Recent turnover within the leadership of Penn rowing may have been fraught with more contention than was orginally portrayed.
In a press release announcing the resignation and reassignment of men's heavyweight rowing coach Stan Bergman to Director of Rowing Affairs, the deal seemed to be agreeable to all parties involved.
But as more details have emerged, the smoothness of the proceedings has come into question.
If it had been up to Bergman, his rowers and a large portion of alumni, he would be back coaching next season. But the athletic department may have turned a deaf ear to their wishes.
Bergman says that he had wished to stay on as head coach. However, he said it was clear to him that Athletic Director Steve Bilsky would not extend his contract.
"I asked for a one-year extension, but I was told I had just two options," Bergman said. "One: try to get that extension, or two: take the director of rowing affairs position. I had a strong feeling that they wouldn't give me the contract extension, ... no matter what pressure the alumni put on them."
Bilsky has a different account of the proceedings.
"Stan and I [had] been talking about his future as the head coach for more than three years now, and that intensified in the last year. Through these discussions, we decided that the best course of action was for him to resign as head coach and take over in this new position," he said.
Bergman said it was important to him to stay at Penn until his last class of recruits graduated, so he chose to accept the new position rather than leave altogether.
Captain Nathaniel Allen said that the men's heavyweight rowing team also wanted Bergman to remain on as coach next season. Allen said he tried to voice the team's concern to Bilsky, but his efforts were rebuffed.
In a letter sent to Provost Ron Daniels on January 29, 2006, Allen wrote that Bilsky was ignoring the teams' efforts to contact him.
"I outlined my support for Coach Bergman; ... I personally delivered a hard copy of the [outline] to [Bilsky's] secretary.
"I never heard back from Mr. Bilsky, and was not convinced that the opinions of the athletes of Penn Crew were being fairly represented," Allen wrote.
The next day, having warned Bilsky in advance, the entire team went to his office in what they hoped would be a "short and cordial meeting," according to the letter.
The team, which did not have an appointment, claims it waited for half an hour without Bilsky formally acknowledging their presence.
It was not until Allen "knocked on Mr. Bilsky's door and asked him if he could listen to what we had to say" that he responded, the letter noted.
According to Bilsky's account, at that point he consented to meet with 'a small faction of team leaders" at a later date.
Some alumni -- specifically, those among several hundred who signed a petition in support of coach Bergman -- also complained about Bilsky's inaccessibility.
"We've asked numerous times to have a meeting with Steve Bilsky, and he has refused to sit down with us," said a former Penn rowing captain who signed the petition.
"Throughout the process, I was in contact with more than 15 alums, covering a wide cross-section of interests," Bilsky responded. "That included alums who supported Coach Bergman and others who thought it was time to move on."
Some alumni have stated that Bilsky was receptive to their input.
"Both Steve Bilsky and [assistant athletic director] Mary DiStanislao ... have told me personally that they are open to recommendations and/or opinions regarding candidates," Former rower Greg Benning wrote in an e-mail to other supporters of Penn rowing, which was by The Daily Pennsylvanian.
The creators of the petition insist that the events surrounding coach Bergman have not been handled in a respectful way.
"This process has sickened me in the way this university has treated Coach Bergman," said one of the petition's organizers on the condition of anonymity.
-- Staff member Alex Weinstein contributed to this report.
