John Gallagher resigns as Hartford basketball coach, citing ‘profound deterioration’ of school

“It was emotional,” Gallagher said. “They understood. They love me. I love them. We’re going to be friends for life. It’s not easy.”

By the time Gallagher was recounting this meeting less than an hour later, he had sent a letter of resignation to university president Greg Woodward, quickly cleaned out his upstairs corner office at the Reich Family Pavilion and returned to his West Hartford home.

“I just got out,” said Gallagher, who grew up in suburban Philadelphia. “I know the deal. I’m an Irish kid from Delaware County. I know where I’m wanted.”

Standing in his kitchen, Gallagher, 45, declined to discuss the timing of his resignation, saying his resignation letter addressed that. He did reflect on his 12 years as Hawks coach.

“This was a dream experience, 12 years, the encapsulation of 12,” Gallagher said. “Forget about what is currently going on. The relationships I have with former players. The relationships I have with former assistants and current assistants — or now former. It’s why you coach. As my former player Traci Carter always would say, ‘Don’t cry that it’s over, smile that it happened.’ ”

Gallagher’s resignation came a day before the Hawks open the 2022-23 season. Hartford announced the controversial Division III move in May 2021, just two months after Gallagher led the Hawks to the first NCAA Tournament appearance in program history.

In his resignation letter to Woodward, Gallagher wrote that Hartford has “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.”

An email seeking comment about allegations contained in Gallagher’s resignation letter and the future of the men’s basketball program’s leadership was sent to Sharon Beverly, Hartford’s vice president for athletics and recreation, and a member of UHart’s communications staff. 

Gallagher’s contract, which pays a salary of $250,000, expires in April. 

Gallagher said he will spend the coming months traveling to visit with various basketball colleagues. 

“I’m leaning into it,” he said of embracing a new chapter. “I’m trying to figure out what the lessons are. I’m what we call sitting in the fire right now. It’s not easy. Thirteen years, a lot of relationships. But, listen, my grandfather was a trolly driver. I’m coaching basketball. At the end of the day, I look at it as a gift. There will be an opportunity out there, and I will embrace it. I look at this year as an opportunity to really grow. I’m a very faithful guy and I have to have faith.” 

Gallagher, 45, was 169-207. The Hawks reached the 2020 America East championship game, which was canceled. The following season, Hartford won the conference tournament to reach the NCAA Tournament, losing a first-round game to eventual champion Baylor in March 2021.  

“You make the NCAA Tournament and we can talk about for years,”  Gallagher said. “This is the way the world works. Get up, pull your pants on, figure out what I’m going to do next. I’m a coach, so we’ll figure out what that means. I love the game. The main thing I love is the relationships with the players and developing young men. I was starting my 13th year. We had the best five years in the history of the school, back to back championship games. I know we can win at this level. I know I can win at a lot of levels. I’ve figured this thing out. So let’s see if we get another crack at it.” 

Longtime assistant coach Tom Devitt would seemingly be in line to coach Hartford, starting with Tuesday’s opener against Sacred Heart. The Hawks have seven scholarship players, a mix of returners recruited as Division I players and newcomers recruited as Division III players. The team has a 28-game schedule.  

Hartford will compete in the Commonwealth Coast Conference beginning in the 2023-24 academic year.  

In May, Gallagher sued a vice chairman of the university’s Board of Regents for fraud and negligent misrepresentation. Gallagher claimed in the suit that David Thompson mislead him about Hartford’s exploration of Division I status in the spring of 2021. The lawsuit alleged that Gallagher did not pursue other coaching opportunities based on those conversations.

“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 wrote.  

Gallagher noted that he had communicated these concerns, beginning in February, and that the university did not respond.

He added in the letter, “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. As the Director of Athletics knows full well, and as any coach can attest, trainers are critical for injury prevention and, when injuries do occur, they provide immediate on-site treatment that serves to mitigate and lessen the extent and duration of the injury. … That is something that I, as a Coach, cannot tolerate.” 

Gallagher’s letter noted that his contract has a clause that prevents him from speaking publicly in a way that would reflect negatively on the university.

“With ongoing press coverage at games and elsewhere, it would not be possible for me to refrain from speaking publicly about these matters, and I certainly do not want to give the University the opportunity to terminate my employment because I expressed something negative about the University. 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.” 

Gallagher added, “I have witnessed the profound deterioration of this once-proud institution under the current administration. In the current era, enrollment is plummeting, staff morale has never been lower, students are suing the University, and the University is systematically dismantling its athletic programs. Honestly, it has been painful to watch.”