The news that University of Maine women’s basketball coach Ann McInerney has resigned came as a shock to at least one of the Black Bears’ five recruits, while two others are upset about the move but still plan to attend Maine.

Magdala Johnson of Sandown, N.H., who signed a National Letter of Intent to play for Maine starting with the 2007-08 season, didn’t know McInerney had resigned until contacted Wednesday by a BDN reporter.

“[She’s] in a little bit of a state of shock right now,” Johnson’s father, Bruce Johnson, said Wednesday evening. “This is brand-new news to us. … She obviously won’t have any answers yet.”

Hampden Academy senior guard Tanna Ross said McInerney called her Wednesday afternoon after Ross had played a game of pickup basketball with some of the former UMaine players.

“She said her intentions were not to do this at all and she was sorry it had to happen,” Ross said Wednesday evening.

Ross had heard rumors about the resignation and didn’t believe them at first.

“I was super upset,” she said. “But I figured, there’s more to a school than the coach, although that was a big part of it.”

This year’s class of recruits includes guard-forward Johnson of Timberlane High School in Plaistow, N.H., Ross, Biddeford senior guard Emily Rousseau, Mt. Blue of Farmington senior center Christina Mosher, and Tonya Young, a senior forward at Mascoma Valley Regional High School in Canaan, N.H.

Rousseau, too, plans to play for Maine next year.

“It definitely hasn’t changed my decision,” she said. “It’s really sad to see the coaches go. I really liked them and I had gotten close to them.”

All five recruits signed their NLIs last November. Breaking the NLI can bring about heavy penalties, including the loss of a year of eligibility.

A student-athlete who does not attend the institution with which he or she signed or does not fulfill the terms of the NLI, and wants to attend another NLI institution instead, faces a basic penalty of the loss of one year of eligibility and must serve one year in residence at their next NLI institution.

A year in residence is defined by the NCAA as two semesters or three quarters during which the student-athlete is required to sit out from competition.

The basic penalty can be reduced if the student-athlete asks for and receives an NLI complete release. If the institution does not grant a complete release, the student-athlete can appeal for release to the NLI Steering Committee, which may grant some relief if there are extenuating circumstances on a case-by-case basis.

Extenuating circumstances are, for example, illness of the student-athlete, illness or death of a parent, and financial hardship of the family.

The National Letter of Intent program is administered by the Collegiate Commissioners Association.