OSU coach who resigned got good evaluations

The annual personnel performance reviews for former Ohio State women’s basketball assistant coach Patrick Klein provide no indication that anything was amiss leading up to his sudden resignation earlier this month.

The documents, obtained by The Dispatch through a Freedom of Information Act request, reflect a valued assistant who was promoted to associate coach before the 2016-17 season and often received pay raises to reflect his work.

In what would be his final performance evaluation, which was conducted by coach Kevin Mcguff, Klein was judged to have exceeded expectations in 10 of 14 job competencies for the 2018-19 school year.

“Great year helping our program grow on and off the court,” Mcguff wrote for his year-end supervisor comments in a document dated July 1.

One month and one day later, Klein submitted a letter of resignation to Ohio State in which he stated that some of his actions as a coach “have not adhered strictly to NCAA rules” and that he had been made aware that “in some instances, my communications with student-athletes may have been too informal or in some cases even inappropriate, violating university policy.”

Under the “studentathlete welfare” competency on Klein’s 2019 evaluation, Mcguff wrote, “Tremedous (sic) effort to go above and beyond to help our athletes improve on and off the court” while stating that he exceeded expectations. Klein also exceeded expectations in such categories as commitment to compliance, leadership and personal conduct and accountability, among others.

“Always a high level of accountability with your actions,” Mcguff wrote in conclusion for the “personal conduct & accountability” section.

In a letter addressed to Klein on Aug. 7, Ohio State associate athletic director for human resources Krissy Mullins noted that the university has an obligation to complete its investigation into potential violations of both NCAA and university policy and that Klein has failed to respond to an offer to continue to participate in the investigation.

Mcguff and Klein have declined multiple requests for comment since the resignation was announced.

Looking ahead in his career, Klein wrote in self-evaluations of aspirations of becoming a head coach after eight years on staff at Ohio State. Along those lines, he planned to spend time with other head coaches at Ohio State, including Tom Ryan (wrestling) and Greg Beals (baseball), to ask questions and take notes.

“I will use this year to ‘think’ like a head coach and have many conversations with Coach Mcguff about ‘why’ he does certain things,” Klein wrote.

Klein was also set to take on a new role on the coaching staff that would have him overseeing the team’s defense as well as wing play.

In what would be his final salary adjustment, Klein on Aug. 20, 2018, was given a merit-based 5% raise to make his annual salary $192,938. It was the second consecutive year in which he received a 5% raise. As in previous years, athletic director Gene Smith began the 2018 letter with a salutation.

“Thanks for helping OSU athletics distinguish itself as the premier program in the country,” Smith wrote. “The future is bright, I look forward to working with you throughout the upcoming year.”