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Thursday, April 17 Van Breda Kolff fired; AD submits resignation ESPN.com news services |
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OLEAN, N.Y. -- St. Bonaventure fired basketball coach Jan van Breda Kolff and accepted athletic director Gothard Lane's resignation Thursday, six weeks after the team boycotted games over an ineligible player.
The school also accepted the resignation of assistant coach Kort Wickenheiser, whose father was the school's president. The moves followed the release of an investigative report that described the men's basketball program as being in "turmoil." The report said the school president was "preoccupied" with the success of the program, and that the coaching staff was "in constant conflict, real or perceived, with athletic department administrators." University interim president Rev. Dominic Monti said van Breda Kolff was offered an opportunity to resign Wednesday, but had yet to respond. Van Breda Kolff said Thursday he was still waiting to hear from St. Bonaventure. "Everything has been on hold," van Breda Kolff told ESPN.com. "I've had no communication at all. I've been trying to stay busy and spend time with my wife and children. But I can't call recruits, players or anything." Van Breda Kolff, Lane and Wickenheiser were placed on administrative leave in March, shortly after the Atlantic 10 sanctioned the team for using center Jamil Terrell. Terrell was declared ineligible for violating NCAA junior college transfer guidelines. The team was stripped of six conference victories and barred from the postseason. St. Bonaventure players voted to boycott their final two games in protest, a move that cost the school more than $120,000 in fines. In a review of the program, officials found three NCAA violations. Trustees saw a report on the problems this week. Robert Wickenheiser, the father of Kort, resigned at the demand of the board of trustees on March 9 after taking full responsibility for approving Terrell's transfer. St. Bonaventure feared that the situation would ultimately result in its removal from the A-10. But in an April 1 meeting of university presidents, St. Bonaventure was told it would remain a member of the conference. The Bonnies had to make payments to Richmond and Massachusetts for revenue the schools lost from their home games. The Bonnies would have played an A-10 tournament game at Richmond had they not been held out of it. Sources said the Bonnies are already rounding up candidates to replace van Breda Kolff. They are: Syracuse assistant Mike Hopkins, alumnus/Canisius coach Mike MacDonald, alumnus/Siena coach Rob Lanier, Seton Hall assistant Brian Nash, George Washington assistant Kevin Clark, and Villanova assistant Fred Hill. Terrell, who spent two seasons at Coastal Georgia Community College in Brunswick, Ga., was ruled ineligible because he didn't have an associate's degree. He earned a certificate in welding at his former school. Committee chairman Jack McGinley said Terrell had done nothing improper. Information from ESPN.com senior writer Andy Katz and The Associated Press was used in this report. |
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