When it became clear that Stan Bergman would not lead Penn heavyweight rowing this year, a cloud of uncertainty and controversy shrouded the program for the next several months.
On June 15, the announcement came that former Oregon State coach Fred Honebein had been hired as the next head coach.
The uncertainty ended. The drama did not.
Because, although the vast majority of people involved with the program view Honebein as a satisfactory and even excellent choice, they have also been deeply angered by the actions of the athletic department -- particularly those of athletic director Steve Bilsky and assistant athletic director Mary DiStanislao -- both before and after Bergman's resignation in April.
Nate Allen, a graduate of Penn and the team captain during the 2005-06 season, has spoken personally with Honebein and said in a statement that he feels extremely confident that Honebein "will excel at this position."
But Allen tempered those remarks by adding that "his greatest challenge will be working with Steve Bilsky and Mary DiStanislao, who both possess a deadly combination of incompetence and a lack of concern for the athletes of Penn Crew."
Regardless of its implications, the hire will have the effect of bringing an impressive record of experience to the program's front office.
Honebein comes to Penn after having held an wide variety of positions. A collegiate rower both at Orange Coast College (Costa Mesa, Calif.) and later at California-Berkeley, he also competed professionally on the U.S. Olympic team from 1993-96, winning a World Championship in 1994 and finishing fifth in the 1996 Olympics.
His first coaching job came at his alma mater, where he led the women's novice coach at Cal for the 1997-98 season.
Bergman, although he couldn't comment on the selection process, said that the best way to move past the acrimony held by some around the program was simple: to forget, even if forgiveness was impossible.
"I think [the rowers] are ready to win some races," he said. "When that happens, people have a tendency to forget" about what may be bothering them.
Those sentiments, shared by many who are involved in the program, seem to emanate from two issues: the treatment of Bergman prior to his resignation and the search process that ended two weeks ago, which many say was ignorant of the voices of those outside the department.
Nick Constan, a Legal Studies professor and the team's faculty mentor, said that he was never even notified of the decision and heard about it only secondhand.
"I was expecting to hear a great deal about a search committee and a search," he said. "And it turned out to be a back-pocket operation which was, for lack of a better word, embarrassing." Both Bergman and Honebein could not comment on the specific nature of the process, and DiStanislao was not immediately available to comment.
"I just went through a normal interview, met with some of the athletes, met with some of the administrators," Honebein said. "I think that's what helped Penn make the decision as well."
Most complaints from alumni and others come as a result of the process -- in which they felt the rowers were slighted -- not the outcome. One prominent program alumni and former head of the team's alumni association said that those who advocated for consideration of Seth Brennan, the former freshman coach, as head coach were given a "cockamamie response" from the administration and that their input was not wanted.
For those directly and currently involved with Penn rowing, their attitude toward the athletic department seemed not to have changed since Bergman's job security first became an issue. Their response at that point included a petition and meetings with, among others, the University provost. But a positive sentiment regarding the outcome of the process was shared by all but one of the sources who spoke with The Daily Pennsylvanian.
"They're looking forward, not backward, as they should be," Constan said. "But also, not one of them is happy. If they had a choice of making a single change, they would not change for a better crew, they'd change for a better athletic director."
"He and I have talked, and we're going to keep him involved to the [extent] that he can be involved," Honebein said of Bergman, who many hope will remain an integral part of the program as director of Rowing Affairs, a post he will assume Saturday.
"I just want to try and continue moving things," Honebein said. "I really looked at [Penn] as one of those places that has a lot going for it."
