Tegen Sues Wisconsin for Discrimination

He should not be asked to leave. He is one of the premier coaches in the NCAA: one of the all time top coaches of college women. It's disgraceful that Wisconsin would show so little respect and regard for a man who has helped to bring such success over decades to its program.

perspective wrote:

He should not be asked to leave. He is one of the premier coaches in the NCAA: one of the all time top coaches of college women. It's disgraceful that Wisconsin would show so little respect and regard for a man who has helped to bring such success over decades to its program.

I was going post, but you said everything I feel as well. I second 'perspective's' opinion!

Peter should not have been asked to leave. Part of what made him such a successful coach was his determination to stand up for the rights of his athletes. Now this is being used against him. I think the Athletic Department has a lot to answer for, not only in his case but many others.

I hope Peter wins his case.

Craziness, pure craziness. I went to cross country camp up there before my senior year in high school and was thrilled to hear the man himself give a lecture about running. The wonderful thing about that program is the way he developed athletes slowly, and brought them along to run great times years down the road. Take Edmondson, who's finally cranking out some great times now, as a senior, or Brewster who's still running now that shes graduated, and also Jenelle Deatherage (sp). Not to mention Suzy Favor Hamilton, Kathy Butler, etc. The idea that they would fire this guy makes no sense to me. Do they honestly think they can hire a better replacement? The guy trains olympians!

I've met Peter and many of his athletes, and not only does he seem like such an amazing coach, but he also really cares about his athletes. I think that its a disgrace that some athletic director is trying to force him into retirement. I hope that he wins his lawsuit.

I'm a Wisco alum, though I didn't run for any of the university teams. Any thoughts on what myself, and my hundreds of almuni friends (many monetary donors) can do to help Tegen? I wasn't aware any of this was happening until I read this thread...

As a big fan of UW track and field I was pretty shocked when he announced his retirement. Now I'm even more shocked but his retirement now makes more sense. Runners in Madison have NEVER been pleased with the tactics of the athletic department and the directors so this recent news will definitely not help. I can't believe they would dismiss all he has accomplished simply to pursue so called equality. Shouldn't equality be based on ability and accomplishments rather than gender?

I hope he wins because what they did to him was ludicrous.

He IS a great coach but the program has definitely fallen off compared to what it used to be. Anyone have an idea why? Still, after all he has accomplished, the man ought to be able to leave when he wants to.

My "inside" source at the university said the decision was based on the continuing decline of the program, plus in recent years his workouts for his middle and long distance runners were generating a lot of injuries (hard days included a lot of volume).

Interesting to note that the downturn in his teams seems to coincide with the return of Suzy FH to Madison. A former walk-on in the program told me whatever Suzy wanted for a workout that day would become everybody else's workout.

Too bad his time is ending on a sour note.

I believe the program might have fallen off due to the Athletic Departments desire to make the program a well rounded one. This meant that Peter would have given scholarships to athletes in event groups where Wisconsin is not normally strong. Quite a few of these (not all) didn't pan out and therefore scholarships that would have helped several middle/long distance runners were wasted. The athletic department also wants to have equality with the men's program. So, they are encouraged to increase the numbers on the women's side, this doesn't always equal increase in quality athletes. Some of these less than quality athletes can be a negative influence on the genuine hard working athletes.

Peter Tegen should not be let go. He is one of the best women's middle distance coaches in America not just the NCAA. He always has a girl run well in the 1500, 3000 or 5000m races at the NCAA National Championships. Look at US Championship Results from the past 10-15 years. His athletes are consistantly top 3 finishers at USATF National Championships and Olympic Trials. In fact his athletes have consistantly met the IAAF standard in the 1500m as it got lower and lower. I would say that he has produced more high quality middle distance post collegiates for women than any other coach. A great loss for Wisconsin.

I don't think that anyone can deny that Tegen is a great coach. His past record and the great athletes that he has coached speaks for itself. But the program has declined signigicantly over the last number of years and with the resources available there, isn't it reasonable for the Administration to have higher expectectations than a middle of the pack Big Ten team? Not that he should be losing his job but it certainly seems like the program could be doing better.

To those who note a decline in fortunes...if this were the main reason a coach was let go, the Big 10 would be turning over coaches regularly. As would every conference in America.

Is Tegen str8?

I am a UW alum, and I can tell you that the school, while excellent in many ways, is in the grip of the PC police. Definitely not a safe place for a successful white man. That combination of traits will earn eternal enmity among the aged 60's radicals who dominate the faculty and administration.

Big 10 watcher wrote:

I don't think that anyone can deny that Tegen is a great coach. His past record and the great athletes that he has coached speaks for itself. But the program has declined signigicantly over the last number of years and with the resources available there, isn't it reasonable for the Administration to have higher expectectations than a middle of the pack Big Ten team? Not that he should be losing his job but it certainly seems like the program could be doing better.

"With the resources available"? It's not like the minor sports are being showered with funding, and it may be less than it used to be.

As far as the injuries issue, I think it's a combination of things. One, Tegen's training approach isn't for everybody. But I doubt he's changed it in the last few years, so it's not a new thing. No training philosophy will universally work for every single person. Two, roster management puts a lot of pressure on the coaches to keep a certain number of women in the program, including some who are marginal and for whom a collegiate training program is just too much.

I am a little concerned in that the article implied that a survey of his athletes indicated some dissatisfaction. That would be something to be corrected, if so. But Tegen has always seemed like someone who would pay attention to those things.

I'm also amused when someone brings up the past ineligible athlete error against Tegen. Never mind that the Athletic Department compliance people also vetted that paperwork and said it was fine.

Big 10 watcher wrote:

I don't think that anyone can deny that Tegen is a great coach. His past record and the great athletes that he has coached speaks for itself. But the program has declined signigicantly over the last number of years and with the resources available there, isn't it reasonable for the Administration to have higher expectectations than a middle of the pack Big Ten team? Not that he should be losing his job but it certainly seems like the program could be doing better.

"With the resources available"? It's not like the minor sports are being showered with funding, and it may be less than it used to be.

As far as the injuries issue, I think it's a combination of things. One, Tegen's training approach isn't for everybody. But I doubt he's changed it in the last few years, so it's not a new thing. No training philosophy will universally work for every single person. Two, roster management puts a lot of pressure on the coaches to keep a certain number of women in the program, including some who are marginal and for whom a collegiate training program is just too much.

I am a little concerned in that the article implied that a survey of his athletes indicated some dissatisfaction. That would be something to be corrected, if so. But Tegen has always seemed like someone who would pay attention to those things.

I'm also amused when someone brings up the past ineligible athlete error against Tegen. Never mind that the Athletic Department compliance people also vetted that paperwork and said it was fine.

A female administrator in the Athletic Department, Cheryl Marra, has been known have a major influence in getting rid of male coaches in minor sports if they butt heads with her. As an example, a former men's soccer coach was fired a year after his team won the NCAA title back in the mid 90s. It wouldn't surprise me if she also had a role in Tegen's departure since he voiced several unpopular opinions in recent years. And now we have the head football coach taking over as athletic director. Look out minor sports!