Hear from Buffalo State women’s wrestling coaches who were abruptly fired

BUFFALO, N.Y. (WBKW) — Stephen Hart and Kellen Devlin were about to make history as the coaches of Buffalo State University’s first women’s wrestling program.

“When we sold our vision, we sold our vision to the student-athletes for what we could perceive this program to be, but also for them to trust us as individuals because there’s no program history right now,” Devlin said.

That vision is no longer a reality since the university abruptly parted ways with the volunteer head coach and assistant coach, leaving many committed wrestlers in limbo.

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“My main concern is the student-athletes who are committed to the mission, vision and values ​​of the program, you know, Kellen and I,” Hart said.

“So right now it’s just kind of controlled chaos to try to accommodate every one of those 24 student-athletes. Try to potentially get them into other schools,” Devlin said.

Hart said the university informed him that a full evaluation of the athletic program would be conducted to determine if cuts were necessary. The Buff State alumnus also said he was offered a one-year contract but declined because he was already working full time and wanted to enroll part-time, on a volunteer basis.

“One of the reasons I agreed to do this on a voluntary basis is because the institution there has played a significant role in my life and my personal success,” Hart said.

But a few days later, both coaches were fired without any explanation.

“I’ve just been informed that they’re not going to continue with the same structure that we’ve had for 10 months and that we’re going in a different direction. That’s the only information I’ve been given,” Hart said.

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“Certainly there’s a certain amount of guilt when you break this news to the girls, like you’ve let them down, because ultimately it was a price to pay for them to commit to our shared vision,” Devlin said.

7 News reached out to Buffalo State for further information and said there was no new comment and was directed to this job posting for a new head coach.

The university has previously said it is committed to creating a “thriving women’s wrestling program”

“I just pray that no administration, no other school does what they did to us as coaches and to our athletes as student-athletes, incoming students,” Devlin said.