Daily Local News (West Chester, PA)
Cheyney’s uncertain future leaves questions
Rumors, whispers and promises are all that’s left of Cheyney University athletic program on brink of extinction
THORNBURY >> The task of sifting through the wreckage of what now represents intercollegiate athletics at Cheyney University is a tangled mess pitting hopeful long-range plans against the stark realities that currently exist.
At one end of the spectrum, you have university administrators talking optimistically about not just keeping sports but expanding the school’s athletic engagement. And at the other end, you have student-athlete Damond Dukes, who was compelled to start an on-line petition – signed by more than 1,600 students and alums – that addressed the need to save Cheyney’s highest profile sport: men’s basketball.
It is quite a gulf between the two. And trying to determine truth from hollow promises is a vast, often confusing and troubling exercise.
“It is so weird,” said Cheyney alum and former men’s basketball coach Leon Bell.
So let’s start with what we know: citing a financial crunch, brought on by declining enrollment, Cheyney discontinued its struggling football program after the 2017 season following more than 100 years of competition. A month later it was announced that the nation’s oldest historically black university was going to drop its NCAA Division II status, and membership in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC), at the conclusion of the 2017-18 season.
“But with things like this, once it’s gone it’s very difficult to bring it back.”
The football field at Cheyney sits vacant earlier this week. The school has not played football since 2017.
— Leon Bell, Cheyney alum and former men’s basketball coach
In a press release, CU dropped most of its intercollegiate sports (like men’s and women’s cross country and track, bowling and tennis) with three exceptions: men’s and women’s basketball and women’s volleyball. The promise, from then interim Athletic Director Sue Kilian, was that the six axed programs were going into hiatus with hopes to bring them back at a later date.
“But with things like this, once it’s gone it’s very difficult to bring it back,” said Bell, who played for legendary Cheyney basketball coach John Chaney and later was the head coach at West Chester Henderson.
Steve Murray, the PSAC Commissioner, encouraged Cheyney to look to the United States Collegiate Athletic Association (USCAA) for its three remaining sports but that never materialized. For the next two seasons, the Wolves competed as an independent in basketball and volleyball.
Under head coach Dawud Morris and Bell, his assistant, the men’s basketball program played an aggressive schedule featuring several longtime PSAC rivals like Kutztown, Bloomsburg and Millersville. But with no affiliation or athletic scholarships, the Wolves went a combined 2-31. And even with a slightly less challenging slate of the games, the women’s hoops and volleyball teams went 7-27 and 4-19, respectively, in 201819 and 2019-20.
“Even though we didn’t win many games, we played a bunch of very good teams,” Bell said. “There is a great history of basketball at Cheyney and now it no longer exists.
“Regardless the record, kids still wanted to come and play in order to extend their basketball careers beyond high school, as well as get an education.”
Morris was fired in the spring of 2020 and Bell was elevated to the head coaching spot. And then the coronavirus pandemic hit and forced the cancellation of the entire 2020-21 season.
The first sign that the future of CU men’s basketball may be in serious jeopardy came in March of this year when Bell was notified that his contract as head coach was not being renewed. Several months later, the school’s most successful program (a record 16 PSAC titles and a national championship in 1978) still doesn’t have a coach.
“They even made an addendum to indicate it was because of COVID,” Bell reported. “It seems like everything is blamed on COVID.”
Less than six months until the start of the 2021-22 campaign,
Cheyney does not have a coaching staff for its only men’s team, it does not have a league or a schedule, and there is no athletic director in place. Kilian was let go in 2019 but later returned as the school’s director of intramural sports.
Tammy Bagby, the women’s head basketball coach, and volleyball coach Joan Braid are still under contract according to the university. Inquiries to Bagby and to Cheyney President Aaron Walton were referred to publicist Brian Dries. He declined to answer questions, but the school did respond to a series of written queries from the Daily Local News.
“Cheyney University is currently taking all necessary steps to return to the courts for the 2021-22 season, while factoring all health and safety conditions into our decision,” the statement said. “We are committed to our athletic programs, which includes our longterm plans to build a state-of-theart sports complex on campus and an aggressive return to athletics. We plan to make an announcement soon about our plans for the upcoming season.”
In light of what has already happened, however, it’s easy to see why Bell, Damond Dukes and the hundreds who signed his petition remain skeptical. And answers have not been very forthcoming.
“It was always an iffy thing,” Bell said. “(Walton) has never actually said there is not going to be basketball for 2021-22 – it was always ‘let’s see.’”
A rising junior guard from Philadelphia, Dukes has been attempting to get some answers for months now.
“I haven’t talked to (Walton) so I don’t know if COVID is the excuse anymore,” Dukes said. “He has not responded to me. I probably sent him two emails a week and I call at least once a week. I haven’t heard anything back.”
Many believe that it is already too late to stage a legitimate men’s hoops season beginning next fall. And if that wasn’t enough, there are unanswered questions about where the Wolves will be practicing and competing if the promises of a return are actually realized.
There are rumors that Cope Hall is to be torn down and replaced by the proposed new sports complex. But it is all shrouded in mystery and there are no details on a timeframe, or other important funding questions. Bell has seen the plans but he says there are no stands for spectators.
“They say it is going to happen, and that tearing Cope down is part of the plan,” Bell said. “Where are the students going to go while that is happening? They said something about taking buses to somewhere else. But this is college, man. The students aren’t going to take a shuttle bus to some other place in order to have recreation.”
It is rather curious that an institution racked by financial burdens is going to be able to pull off such a costly new undertaking. Sharp cuts in state aid and higher costs are still an issue, and so is the existential problem of declining enrollment. From 2009 to 2017, Cheyney’s enrollment dropped from 1,471 to 709. And the latest figures are even worse with 559 full-time students and an additional 60 part-time.
“My understanding is that sports are on hiatus for now,” Dukes said. “(Walton) said they are building a new sports complex to be completed in 2023. I’m not sure if they are waiting until then or what to start competing again.
“(Walton) originally said we aren’t playing this season or next season because of COVID. But they said the (coronavirus) restrictions are going to be lifted on Memorial Day, so we should be good for next season.”
In the statement, Cheyney says that the coaching situation with the men’s program will be addressed when plans for the upcoming season are made public. Dukes, however, became tired of waiting so he started the petition entitled: ‘Save Cheyney Basketball.’
“We got a lot of support from the petition, but it’s not translating into anything,” said Dukes, who just wrapped up his sophomore year. “If I don’t hear something very soon, I am planning on transferring.
“I know a lot of student-athletes are going to look to transfer. If we don’t have a gym, we don’t have a coach and we don’t have a schedule – that tells us all we need to know.”
When asked to formulate a list of questions for Walton, he said: “First, I would like to ask (Walton) when we are getting a new coach? But really, I shouldn’t have to ask him anything – he should tell me why we are not playing next season, especially because the protocols are being lifted later this month.”
So the bottom line is that everything remains in a frustrating state of limbo. There are many more questions than answers right now, and that is not a hopeful sign to people like Bell, who love their alma mater and care about its viability moving forward.
“This is all very sad for me,” Bell said. “I care about the kids and I feel bad for them. Most of them came to Cheyney on their own dime and they deserve to have a rewarding college experience.”