Hartford men's basketball coach John Gallagher resigns, claims university 'jeopardized' player safety

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University of Hartford men’s basketball coach John Gallagher surprisingly resigned from his post on Monday, just a day before the Hawks took on Sacred Heart to open their 2022-23 season. 

In his resignation letter obtained by Fox News Digital, Gallagher claims that the school "not only breached the material terms of my contract but has consistently and repeatedly undermined the Men’s basketball program to the point where player safety and well-being has been jeopardized."

Gallagher went on to highlight what the University has done to the men’s basketball program that is shifting from Division I to Division III after this season.

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"Less than two years after the team proudly represented the University in the NCAA tournament, the program has experienced an exodus of its best players to other programs, the removal of its scholarships, and has been increasingly stripped of critical resources necessary to protect our Student-Athletes," Gallagher said.

Gallagher also brought up a specific situation where a preseason game resulted in a player getting hurt, and he believes a trainer present, which the school did not allow to travel to Dartmouth College for the first time in his tenure, would’ve yielded a different result. 

"Less than two weeks ago, contrary to the consistent practice during my 13 years at the University, I was informed that the University would not be providing a trainer to travel with the Team to a pre-season game at Dartmouth College," Gallagher wrote.

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"As I feared, one of our players was injured during the game – an injury that might not have occurred in the first place with trainer preparation. Moreover, the failure to receive immediate treatment from a trainer undoubtedly resulted in a longer and more painful recovery from this player. At least one parent has reached out to express outrage at this situation. This is something that I, as a Coach, cannot tolerate."

Gallagher also claims that the school didn’t provide him with a "P card," which is used to purchase student-athlete meals while on the road. With no other arrangements supposedly in place, the team has "no means to purchase meals."

With Gallagher understanding that his contract has a clause that prevents him from speaking publicly on the matter, he felt that resigning and bringing light to the current situation at the university was necessary. 

"The reality, however, is that the University has effectively already terminated my contract due to its repeated and ongoing failure to adhere to the core commitments it made to me in the contract – commitments that I relied upon in agreeing to serve as Head Coach."

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Gallagher’s complaints about the program go back to Feb. 2022 when he initially made comments about the university’s practices. On Oct. 26, 2022, his attorneys wrote to the University of Hartford to outline what needs to be done to adhere to NCAA rules as well as what is outlined in his coaching contract. Nothing was done, which left Gallagher no choice but to resign. 

Gallagher first became head coach of the Hawks during the 2010-11 season, and as mentioned, his program made it to the NCAA tournament during the 2020-21 campaign after defeating UMass Lowell to win the America East Championship. They would fall to the eventual champion Baylor Bears in the first round. 

"Over the years, Coach Gal has positively impacted so many lives in the Hartford community," a former player who wished to remain anonymous told Fox News Digital. "He was able to build a family that is now worldwide. He has always given the University and his student-athletes his all. It will be unsettling to not see him out there this season, but I have hopes that the school will continue to represent their student-athletes well, which is exactly what he did in his tenure there."

The University of Hartford gave a statement to Fox News Digital claiming that Gallagher's resignation letter "is full of inaccuracies."

"Mr. Gallagher’s resignation letter is full of inaccuracies," a spokesperson for the University of Hartford said. "The safety of our students is our top priority. For the recent Dartmouth scrimmage he referenced, the University confirmed there would be athletic training on site to assist both UHart and Dartmouth student-athletes. This is an institution with highly qualified medical staff and facilities. Additionally, other members of our staff have always had a University-sponsored credit card for planned meals and expenses. 
 
"We are confident that these baseless claims and attacks will be disproved through the legal process. Mr. Gallagher’s characterization of the University is his own opinion and not based in reality. Our athletics department is leading with positive momentum as we continue our transition to DIII. This fall the University exceeded our enrollment goals, including a large class of new incoming student-athletes. We have announced plans to add sports, build a new track and field, and expand recreation and wellness offerings for our campus community. We are moving forward in the best long-term interest of the University of Hartford and all of our students. 

"We wish Mr. Gallagher well and look forward to announcing interim leadership for our men’s basketball program."

Gallagher finishes his Hartford coaching career with a 169-207 record.