Wednesday, July 28, 1999
Kittley leaves to resurrect Tech program
Division II ACU couldn’t compete with finances,
allure of Division I
By TED DUNNAM
Assistant Sports Editor
Abilene Christian University lost its most successful coach
ever when men’s and women’s head track and field coach
Wes Kittley announced his resignation Tuesday to take the same
job at Texas Tech University.
The official announcement ended a turbulent two weeks in which
Tech hotly pursued Kittley while ACU countered with its artillery
to try to retain his services. In the end, the NCAA Division I
school won the battle.
Kittley, 40, was awarded a five-year contract at Texas Tech
that will pay him a six-figure salary each year, making him the
second-highest paid track coach in the Big 12 conference.
ACU director of athletics Stan Lambert said the school did
its best to keep Kittley, but simply couldn’t match the offer
presented by Tech.
“Jack Rich (ACU executive vice president), Dr. (Royce)
Money (ACU president) and myself got very involved last week in
considering a move to Division I,’’ Lambert said. “It
was something we seriously pursued. But all of this has happened
so quickly.’’
Kittley, a native of Rule who won 29 NCAA Division II championships
at ACU, realistically had nothing more to achieve in the track
and field world for the Wildcats. One of the prime criteria ACU
had to meet for Kittley to stay was the track program’s move
to Division I.
“I really do think they did make a concerted effort to
get a Division I program here,’’ Kittley said. “But
there was nothing in writing. It was something that was just never
finalized.’’
When it came to matching Tech’s salary offer, Lambert
said ACU was out of its league.
“We simply couldn’t,’’ Lambert said. “That’s
always going to be the case when your comparing a Division I school
with a Division II school. D-I is very committed to making things
work.
“Even Division I-AA can’t compete with Division I.
For us, that was an even greater leap. We tried to make it as
palatable for Wes as we could, but eventually we would have had
to disrupt the entire salary structure of the athletic department.’’
In addition to his departure, Kittley is also taking assistant
coaches Cliff Felkins and Kelly Smith with him as full-time assistants.
Kittley also wanted to take assistant Jon Murray with him, but
Tech has a full-time assistant distance coach it must retain.
Kittley asked former ACU all-American and the school’s
compliance officer, Sylvia Dyer, to accompany him to Lubbock but
Dyer declined.
“I hate to leave ACU. This has been my home forever,’’
said a tearful Kittley, who has spent his entire coaching career
at his alma mater. “But there comes a time when you have
to move on. I felt I had done all I could at the Division II level.’’
Kittley, who coached at ACU 19 years, will have five full-time
assistants at Tech. In addition to Smith and Felkins, Kittley
will retain the services of Tech assistants Chris Beene (multi-events
coach) and Dave Smith (distance coach). He is also required to
have a full-time female assistant whom he will hire later.
Kittley’s duties officially begin Aug. 1.
“I met with Gerald Myers (Texas Tech athletic director)
Friday, Saturday and Sunday, and was offered the job on Saturday,’’
Kittley said. “It’s a program that is down — we’re
talking 12th in the Big 12. But they gave me a very strong impression
that they wanted this to be an extremely competitive program.’’
If Kittley can resurrect the Tech program anywhere near the
point to what he did at ACU, Tech should be pleased. Kittley twice
won all four NCAA Division II national championships (indoor and
outdoor) in one season, something that remains unmatched.
He has coached seven Olympians, two Pan American Games athletes,
two Goodwill Games athletes, three World University Games athletes,
one World Cup athlete and nine athletes who have qualified for
the World Championships.
His men’s and women’s teams have won seven of the
last eight NCAA Division II indoor and outdoor championships.
Kittley said he would like to take some of his athletes to
Texas Tech, but said he didn’t expect Lambert to give them
their release. Those athletes would have to sit out a year before
becoming eligible to compete at Tech.
Lambert said a search will begin immediately for a replacement
for Kittley.
“We’re going to move on this as quickly and efficiently
as possible,’’ Lambert said. “As far as the process
is concerned, we’re just going to look closely at all of
the qualified candidates, and that includes our existing staff.
“We’ll see what the best answer is for us. We’ve
got some big shoes to fill.’’
Ted Dunnam can be reached at 676-6771 or dunnamt@abinews.com.
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Abilene Reporter-News / Texnews / E.W. Scripps Publications
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