By Richard Pera
Following Ted Stanley’s resignation after nine seasons as the Head Coach for football, President S. Georgia Nugent and the Board of Trustees established a committee to find a replacement for the position. The Lords, who are seeking to rebound from two consecutive winless seasons, will meet the new head coach early in the spring semester. In the meantime, the search has received 124 applications to date.
“I’m very pleased with how the search is moving forward,” said Dean of Students Hank Toutain, who sits on the search committee. “The process has been thoughtful, thorough and deliberate while also proceeding as quickly as possible.”
“The position has been advertised in various publications, including The Chronicle of Higher Education, InsideHigherEd.com, HigherEdJobs.com and NCAA online,” according to Toutain.
A quick web search for NCAA Division III football jobs will lead to information on the opening in Gambier. The “job requirements” section of the listing urges the following qualities in prospective candidates: “exceptional leadership, a commitment to working in a NCAA Division III intercollegiate athletics setting, and an understanding and appreciation of the principles that guide Division III athletics.”
The ad also solicits candidates with strong written and oral communication skills, solid planning and organizational abilities and a knowledge of NCAA and North Coast Athletic Conference rules and regulations.
“We want to try and move as quickly as we can, particularly because it’s so important for recruitment,” President S. Georgia Nugent said. It’s very difficult to commit to a team when you don’t know who you’re working with.”
“We’ve been in touch with former Kenyon football players,” Toutain said, “seeking their assistance both in alerting us to potential head coach candidates as well as enlisting their help in identifying student-athlete prospects for the class of 2016.”
Though Toutain was reluctant to reveal too much information about the current applicants, he remained encouraged by the large number of applications.
“I believe that the applicant pool is robust,” Toutain said. “Certainly there are some candidacies that appear to be very strong.”
The future of the rest of Stanley’s coaching staff remains in question, however. While Ty McGuire, who has worked as an assitant coach since 2006, is serving as the team’s interim head coach, Toutain declined to comment on whether any current assistant coaches applied for the top job.
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