Vermont announced Tuesday that Todd Woodcroft has been relieved of his duties as head coach of the men’s hockey team, effective immediately.
Assistant coach Steve Wiedler was named interim head coach for the upcoming 2023-24 season.
Vermont director of athletics Jeff Schulman provided the following statement:
“The University of Vermont Athletic Department has high expectations for the conduct of our coaches and all involved with our department. After reviewing the findings of an investigation conducted by UVM’s Office of Affirmative Action and Equal Opportunity that was completed this week, it is clear that Coach Woodcroft failed to meet those expectations. The specific conduct leading to the investigation involved inappropriate text messages with a UVM student on multiple occasions that failed to maintain professional boundaries. Earlier today, I met with the Men’s Hockey team to inform them of my decision and to introduce Steve Wiedler as interim head coach for the 2023-2024 season. The team and I have tremendous confidence in Coach Wiedler’s ability to successfully lead our program. He has played a major role in the recruitment and development of our current players and will step into this important role with the full support of our team and his Athletic Department colleagues.”
Woodcroft has also released a statement through his lawyer:
Statement from Woodcroft’s attorney, who indicates he will explore legal action based on UVM’s decision to fire his client pic.twitter.com/UdFNbQgv7q
— Katie Strang (@KatieJStrang) July 18, 2023
