W&M ATHLETIC DIRECTOR RESIGNS AFTER CONTROVERSIAL SPORTS CUTS
Samantha Huge announced plans to disband seven sports programs last month
Samantha Huge resigned as William & Mary’s athletic director on Tuesday amid widespread dissatisfaction in the campus community following a decision last month to cut seven sports.
“Athletics Director Samantha Huge was asked to lead difficult change at William & Mary — change required to address longstanding imbalances and put the Athletics Department on sound financial and operational footing for years to come,” W&M President Katherine Rowe said in a release. “She took on that challenge recognizing that it was in the best interest of the university and she continues to make decisions using that standard as her guide.
“Now it is clear to me that a new approach is necessary,” Rowe said. “Accordingly, Director Huge and I have mutually agreed that it is best to part ways so the university can focus on the critical questions facing W&M Athletics. I accept this step with a heavy heart and with great respect for Samantha Huge and her leadership.”
The announcement of Huge’s departure, which came at 3 p.m., might not have been a coincidence. The school’s Arts & Sciences Faculty was poised to vote on a motion of “no-confidence” in her leadership at its 3:30 p.m. meeting.
Jeremy Martin, chief of staff to Rowe, will serve as interim director of athletics, the school announced.
“Later this week, he will share the near- and longterm financial shortfalls W&M Athletics faces, as transparently as possible, so there is a broad understanding of them,” Rowe said. “And, as planned, he will engage sport-specific groups who have asked to contribute practical solutions. That process continues intensively this month, with the goal of minimizing uncertainty for the student-athletes and coaches most directly affected.”
Huge was athletic director at W&M since March 2017. She came to Williamsburg with 17 years of Division I athletics experience, having served previously as associate director of athletics at Texas A&M and deputy director of athletics and recreation services at the University of Delaware.
Huge said her goal in coming to W&M was to increase athletic revenue. However, the athletic department projects that it will incur losses of more than $3.2 million each of the next three academic years.
“We are grateful to Samantha Huge for all of her service to William & Mary. She has been a tireless advocate for William & Mary and the role athletics plays in the life of our university — taking on hard and necessary issues with courage.”
— William & Mary Rector John Littel
Citing increasing budget deficits within the athletic department exacerbated by the coronavirus pandemic, W&M announced it was eliminating seven of its 23 varsity sports after the 2020-21 school year: men’s and women’s swimming, men’s and women’s gymnastics, men’s indoor and outdoor track and field, and women’s volleyball. When athletic department made the announcement on Sept. 3, some complained they were being cut to place more emphasis on the revenue-producing sports of football and men’s and women’s basketball.
Four teams — women’s gymnastics, volleyball and swimming — quickly announced they had retained counsel and were prepared to pursue a class action lawsuit against the college if their sports are eliminated.
Huge also was roundly criticized by faculty, students and alumni when William & Mary’s announcement included similar, and in places verbatim, wording to a July letter from Stanford University announcing it was cutting 11 sports.
Huge acknowledged in a statement a few days later that the Sept. 3 communication from her, Rowe and W&M Provost Peggy Agouris “clearly fell short of William & Mary’s community standards” because it did not meet the goal to “emulate best practices, not imitate.
W&M swimmer Conor Sokolowsky, the sophomore class president, authored a resolution in the Student Assembly in opposition to the athletics cuts, as well as the absence of transparency in the decision process and the lack of communication in announcing them. He said Huge’s departure is an important first step he hopes results in the reinstatement of the seven sports slated for elimination.
“We think this is definitely something that will help the athletic department re-find its values,” Sokolowsky said. “It something I know a lot of athletes are behind, so I think it’s a really good decision.
“What matters now is the next step. (President) Rowe has been talking about open community discussions and I think that’s actually going to happen soon. I’ve seen fantastic turnaround from administration.
“With Samantha Huge leaving this is an opportunity to right the wrongs that were done earlier this year and to really find our Tribe identity again. I think that’s what was at risk of being lost.”
D.R. Hildebrand, a former swimmer who was among numerous alumni to withdraw their donations to W&M because of the decision to cut seven sports, wants to hear more specifics about the future of those sports.
“I’m not satisfied because the ultimate aim is to have the sports reinstated,” said Hildebrand, who authored a letter last week on behalf of the school swimming community that criticized Huge and the decision process of cutting the sports. “On the one hand it would appear (they’re going to be reinstated) on the face of it.
“But, if you read between the lines, nothing of substance has changed yet. It appears President Rowe is sayingI’`ll make these decisions when I want to make these decisions.’
“I don’t understand why the president is looking at Samantha Huge and the decision to cut the sports as two different issues. It also makes me concerned when I read (she) was asked to lead a difficult change at William & Mary.
“That makes it look like the people who asked her to make that change all seem to want that change to still exist, and they are just looking for a replacement to carry it out.”
William & Mary Rector John Littel appreciated Huge’s work, but stands behind Rowe and Martin.
“We are grateful to Samantha Huge for all of her service to William & Mary,” Littel said in a release. “She has been a tireless advocate for William & Mary and the role athletics plays in the life of our university — taking on hard and necessary issues with courage. The board stands behind President Rowe and Interim Athletics Director Martin as they chart a future course for a successful and sustainable athletics program at William & Mary, and as they work to unite our community behind that shared objective.”
As Martin takes over, his main goal is to have the athletic program on “a shared path of sustainability and excellence.”
“At the top of that list (or priorities) will be working with the people, our dedicated studentathletes, coaches and staff, who make this such a special department,” Martin said in a release. ” I look forward to meeting with each of you personally in the coming days.
“We will begin this process of extended dialogue this Thursday and I welcome all of you to participate in these important conversations. In the meantime, my door remains open to all who want to genuinely address how we move our beloved Tribe forward.”