By Lisa Byers
Radio play-by-play announcer and Allegheny College alumnus Vic Kress was stunned Monday after he heard the news that Director of Athletics Betsy Mitchell confirmed head men’s basketball coach Rob Clune would not be back for the 2010-11 season.
“What a shock,” Kress said from his vacation home in Florida.
“I can’t believe it,” he added, taking a moment to gather his thoughts. “I’m real disappointed. He’s a good friend. I didn’t see it coming; didn’t see it coming.”
Mitchell would not say why Clune was let go, saying only that Clune would not be the coach next year. She also would not confirm if Clune was let go Friday.
As of late Monday night, the Allegheny Web site still had Clune listed as the head coach and the voice mail in his office was still active.
“Coaching is a very public profession,” Mitchell said. “Employment relationships are very private matters. My highest obligation is to Rob’s privacy. Job performance has a variety of areas. My highest obligation, again, is to Rob’s privacy.”
Mitchell said the school did not publicly announce the move out of respect for Clune.
Clune did not return a call seeking comment Monday.
Clune was coming off one of his most successful seasons. The Gators finished 14-11 overall and 11-5 in the North Coast Athletic Conference. Among Allegheny’s victories was a 60-56 win over Wittenberg that helped the Gators secure a first-round home game for the NCAC Tournament.
Fourth-seeded Allegheny fell to Ohio Wesleyan, the fifth seed, 73-59, in the opening round contest.
The Gators’ performance was quite the turnaround from 2008-09 when they finished just 7-9 in the NCAC.
“I respect Rob,” Mitchell said. “I appreciate his contribution to the college over the years. Obviously, our boys had some good on-court results this year, which was a real tribute to that senior class.”
Clune was hired in September 2002 to replace Allegheny’s all-time wins leader Phil Ness and enjoyed his best season that year. The Gators finished 16-12 overall and 10-6 in the NCAC with two of those wins coming against nationally ranked Wittenberg, including a 73-72 win in the NCAC tournament semifinals. Allegheny’s season came to an end with a 93-71 loss to Wooster in the title game.
Allegheny failed to make the NCAC tournament the next year, but has been in the tourney six straight years since. The Gators were NCAC semifinalists in 2007-08 and 2008-09.
“People complain and sometimes I do, too,” Kress said. “But you do that with any coach. It just doesn’t seem to me that he could be let go because of his record. I don’t understand it. I just don’t know why.”
Clune, who was an assistant coach at Allegheny under Ness from 1989 to 1995, was 96-112 overall at Allegheny and 55-58 in the NCAC. In his 15-year coaching career, which includes seven years as head coach at Bethany College (1995-2002), Clune is 165-223 all-time as a men’s basketball coach.
“We will conduct a national search for our next basketball coach,” Mitchell said. “The process is to include our current players and coaches in the decision. It will be done with deliberate but due speed. We expect and hope to have an announcement by mid-April.”
The coaching change is the fourth at Allegheny since April 2007 when longtime head swimming coach Tom Erdos stepped down. Five months later, the college’s all-time winningest basketball coach Jennifer Reimer announced her resignation as head women’s basketball coach. Then in May of 2008, baseball coach Mike Ferris stepped down after 28 years of involvement with the program.
Lisa Byers can be reached at 724-6370 or by e-mail at lbyers@meadvilletribune.com.
