FB: Old Dominion Athletic Conference

[Osprey]

I'm sorry to report that it appears Coach Rusiewicz is out at Guilford.  In the interim, the team is in the hands of Assistant Brad Davis, Guilford '08.  I do not know the circumstances and hope to report more later.  Good luck, Chris!

Rusiewicz is part of the ongoing saga of internal forces destroying the athletic department. While college president Jane Fernandes has been relieved of her duties thanks to the courageous work of some student groups, her allies including the interim AD are still at work trying to tear down the athletic department. Not sure if the driving factor is COVID/finances or philosophy. These same forces forced out three athletic directors including highly respected long-time administrators Nelson Bobb and Sue Bower. In addition to Rusewiecz, Men's Lacrosse coach Mark Crisco has also been let go even though his program was trending positively. Rough times on W. Friendly Avenue.  Good luck Chris and Mark and thanks for all you both did for Guilford!

[thescottharris]

I'm sorry to report that it appears Coach Rusiewicz is out at Guilford.  In the interim, the team is in the hands of Assistant Brad Davis, Guilford '08.  I do not know the circumstances and hope to report more later.  Good luck, Chris!

Rusiewicz is part of the ongoing saga of internal forces destroying the athletic department. While college president Jane Fernandes has been relieved of her duties thanks to the courageous work of some student groups, her allies including the interim AD are still at work trying to tear down the athletic department. Not sure if the driving factor is COVID/finances or philosophy. These same forces forced out three athletic directors including highly respected long-time administrators Nelson Bobb and Sue Bower. In addition to Rusewiecz, Men's Lacrosse coach Mark Crisco has also been let go even though his program was trending positively. Rough times on W. Friendly Avenue.  Good luck Chris and Mark and thanks for all you both did for Guilford!

And don't forget the laying off of Dave Walters at the start of the fiscal year, who was basically a Guilford institution.

They also only have one athletic trainer on staff according to the staff directory.

They are without a head women's lacrosse coach. They have an interim women's soccer head coach who only has two years experience.

[jknezek]

NYTimes has an article primarily about DIII sports and the challenges right now. Has a lot of Randolph-Macon quotes in it. If you have a way through the pay wall, or haven't used up your allotment of free articles, it's worth a read.

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/10/14/education/learning/college-sports-pandemic.html

[y_jack_lok]

^^^ Thanks for posting that. Good article.

[HSCTiger fan]

I’m not quite sure what is going on at Guilford. The school has been on local news this week talking about layoffs of staff and faculty. They are dropping majors in several areas too. I have heard nothing about the future of athletics. It’s sounding like to me the are fighting for the school’s future. Hasanova are they going to make it?  I sure hope so.

[Macon]

This article provides some answers. 

https://greensboro.com/news/education/as-financial-struggles-continue-guilford-college-cuts-50-positions/article_b5103f34-bc5f-11ea-bf0b-dfb7ce43cd0d.html

[Macon]

Here's a more current article:

https://greensboro.com/news/local/education/heartbreaking-guilford-college-to-make-deep-cuts-to-its-academic-majors-and-faculty/article_7755e64e-1f88-11eb-8cf0-4743eb7847ae.html

[Macon]

Seems like GC didn't bring students to campus this fall, but more important was the decision to borrow $50M for campus renovations for a total of $73M in debt.  Sorry to hear this, but I've thought for years that small colleges are at risk.  I've heard that Ferrum and EHC are having real challenges as well.

https://www.wfdd.org/story/major-cuts-ahead-guilford-college-faculty

[HSCTiger74]

   Hampden-Sydney offensive lineman Tyler Howerton was named one of 12 finalists for college football's 2020 William V. Campbell Award. He carries a 4.0 GPA with a major in physics and a mathematics minor, and is the only finalist from D-III.
 

[HSCTiger fan]

   Hampden-Sydney offensive lineman Tyler Howerton was named one of 12 finalists for college football's 2020 William V. Campbell Award. He carries a 4.0 GPA with a major in physics and a mathematics minor, and is the only finalist from D-III.

Congratulations to Tyler. Pat are you guys going to interview him and/or write an article?

[Pat Coleman]

If he wins, for sure!

[Pat Coleman]

If he wins, for sure!

Just to follow up, I looked back at our coverage in the past and schools can post news releases on D3football.com about this and have in the past, but we don't generally generate a story of our own about Division III's annual finalist for this award.

[Ron Boerger]

Seems like GC didn't bring students to campus this fall, but more important was the decision to borrow $50M for campus renovations for a total of $73M in debt.  Sorry to hear this, but I've thought for years that small colleges are at risk.  I've heard that Ferrum and EHC are having real challenges as well.

https://www.wfdd.org/story/major-cuts-ahead-guilford-college-faculty

One of the stories said they now spend $5M annually on debt servicing.   That's a huge part of their annual budget which (based on the last revenues I can find for them from several years ago) would be somewhere in the $50M range after all these positions have been cut. 

You wonder why they went the debt route rather than trying a capital campaign, especially in a period when the economy had been doing pretty well. 

[thescottharris]

Which academic programs are getting axed at Guilford?

[Pat Coleman]

E&H leaving D-III.
https://www.d3sports.com/notables/2020/11/emory-henry-sets-sights-d2