Bob Frederick stressed that it was nothing personal after the Kansas University athletic director today announced the firing of head football coach Bob Valesente.
“The decision was not so much about the individual as about the program,” Frederick said at a morning press conference at Allen Fieldhouse. “it was simply a matter of not making enough progress on the football field. I think the world of Bob Valesente.”
The firing, however, was criticized by Anthony Redwood, the chairman of the KU Athletic Board, who reportedly said he would resign after an emergency meeting of the board.
Redwood, a professor of business, said the decision “reflects poorly on the integrity of the university.”
Valesente, who took over the Kansas program prior to the 1986 season when Mike Gottfried left for the head job at Pittsburgh University, compiled a 4-17-1 record.
During his two years as head coach, the Jayhawks failed to win a Big Eight game in 14 tries, and won only one game against a major college team (Utah State in 1986).
FREDERICK said he made the decision Sunday, the day after the Jayhawks wound up with a 19-7 loss at Missouri to finish 1-9-1 – the worst KU football record in a decade.
“It was not an easy decision,” Frederick said, stressing that it was strictly his.
Valesente’s mending of academic fences after Gottfried left was lauded by Frederick.
“He brought academic credibility to the program at a time when it was sorely needed,” Frederick said.
Then the Kansas AD emphasized that the decision was not one of academics or a “question of alumni versus faculty.
“The issue at question,” he said, “is progress of the football team on the field.”
VALESENTE, 47, was offered another position in the athletic department, Frederick said, but declined. Nevertheless, Frederick confirmed that the two remaining years on Valesente’s contract will be honored. The coach’s current salary is $72,100 annually.
“I had considerable input from the faculty,” Frederick said, “and some from the alumni, but honestly in the last few weeks the alumni input decreased significantly.”
He added that most of the faculty input was “in support of coach Valesente.”
Asked if declining attendance was a factor, Frederick replied: “It isn’t a factor that makes a decision, but it was a great concern to me.
“We had less than 20,000 at our last home game,” Frederick said about the 18,500 who showed up for the home finale with Oklahoma State two weeks ago. “That concerned me not so much from a revenue standpoint, but as an indicator of declining interest.”
KANSAS NOW will appoint a search committee and adhere to affirmative action guidelines in looking for a new coach.
That means KU won’t have a new coach until Dec. 7 at the earliest because the position must be advertised until then.
Immediate speculation centered on John Hadl, the former KU assistant coach and former head coach of the Los Angeles Express of the defunct USFL. Hadl lives in Lawrence and works as a bond salesman.
“I have received letters in support of John Hadl,” Frederick confirmed, “and if he expresses an interest he’ll be a candidate just like anybody else.”
Asked what kind of coach he will look for, Frederick said: “My hope is to get a proven head coach.”
At what level, he was queried?
“At the collegiate level,” he answered.
FREDERICK stressed he concurred with Valesente’s emphasis on academics and on his red-shirt program.
But the bottom line was that Valesente allowed the program to slide too far in the short-term while building for the future.
“I reached the conclusion we were not progressing,” Frederick stated, “so I made the move.”
Valesente was KU’s sixth head coach since 1970, meaning the school will soon have its seventh head coach in 19 years. After Don Fambrough was fired in 1982, to end his second stint as coach, Bud Moore was 17-27-1 from 1975-78, and Gottfried was 15-18-1 from 1983-85.
“Continuity, obviously concerns all of us,” Frederick said. “I certainly hope we get to the place where we have continuity.
“I just hope the next person we can keep for a long time.”
KU ALUMNI and athletic board officials said today that the firing was triggered mainly because of declining attendance and KU’s poor won-loss record.
“I thought it had to be done. I’m 100 percent behind the athletic director,” said Laird Noller, who serves on the KU Athletic Corporation board.
“There was some concern about declining attendance. At the last game, we had a basketball-sized crowd,” he said. Noller said another concern was that the program wasn’t showing progress.
The won-loss record, 3-8 in 1986 and 1-9-1 this season, “had a lot to do with it,” he said. “Bob Valesente is a wonderful person, but changes had to be made.”
Noller said Frederick was in a no-win situation.
“He’s got people mad at him. He’s got a job to do , and he did it,” Noller said. Faculty members, who supported Valesente for his strong stand on academics might be angry at the firing, Noller said, but they don’t have to worry because Frederick remains committed to that.
“I think he got letters and phone calls from both sides,” he said. “Bob Frederick is his own man, I’ll guarantee you. No one’s going to tell him what to do.”
REDWOOD WAS one of those angered by the decision.
Redwood released a statement this morning calling the decision to fire Valesente “unprincipled.”
The firing, he said, “reflects poorly on the integrity of the university. It denies coach Valesente the opportunity to see his program through to success.”
He said Valesente was hired to build the football program and the coach “started with a near empty barrel of players.”
“Everybody associated with the KU athletics knew that it would take time to achieve success and we knew that first the proper foundation had to be laid,” Redwood said in the statement.
“But memories are short. Apparently we lack the courage at this institution to plan a course of action and to stick with it. Certainly to the outside world, this decision must call into question our commitment to the academic dimension of intercollegiate athletics. Despite protestations, it is difficult to interpret it any other way. It would seem that the philosophy of winning at all costs has again prevailed.
“I salute coach Valesente. He has more class and more integrity than his detractors.”
JOHN DICUS, KU alumni Association president, said firing Valesente must have been a hard decision for Frederick. But when the season’s over, the athletic director and athletic board need to evaluate the program and look at the future, he said.
“He’s a hell of a fine guy, I know that,” he said of Valesente. “I’m just sorry he didn’t have a better record on the field.”
Dicus said Valesente wasn’t in an easy situation.
“He inherited a weak program, no question about that,” he said.
Galen Fiss, another athletic board member and former KU player, said, “I don’t think anybody’s going to come in here in two years and turn it around. There are many negatives in the program right now.”
“A lot of things have to be done. To me, the most important thing is to have a sense of cooperation throughout the university,” he said. “I think maybe that’s been lacking over the years.”
Fiss said the football program’s problems can’t all be pinned on Valesente.
“Talented players can make good coaches, easy, and vice versa,” he said.
A football program, also needs more players, period, he said. It’s hard for KU, with about 85 players, to compete with a team like Nebraska, which has about 200 players, he said.
FISS SAID apathy on the fans’ part is another problem. People must have realistic expectations about the football program, he said, and not be turned off if the team struggles for a while.
The new football coach should be given more time to build his program, he said, adding that continuity has been a problem since the early ’50s when he played at KU.
Don Fambrough, who was fired twice as KU football coach, said last week that changing coaches isn’t the answer.
“I’ve always said we can have a good program at the university but there will have to be some changes in attitudes and commitmentsrather than changing coaches,” he said.
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Val: Two years weren’t enough
Bob Valesente’s reaction to his dismissal as Kansas’ head coach was short and not so sweet.
Shortly after KU athletic director Bob Fredrick announced Valesente’s firing, the fired coach read a prepared statement, then announced he wouldn’t answer questions.
Basically, Valesente stressed that he hadn’t been given enough time to build a program.
“I love the University of Kansas and I was proud to be head football coach,” he read. “However, I don’t believe two years is long enough to build a program.
“It seems to me that Bill McCartney went 1-10 in his third year at Colorado and went to a bowl game the next year.
“I don’t believe we’ve been given enough time.”
Valesente based his rebuilding strategy on the long haul, red-shirting heavily, but was fired essentially because he failed to win enough games in the short-term.
“I thought the administration wanted a solid long-lasting program,” Valesente said in his statement.
Then he ticked off his accomplishments.
“I feel proud of the fact we have begun to overcome some of the massive academic problems that plagued us.
“Our recruiting program is well organized and our strength and conditioning program is at a high level. Believe me, you win in the weight room and with quality student-athletes.”
Finally, Valesente re-emphasized that the decision to fire him was unfair.
“I don’t feel I had a chance to finish what I’d begun,” he said. “We would have gotten it done.”
