Todd Woodcroft, UVM men’s hockey coach fired for ‘inappropriate’ texts – NECN

The University of Vermont announced Tuesday that it has fired its men’s hockey coach Todd Woodcroft over “inappropriate text messages” with a student on multiple occasions that did not follow “professional boundaries.”

Woodcroft was relieved of his duties “effective immediately,” the school said, along with an assistant coach Steve Wiedler appointed as interim coach for the upcoming season 2023-2024.

“After reviewing the results of an investigation by UVM’s Office of Affirmative Action and Equal Opportunity, which was completed this week, it is clear that Coach Woodcroft did not meet those expectations. The specific procedure that led to the investigation involved inappropriate text messages with a UVM student on multiple occasions, who failed to maintain professional boundaries,” athletics director Jeff Schulman said in the statement.

No further details about Wiedler’s specific behavior were given.

Schulman said he will meet with the hockey team on Tuesday to inform them of his decision and introduce Wiedler as the interim coach.

“The team and I have tremendous confidence in Coach Wiedler’s ability to successfully lead our program. He has been instrumental in the recruitment and development of our current players, and he will step into this important role with the full support of our team and his Athletic Department colleagues,” Schulman said in a statement.

Posted by Andrew Miltenberg, Woodcroft representative the following statement to NBC affiliate WPTZ:

We strongly disagree with the process and findings of a proceeding that lacked fundamental fairness and due process. We strongly believe that the university’s decision was against the facts and the law. We intend to pursue justice for Mr. Woodcroft, who has been an outstanding coach and community advocate for over two decades.

Woodcroft was hired as the University of Vermont’s fifth head coach in April 2020, and compiled a 20-55-9 record in three seasons at the helm. He had worked the previous four seasons as an assistant coach in the NHL’s Winnipeg Jets. Prior to that, he worked with the Calgary Flames and Los Angeles Kings as a scouting director and professional scout.

His younger brother Jay Woodcroft is the head coach of the NHL’s Edmonton Oilers.