Washington Week: Student Voices (O)

Snyder speaks about Mizzou resignation
By Jon Bailey
The Maneater (U. Missouri)
02/16/2006

(CSTV U-WIRE) COLUMBIA, Mo. — For the first time since stepping down as coach of the MU men's basketball team, former coach Quin Synder addressed members of the media on Tuesday and fueled speculation that his resignation wasn't handled properly.

At the press conference, which was held at a Holiday Inn in Columbia, Snyder said he never spoke to Athletic Director Mike Alden prior to his resignation. Snyder said one of Alden's assistants told him that if he did not step down, Snyder's contract would be terminated at the end of the basketball season.

"Before practice on Thursday I met with a member of the athletic department in our locker room," Snyder said. "I was informed very clearly that a decision had been made that my contract would not be renewed at the end of the season and I would be terminated."

Snyder said the assistant made sure Snyder knew the statement was coming from top-level university officials.

"To help me understand the seriousness of the situation, it was stated to me that this decision had the support of the chancellor, president and a member of the Board of Curators," Snyder said.

Alden admitted on Sunday at a press conference that Gary Link, special assistant to the director of athletics and color commentator for MU basketball, had talked to Snyder prior to his resignation. But Alden said he did not send Link to inform Snyder he would be fired.

Snyder's decision to step down didn't sit well with many players, and some have accused the university of irresponsibly handling Snyder's resignation.

According to Snyder's settlement, he received the $407,000 that remained on his contract as well as $167,000 in severance pay. Snyder said he was told that if he stepped down, his contract would be honored.

At Snyder's press conference, a teary-eyed junior guard Thomas Gardner echoed those sentiments.

"Like Jason (Horton) said, the timing is pretty much a slap in the face," said Gardner, MU's leading scorer.

Some former MU players, including former guard Jon Sundvold, also were on hand. Sundvold said he felt MU was less than forthcoming with information regarding Snyder's resignation.

"If there is a boss of the business then the boss usually handles things," Sundvold said. "If it's not handled that way, then at least tell us or a fan or an alum how it happened, instead of us chasing trying to find it out."

Snyder repeatedly asserted that the assistant acted with the authority of Alden, the UM system President Elson Floyd and Chancellor Brady Deaton, as well as a member of the UM system Board of Curators, whom Snyder refused to name. Floyd disputed the notion that he had any involvement in the matter.

"I am startled to hear that anyone suggested that the president of the university had any role in the events surrounding the discussion of Quin Snyder," Floyd stated in a news release read by UM system spokesman Joe Moore immediately following Snyder's press conference. "I was never consulted prior to this reported conversation."

Snyder said the athletic department representative he spoke with informed him he would be fired at the end of the season, regardless of the team's potential future success.

"I asked the question if we win, can this change? If we win the rest of our games, if we win the Big 12 Tournament, does that alter the result in any way? I was told no, they were moving on," Snyder said.

In a news release issued Tuesday evening in response to Synder's comments, Curator Don Walsworth denied allegations that the curators or Floyd would determine a coach's status before season's end.

"I never advocated having Quin resign before the basketball season was over," Walsworth stated in the release. "What Athletic Director Mike Alden, President Elson S. Floyd and Chancellor Brady Deaton and I always talked about was that you evaluate the coaches after the season concludes, and you inquire whether the coaches met the expectations of the university. President Floyd and I agreed on this assessment and timetable for evaluating coaches."

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