UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA Duluth Campus Office of te Chancellor 515 Darland Adhinistration Building 1049 Universi Drive Duluth, MY 53812-3011 Office: 218-726-7106 Fax: 218-726-6535 mail: chan@rt mined February 24, 2015 Senator Katie Sieben 75 Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd, Capitol Room 208 St. Paul, MN 55155-1606 Dear Senator Sieben: ‘Thank you for your correspondence of February 20, 2015 from you and other senators regarding our decision not to renew the UMD Women's Hockey coach’s contract. I also appreciate you taking the time to visit with me by telephone last week. I am responding to your letter on behalf of President Eric Kaler and myself. Let me assure you that we strongly support gender equality and are committed to the University of Minnesota Duluth’s goal to create a positive and inclusive campus climate for all. In UMD athletics, we are fully committed to Title IX and the principles of the Minnesota Human Rights Act. We are committed to women’s athletics and the UMD Women's Hockey program achieving excellence in the classroom, community, and competition. The decision to not extend Coach Miller's contract once it ends on June 30, 2015 was a very difficult one. Not extending Coach Miller’s contract was a financial decision that took into account a variety of factors. Unfortunately, this coaching change has been portrayed as one- dimensional. However, as with any personnel decision, UMD leadership conducted a comprehensive analysis of multiple factors. In this case, these included what is best for student- athletes, program performance during the past four-and-a-half seasons, and the overall direction of the program ~ including finances and the fact that Coach Miller is the highest paid women’s hockey coach in the nation. Based upon the review, we determined that it was time to make a change, and have new leadership for the program. Whenever a head coach in any sport is approaching the end of his/her contract, the University conducts an analysis to determine whether the coach’s contract should be extended, The analysis includes a review of issues including team performance, where the coach's salary falls in relationship to other coaches in the conference and nationally, recruiting success, attendance at games, and many other factors. In this case, while the team experienced great success in the past, performance has declined significantly in recent years, This is especially true when theteam is compared fo the three schools we consider its closest competitors/comparators: the University of Minnesota — Twin Cities, the University of Wisconsin — Madison, and the University of North Dakota. The team’s recent record on recruiting has been spotty, with a number of recruits leaving the program. Attendance at games is down, Other programs have performed much better during this same period. Based upon these factors, UMD determined that it was time to make a change, to further the interest of the program. ‘The University has gone through the same kind of analysis, and has made similar decisions on numerous occasions in the past. We will undertake the same kind of analysis when the contract of the Head Coach for the Men’s Hockey Team is up for extension in 2017. Tough decisions had to be made in the best interests of sustaining 16 athleties programs and over 400 student athletes. Such tough decisions have been made in the past, as with the discontinuance of the UMD Wrestling program, and they will be made in the future. We are fully committed to the ongoing success of our Women’s Hockey program, and this decision will help us achieve even greater success for the program. The decision to not extend Coach Miller's contract had nothing to do with gender or sexual orientation, ‘We are grateful for Coach Miller’s work in building the program and proud of the national championships she and her teams earned at UMD. However, recently the team has not achieved competitive success at the same level. The Women’s Hockey team was eliminated in the first round of the NCAA playoffs in 2011 and has not reached the NCAA tournament for the past three seasons, Also since 2011, UMD has struggled against Minnesota Twin Cities and Wisconsin, While the Gophers and Badgers have combined for four WCHA regular season titles, four WCHA playoffs crowns and three national championships in the past four years, UMD is 6-34-8 against those two programs and North Dakota during that time. The Buildogs are also 5-9-2 against North Dakota since 2012 and have won only one of the last 10 games against UND (1-6-3) I want to directly address the misperception that the decision somehow shows a lack of support for Bulldogs Women’s Hockey. That is not the ease, Both UMD Athletics and I personally remain fully committed to the success of our Women’s Hockey program. This decision was made with the interests of the program firmly in mind. We view it as an opportunity to move the program forward. I am committed to continuing the tradition of Division 1 Women’s Hockey at UMD. That includes continuing to fund the program at a level that allows UMD to continue to be competitive nationally, and achieve the kind of success the program has experienced in the past. We will conduct a national search for the team’s next head coach. We have great student- athletes, a great University and a strong hockey tradition, so we have a lot to offer. I am confident that we will build an exceptional new coaching team that will build on the foundation laid by Coach Miller, and will move the program forward. You also refer to the departure of Jen Banford, who is Head Coach of UMD Sofiball and also has part-time duties as Director of Operations for women’s hockey. These part-time operations duties were affected by the decision not to renew the Head Coach’s contract. It is standard University practice to provide notices of non-renewal to a departing Head Coach’s staff to allowa new Coach to select her or his own staff. However, UMD always intended to retain Coach Banford as Head Softball Coach. We are sorry that Coach Banford did not accept a new contract to continue as Head Coach of UMD Softball when her contract expires in June 2015, Given how narrowly and unfairly the decision is being portrayed publicly, it is important to communicate that it was, indeed, @ thoughtful, analytical decision based on a variety of relevant factors. ‘Thank you for sharing your concerns with us. Please let us know if you would like additional information, Sincerely, Aa Lendley C. Black Chancellor