UCSB Coach Dolan issues letter on dismissal saying ‘purported “misconduct” is… typical of the natural friction between a coach and competitive athlete’
by LetsRun.com
June 5, 2018
After 30 years coaching at UC Santa Barbara, cross country and track and field coach Pete Dolan was relieved of his duties today when UCSB issued this brief statement on its website.
The UCSB Athletics Department today announced interim staffing changes to be followed by national searches for head coaches to lead the cross country and track and field teams.
Current assistant coaches, Darius Terry and Gray Horn, will serve as the interim head coaches for cross country and track and field, respectively, during the 2018-19 academic year. The new coaches will replace Pete Dolan who is leaving UCSB Athletics after almost 30 years.
Dolan had been on administrative leave for nearly 3 months before being terminated today.
Dolan’s lawyer Daniel Kolodziej’s sent LetsRun.com a letter that his firm is sharing with UCSB alumni. It is below. The letter outlines from Dolan’s perspective the reasons UCSB terminated him.
First it says possible NCAA violations are still being investigated by the NCAA and Dolan “denies any wrongdoing”.
From ucsbgauchos.com
Then it discusses “Allegations of Misconduct” and says, “Please note in particular that none of the allegations that UCSB finally disclosed to us (following months of our persistent requests) involve gender-based or ethnic/racial-based harassment or discrimination. Instead, they essentially assert that Coach Dolan, in prompting the best out of his athletes, made some of them feel uncomfortable.”
It also says, “In our view, the majority of the purported “misconduct” is actually conduct typical of the natural friction between a coach and a competitive athlete. When certain student-athletes fail to meet performance standards, or lose their commitment to their team or themselves, any effective coach attempts to correct the behaviorand/or attitude.”
Dolan claims the “decision to terminate Coach Dolan appears to be principally premised on statements from athletes that Coach Dolan cut from the Cross-Country / Distance team because they failed to meet the qualifying standard at the pre-season time trial, and/or who were otherwise failing to meet expectations or obligations on the track or off the track”
Full letter from Dolan’s lawyer:
Discussion: Terminated UCSB Coach Pete Dolan “denies any wrongdoing” says allegations were from athletes cut or not meeting expectations
*Pete Dolan is officially out as head coach at UCSB
From the archives: What is Pete Dolan the UCSB head coach like?