Happy New Year.
Although this first post of 2012 isn't Hobart Football related, it is newsworthy in that for the second straight year a Liberty League football program is making headlines in the off season (and not for reasons the school's administration, alumni and fan base are happy about).
Yesterday RPI Head Football Coach Tim Landis resigned citing "personal reasons" according to RPI Athletic Director Jim Knowlton. That said local news and other sources indicated Landis was fired for "alcohol-related issues" and/or incidents on campus.
The RPI Engineers finished 4-5 overall, 3-3 in the LL; their biggest win of 2011 being the dramatic come from behind victory over our Statesmen, 29-28 at Boswell Field.
With Landis stepping down, RPI will conduct a national search for a new Head Coach. In the interim, Offensive Coordinator Guido Falbo will assuming the Head Coaching duties for the 2012 season. This is obviously a blow to the Engineers team and family at a crucial time given the recruiting season. While it's difficult to gauge whether or not this will impact the incoming RPI freshman football class, the timing is obviously not great and will require a good deal of damage control by Knowlton, Falbo and the remaining RPI football staff.
On a personal note, I hope Coach Landis overcomes these personal issues and gets his life back on track. I had the pleasure of interviewing him a couple of times on "In The HuddLLe" (www.inthehuddlle.com), my weekly Division III radio and highlight show, and always found him to be an upstanding guy. His prior track record showed he was dedicated to coaching at top academic schools (prior to RPI he lead the Davidson, Bucknell and other D1AA or FCS programs). Hopefully with help from his family and loved ones he'll be back on the sidelines again sometime soon.
More information on Hobart recruits and other Statesmen news will be posted in future.
Related links:
RPI's official release:
http://www.rpiathletics.com/news/2012/2/3/FB_0203125106.aspx?path=football
Fox News story:
http://www.fox23news.com/sports/custom/localsports/story/UPDATE-RPI-Football-Coach-Tim-Landis-Resigns/cAzArPRhvkyPN7hZIw05SA.cspx
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