BY HUGH CONRAD
For The Tribune-Democrat
May 10, 2008 11:48 pm
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To paraphrase Mark Twain, the rumors that current Penn State assistant men’s coach Kurt Kanaskie has been offered the head men’s basketball coaching position at St. Francis University are premature. In fact, they are nothing but rumors.
Multiple news outlets reported Friday and Saturday that Kanaskie had been offered the job. In response, St. Francis Sports Information Director Bob Volkert issued a strong denial of that Saturday night.
Contacted in New York, where he is with the Red Flash softball team at the Northeast Conference Tournament, Volkert said, “The reports that have been circulating about Kurt Kanaskie being offered the head men’s basketball position at St. Francis are false. At this time, we have at least one more candidate to interview (this) week. A decision will be made on the next head coach at St. Francis in the next two weeks, at least that is the estimate right now.”
Volkert could not confirm nor deny that current Pitt-Johnstown coach Bob Rukavina will be interviewed this week for the job. The Tribune-Democrat has confirmed from other sources that Rukavina will be interviewed by St. Francis.
The first report that St. Francis offered the job to Kanaskie was on the blog of New York Daily News columnist Dick Weiss on Friday. The Harrisburg Patriot-News, pointing to the blog as the original source, confirmed Weiss’ story Saturday, citing a “local source.”
They are both wrong.
For the past week, the St. Francis campus has been abuzz with the rumor that Kanaskie will be the next head coach.
Kanaskie may be a great coach for the Red Flash. In fact, his name was mentioned as a candidate for the men’s job twice in the 1980s, but nothing came of it.
Why are so many St. Francis fans excited about Kanaskie, whose only head coaching experience at the Division I level was a disaster?
In fact, I have two other questions that are more important. Why is Kanaskie, who was interviewed for the position last week, interested in St. Francis? How will St. Francis find the money to pay him?
After a superb coaching record at the Division II level with both IUP and Lock Haven, when he was named PSAC Coach of the Year four times, Kanaskie was named head coach at Drake in 1995.
The Drake program was one of the worst in Division I, having been sanctioned by the NCAA for recruiting violations.
In eight seasons, Kanaskie compiled a record of 74-151 (32.8 percent).
Having gone through nine years under coach Bobby Jones in which the Red Flash won just 34 percent of their games, that record should give ebullient St. Francis fans some pause for concern.
The greater concern for St. Francis is the salary that they would have to offer Kanaskie to leave Penn State. However, Kanaskie, 50, may want to take the St. Francis job to erase the memories of his years at Drake. The Red Flash job could be one that would lead Kanaskie to regain his good name in coaching circles, a form of redemption.
As for the salary, assistant coaches at state schools like Penn State make considerably more money than a head coach at St. Francis would.
Perhaps Kanaskie would be willing to take a cut in pay to restore his credentials.
St. Francis will not reveal how much any of their coaches are being paid because of a school policy against doing so.
If Kanaskie is willing to take a cut in pay, perhaps St. Francis would be the beneficiary of some good luck. Certainly, after having only five winning seasons in the past 30 years, they are due for some good fortune.
Nevertheless, some of those who have e-mailed me about Kanaskie being hired at St. Francis are concerned about a St. Francis-Penn State pipeline. They are referring to Athletic Director Bob Krimmel’s ties to Penn State as a swimming coach and then an assistant athletic director.
Last year, Krimmel hired Susan Robinson Fruchtl, a former Lady Lions basketball player and assistant coach to Rene Portland, to direct the Red Flash women’s basketball program.
Current St. Francis football coach Dave Opfar was a former player at Penn State. He was hired by Jeff Eisen, Krimmel’s predecessor as A.D.
This is all premature since Kanaskie has not been offered the St. Francis job, and he may not take it unless he is compensated accordingly.
The other coaches besides Kanaskie who have been interviewed thus far are Mark Bass, an assistant at St. Joseph’s, Matt Driscoll, an assistant at Baylor, and former Bucknell assistant Don Friday, who is now the head coach at Lycoming.
Hugh Conrad is a freelance writer who covers St. Francis for The Tribune-Democrat.
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