Report supports Cabrillo team return
School president Wetstein will make formal recommendation to board of trustees May 10
“It was good to put it all under a microscope, though it’s nothing wewanttoeverhave happen again. We were able to take a deep look at our strengths and weaknesses. … It wasn’t all sunshine and rainbows.” – Director of Athletics Mark Ramsey on the report
APTOS >> Cabrillo College’s suspended football program only has one foot in the grave. There’s internal support for football returning for the 2022 season, the Sentinel has learned.
The college’s Program Viability Review Committee — established in May, shortly after its board of trustees voted to suspend football operations for two years — has submitted its findings in an 88-page report to school president Dr. Matthew Wetstein.
“It points to bringing it back, highlighting local athletes and their ability to participate,” Wetstein said of the PVRC’s recommendation.
Wetstein has reviewed the report and will give a 1/2-hour presentation on it and its findings at the next board meeting, slated for Monday. The meeting allows for public input at 5:30 p.m. On May 10, Wetstein will make a formal recommendation to the board.
The report is a step forward for the program, Wetstein said.
The program was suspended
months after the 2019 season concluded. Following its 8-3 campaign, Cabrillo self-reported a rules infraction to the California Community Colleges Athletics Association, which was met with a two-year probation and bowl ban. An internal investigation by Cabrillo found that an assistant coach signed multiple leases to help players secure off-campus housing, a violation of Bylaw 1.2 in the CCCAA constitution.
More than half of the Seahawks roster was made up of out-of-county players, including 20 from outside California.
While the probation stunned the community, it’s surprising suspension left them both saddened and outraged.
“I feel bad for all the kids, all the alumni, all the tradition,” said Reggie Stephens, an assistant coach the past three seasons and one of a handful of former Seahawks who reached the NFL. “All that went through my mind when I heard the news. You can’t wrap your head around it.”
Stephens suggested that the coronavirus pandemic played into the ruling.
“A lot of programs have done worse and they didn’t go through something like this,” he said. “I’ll be praying that the program comes back.”
He is not alone in his sentiments.
Wetstein said the PVRC report is favorable of how
to find housing for students and staff.
There’s plenty behind-thescenes work that will take place between now and Wetstein’s May recommendation to the board of trustees. Wetstein will head a feasibility study that will evaluate market analysis on housing, and host focus groups, both internally and in the community, to find out if its possible to add housing for students and staff on campus or elsewhere in the community.
“It was good to put it all under a microscope, though it’s nothing we want to ever have happen again,” Director of Athletics Mark Ramsey said of the report. “We were able to take a deep look at our strengths and weaknesses. … It wasn’t all sunshine and rainbows.”
Wetstein applauded the PVRC for its extensive research and findings. The sixmember committee includes Ramsey, Amy Ehman, vice president of student services; Kofi Akinjide, director of student equity and success; Sally Larter, dean of counseling and support services; kinesiology professor and former coach Kim Belliveau, and aquatics coach Josh Thomas.
“It was an in-depth report,” Wetstein said. “It paid attention to important elements, like student success and how the college intersects with student-athletes, especially if they’re from outside the area. We want to make things better for athletes across the board, for all athletes.”
Among the PVRC’s findings? Athletes attempt and complete more units and graduate at a faster rate
than the rest of the student population. In data gathered from the fall of 2018-19 academic school year, the entire student body attempted an average of 28.2 units per year and completed 21.2. A full load is 12-15 units per semester.
Football players attempted an average of 25.1 units per year with 18.1 completed. Non-athletes averaged 13.9 units attempted and 10.6 completed. Collectively, the football team posted a 2.96 grade-point average. Non-athletes posted a collective 2.89 GPA.
Though it was a small sample size, Wetstein said he was surprised by a segment on concussion analysis, where football was, percentage-wise, significantly lower than several other sports. The football team reported seven concussions on its roster of 61 players (11%) during the 2019 season. Among the sports registering higher percentages: women’s volleyball (28%; four of 14 players), men’s basketball (25%; three of 12), baseball (17%; six of 34), and softball (13% two of 15).
In addition to its research, the PVRC hosted multiple online forums, due to the pandemic. Wetstein was among the attendees. It also interviewed current and former athletes about their experience at Cabrillo. They addressed, among many things, food and housing securement.
Several speakers during one town hall meeting said that participation in Cabrillo football drove them to attend college and achieve academically. Without it, they said, they wouldn’t have attended
college. Others mentioned they’d be forced to attend an out-of-area community college if Cabrillo didn’t have a program.
The comments were heart-felt and concerning, Wetstein and Ramsey said.
“That was powerful stuff,” Ramsey said.
Ramsey said the PVRC took a deep look at food and housing securement. The program, he said, met its demise trying to balance on-field success while providing an opportunity for out-of-area student-athletes of it.
“With the cost of living here, we can’t sustain that and help those kids the way they need to be helped,” Ramsey said. “Let’s focus on our community. We don’t want our kids to drive 30 to 45 minutes to another community and put them in the same shoes (as our out-ofarea football players).”
How the board of trustees feels — and more importantly, votes — remains to be seen. It voted unanimously to suspend the program in May. Since then, the board has welcomed two new members, Felipe Hernandez (Area V) and Steve Trujillo (Area VII). The remainder of the board includes Donna Ziel (Area I), Adam Spickler (Area II), Christina Cuevas (Area III), Rachael Spencer (Area IV), and Dan Rothwell (Area VI). The student trustee position is currently vacant.
They’re the ones with the shovels and power to remove the program from its burial plot.