches – men’s coach Oliver Purnell and women’s coach Doug Bruno – were thrilled that Ponsetto would be returning for another half decade.

“I’m thrilled,” Purnell said. “Jeannie is a big reason that I’m here. She’s one of the best athletic directors in the country. She is so much about the student-athlete that I’m proud to work alongside her.”

Fr. Holtschneider loves what Ponsetto means to the school.

“Jean Lenti-Ponsetto is among the most respected ADs in the U.S.,” he said in an email. “The NCAA, Big East and other athletic conferences turn to her constantly for advice and counsel. ESPN, CBS and other networks also turn to her to understand developments in collegiate athletics.”

Even former Blue Demons men’s basketball head coach Jerry Wainwright was happy for the university.

“I was not aware of Jean’s new contract but I certainly am happy for her and the university,” Wainwright, now the director of basketball operations at Marquette, said in an email. “No one loves DePaul more nor represents it and its mission better than she does. I truly respect her as a professional and even more so as a person.”

Under Ponsetto, DePaul has renovated Wish Field and built Cacciatore Stadium, and the athletic director is heading the efforts to build a new men’s basketball arena either in Lincoln Park or the South Loop. Ponsetto spurred the move to the Big East Conference in 2005, and the school has enjoyed athletic success: 14 of the 15 athletic programs have reached the NCAA postseason in her time, and the women’s basketball team has reached the NCAA tournament 10 straight seasons.

Also, Ponsetto has put an emphasis on academics for DePaul’s athletes – 450 student-athletes have been named conference Academic Honor Rolls, and in 2010, DePaul athletes posted their highest combined GPA (3.353) in school history.

Not everyone is thrilled about the announcement, though.

“I’m disgusted,” said a source with knowledge of DePaul athletics, who did not wish to be named. “I truly believe that DePaul will not make the next step until she is out.”

The big blemish on Ponsetto’s record has been the men’s basketball team, the university’s major sports program. The team has floundered over the past decade – the Blue Demons last made the NCAA tournament in 2004, and have gone 137-172 overall in Ponsetto’s time.

Coaches have been shuffled in and out. Though the school enjoyed some success under coach Dave Leitao (58-34 from 2002-05), Leitao left for Virginia. In came Wainwright, who proceeded to go 59-80 during his time in Chicago.

During April 2009, everyone on Wainwright’s coaching staff resigned – including Wainwright’s son, Scott – sans the head coach. Wainwright was fired in January 2010, and interim coach Tracy Webster went 1-15 over the rest of the season.

That spring, multiple outlets reported that the Blue Demons pursued Pitt’s Jamie Dixon and UCLA’s Ben Howland for their head coaching spot, yet came up empty. DePaul ended up signing Purnell, who had made the last three NCAAs at Clemson, in April of that year.

Since the beginning of the 2007-08 season, the Blue Demon’s men’s team has posted a 47-109 record with a sub-.400 winning percentage each year. The Demons finished last out of the 16 Big East teams in each of the last four seasons.

“Average wins in 10 years is 13.7 wins,” the source with knowledge of the team said. “In the last 5…9.4 wins. If you run a regression line through this…this stock isn’t steady, and it’s not improving, but rather dipping during [Ponsetto’s] tenure.”

While Cleveland Melvin and Brandon Young are quality players, DePaul has landed only one ESPN Top-100 recruit in Purnell’s tenure – class of 2013’s Billy Garrett, Jr. His father, Billy Garrett, Sr., is an assistant coach under Purnell.

Ponsetto and the school have been criticized for not promoting DePaul athletics strongly enough. The source with knowledge of DePaul athletics took issue with the low turnout to men’s basketball games, the lack of Blue Demons merchandise around the city, and even the gameday entertainment.

“Look at the halftime shows during the game,” the source said. “Five year olds dancing to Irish music? People being wrapped like burritos? Come on now. That is pathetic.”

“Last time I checked, DePaul was the largest Catholic school in the country,” the source said. “The last time I checked, they were one of the largest private schools in the country. Wait, aren’t they in one of the biggest basketball conferences in the country? Why think small when you really are big? That’s DePaul’s major problem.”

It all comes back to the men’s basketball team, where building a strong program is of utmost importance. Ponsetto recognized the basketball program’s struggles and said, “We’re building blocks with men’s basketball – we think this is going to be a big turnaround year with coach Purnell and his program.”

The team is returning several key players, including Young, Melvin, Jamee Crockett, Moses Morgan and Worrel Clahar. Add those guys to another year under Purnell and the likelihood of DePaul either getting a new arena or sharing the United Center, and there is optimism within the DePaul basketball community.

“The next step for us as a program,” Ponsetto said, “is that we’ve got to develop a level of consistency and participation at the NCAA championship level to enhance the quality of our student-athlete experience. I think we’re going to continue to do that.”