The Boston College women’s ice hockey team, fresh off its first-ever Frozen Four appearance, was seemingly on top of the world.
The Eagles had just finished the 2006-07 season with a program-record 24 wins, just 10 losses and two ties, also collecting their second straight Beanpot victory. After making it to the Frozen Four, they were forced out only by a hard-fought 4-3 double-overtime loss to the University of Minnesota-Duluth.
Coach Tom Mutch, in his fourth season with the Eagles, seemed like a dream come true for the program, being named Hockey East and New England Coach of the Year for putting his team on the national women’s hockey map.
But after Mutch resigned April 24 to “pursue other career interests,” according to a statement from the BC Athletic Director Gene DeFilippo, allegations soon surfaced about Mutch’s sexual misconduct with a player. The Boston Herald, citing anonymous sources, reported the misconduct involved sexually graphic text messages Mutch sent to 19-year-old freshman standout Kelli Stack.
In a statement released Tuesday, DeFilippo said: “An allegation of inappropriate conduct has been raised involving Boston College women’s hockey coach Tom Mutch. The University takes any such matters very seriously. As a result, the Athletics Department began an investigation of the alleged incident as soon as it was brought to our attention. Coach Mutch subsequently submitted his resignation, and his resignation was accepted.”
But then there was silence, with major media outlets in the area not reporting anything about the situation in the past few days.
On the Boston University campus, where the rivalry with BC has intensified with the growth of two formidable women’s hockey teams, the allegations transcended any hard feelings between the clubs on the ice. With four games against their Green-Line rivals this past season, many Terriers have gotten to know Eagles players quite well.
“I was shocked when I heard of the allegations and resignation,” said one BU player, who preferred to remain anonymous because the players are not supposed to comment on them because of team policy. “I think it’s definitely a blow to their program for something like this to happen right as they were emerging as a national contender.
“I think out of respect, it’s important to avoid speculating and jumping to any conclusions,” she added. “I have always thought highly of Tom Mutch, and it’s too bad to see this happening. I honestly hope for the best for all those involved and affected.”
Many BU players refused to comment on the issue because they said it was not a matter specific to BU.
Mutch’s resignation came while the Hockey East annual meeting was taking place in Naples, Fla. When BU coach Brian Durocher — who coached Mutch’s brother, the late Kevin Mutch, at BU — was reached by phone at the conference, he declined to comment on the allegations.
“Tom Mutch is a very good friend of mine — I coached his brother — and I just don’t think there’s enough information in front of us here in Florida,” Durocher said. “It’s not in the best interest to comment or speculate.”
Brion O’Connor, director of public relations for the Hockey East Association, also declined to comment on the allegations and Mutch’s resignations.
“All I can say is that it’s a BC matter,” O’Connor said. “At this time there is no league comment.”
There has seemingly been nothing but silence after one of the most serious allegations in the realm of collegiate sports. BC had been on the right track, making real progress toward building an elite women’s hockey program, but the allegations have tarnished the respect the program worked so hard to build.
And sadly, the allegations against Mutch are just another in the past few years.
Just this year, Louisiana State University women’s basketball coach Pokey Chatman resigned amid allegations that she had inappropriate relationships with former players on her squad.
In 2005, just eight games into its inaugural season at the NCAA Division-I level, Robert Morris University women’s ice hockey coach Kevin McGonagle was fired after allegations about sexual misconduct toward his players.
Both situations involved relationships with coaches and players in women’s sports. In the Chatman case, the topic garnered a fair amount of coverage due to the timing of the story: Chatman’s resignation came just before the start of the NCAA Tournament. Originally, Chatman said she would stay with the team through the tournament so she would not be a distraction for the team, but once allegations began to surface, she made her resignation effective immediately.
While the universities have been quiet on Mutch’s allegations, a lot of discussion threads on the U.S. College Hockey Online website have been devoted to discussing the Mutch allegations. Most people post anonymously, but some identify themselves by name.
Poring through the posts, the lack of information about the allegations becomes clear, as the reaction is largely speculative and uninformed. The topic has already collected 21 pages of posts, and the general sentiment of the conversations shows a concern for the ramifications the allegations have for all of women’s sports.
