Aztecs’ Track Coach Speaks Out on Layoff

Gary Stathas spoke out Friday on some of the decisions made by the San Diego State athletic department that have left him unemployed, the cross-country team without a coach.

Stathas, the men’s track and field coach, and his program went down the drain with wrestling and men’s and women’s golf when the athletic department did its part to meet the state’s budget crunch and the growing concern over gender equity on college campuses.

But SDSU Athletic Director Fred Miller said that more layoffs are on the way.

“There will be layoffs in the athletic department, but we’re not going to comment on them until they occur,” Miller said. “All I can say is the reduction in our department will follow the same ratio as the university’s as a whole. . . .

“The university made 10% cuts and we cut 10% as well. Gary’s was the first of that that went public. We don’t comment publicly on staff reductions.”

Stathas was told May 18 that he wouldn’t be back, but at the time he was the only casualty of the athletic department. His $29,000 contract will not be renewed when it expires at the end of the month.

Stathas criticized the athletic department for some of its past decisions, notably the firing of Denny Stolz as the football coach and retaining him as the men’s golf coach, and the extension that was given to former basketball Coach Jim Brandenburg.

SDSU also wanted to reduce the disparity between the number of men and women participating in athletics. The goal is 60 men for every 40 women, a ratio established by the Big Ten Conference.

Stathas was also the men’s and women’s cross-country coach, and that program was retained. However, there have been no overtures to keep him in that position.

“We should be training right now because our first meet is in August, a little over two months from now,” Stathas said. “Basically, the cross-country team is left out in the cold.”