What’s going on with Guilford College Athletics These Days?/Lots of Coaches have been leaving, and Which Way is the Program Headed???(Part I)

There have been so many changes at Guilford College recently, it is tough to tell which way the athletic programs are going…You almost need a scorebook to keep up with all of the changes that have occurred in recent years, and even more since the time period of BC/Before COVID, and nobody can be real sure where Guilford College is going to be, AC/After COVID….

Guilford College has seen a reduction in general faculty, a reduction in class offerings, and a cut-back on educational majors offered, at the local college….

And to add to the academic woes that Guilford College has been facing, the Quakers’ athletic programs have taken a hit…It looks like a revolving door of coaches, when you take time to look at all of the coaches that have left Guilford in recent years…

Here is just a partial list of those who have left out from Guilford over the past few years….

Former Coaches and Athletics Personnel:
Nelson Bobb- Interim AD
Sue Bower- Athletic Director
Gary Riza- Athletic Trainer
Dave Walters- SID
Tom Carmean- Men lacrosse
Marc Crisco- Men’s Lacrosse
Charlotte Dixon- Women’s lacrosse
Sarah Lamphier- Women’s Lacrosse
Justin Tereshko – Golf
Jeff Bateson- Men’s Soccer
Stephanie Webb- Women’s Soccer
Ashley Cox – Swimming
Michael Shenigo- Women’s Soccer
Coach Chris Rusiciewz- Football Coach
Ronnie Thomas-Assistant Men’s Basketball Coach

Within the past six months Guilford has lost Chris Rusiewicz(football coach), Ronnie Thomas(men’s assistant basketball coach), and Dave Walters(Guilford College Sports Information Director of 25 years)….

I have made plenty of calls to the Guilford College campus, trying to get info on why the coaches are all leaving, or on why they have been terminated, but I have never received any returned calls, or Emails…No response, to any of my calls, or Emails…

So what is going on over here on West Friendly Avenue and New Garden Road, on the campus of Guilford College???

Part of the problem may stem from the fact that the current Guilford College athletic director, who is Dr. Sharon Beverly, and she is listed as the Interim Director of Athletics, Dr. Sharon Beverly works out of her home in New Jersey…She does visit Guilford on occasion, but is very far away from being a presence on campus….

It appears that too many people that did not have a true vested interest in the operations of the Athletic Department have had a hand in running the show at Guilford and that would be those at the top, including the former college president and the current college Vice President…

Sue Bower, was the interim Athletics Director at Guilford College for one year and three months and we found out that she was relieved of her duties by way of this article from the student newspaper at Guilford College, The Guilfordian…
(November 1, 2019)
On Oct. 21, staff and faculty received an email from Guilford College president Jane Fernandes stating: “After deep consideration, Sue Bower is no longer serving in the role of athletic director at Guilford College and is moving on to other opportunities. The College wishes her well.”

Bower served as the athletic director for one year and three months before her sudden departure. Before Bower, Craig Eilbacher served in an interim capacity in spring 2018, relieving Nelson Bobb who served as interim athletic director for the fall semester in 2017.

Before Bobb, Tom Polumbo served as the athletic director for 10 years before stepping down amid an impending Title IX lawsuit. This most recent dismissal continues a trend of tumultuous endings for the college’s top job in athletics.

The trend raises questions about the relationship between Athletics and the administration. As the leader of the athletics department, the director reports to the president of the school.

Guilford College AD/Athletic Director in 2017-Nelson Bobb
Guilford College AD in 2018-Craig Eilbacher
Guilford College AD in 2019-Sue Bower
Guilford College AD in 2020-Dr. Sharon Beverly
Guilford College AD in 2021-?????

From our sources, we learned that the day that Sue Bower was taking over the reins as the Guilford College Athletic Director, on that same day, as Sue Bower was walking in the door, three Guilford College head coaches were walking out the door, quitting on that very day that Sue Bower was taking over, and it wasn’t due to Sue….You can’t say those coaches even knew Sue, they were just fed up with Guilford, and they had to get the heck out of there….

And with all of that being said here in Part I of “What’s going on with Guilford College Athletics These Days?/Lots of Coaches have been leaving, and Which Way is the Program Headed???”, why are all of those coaches leaving and why are some being flat out terminated???

The football job really makes me wonder, and we hope to get deeper into that void later on…

Then there is the cut of Dave Walters, the former Guilford College SID/Sports Information Director….If you have your college president and vice president delving deep into how the athletics department is operating, you would think they would want an experienced SID running the information portion, of their school’s department of athletics…

But maybe not….

We are just starting to scratch the surface on the current and recent ‘State of the Athletics Department’, at Guilford College…
(It is hard to generate all of the details we are looking for when Guilford College now operates with a Closed Door/Closed Campus Policy, but we will get it done.)

Part II of our study, is just a short time away, and it will be Coming Soon….

4 thoughts on “What’s going on with Guilford College Athletics These Days?/Lots of Coaches have been leaving, and Which Way is the Program Headed???(Part I)

  1. From an Email that we received today, it is believed that Dave Walters, the former Guilford College SID, is now working at Caldwell Academy…

    That is good news, if Dave is up and going strong again, now at Caldwell Academy…

  2. The real question of Guilford College athletics becomes, “Is Guilford on solid ground now???”

  3. It has been verified….Dave Walters is now teaching Marketing and Media at Caldwell Academy….

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