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Midseason firings are a tricky choice for schools

By WTOP Staff

JOHN MARSHALL
AP Sports Writers

If recent history is any indication, Kansas won’t be the only school to fire its football coach before the end of the regular season.

Kansas made the season’s first coaching change Sunday when it dumped Charlie Weis. Last year, Southern California fired Lane Kiffin, Connecticut removed Paul Pasqualoni and Miami (Ohio) ousted Don Treadwell by mid-October.

For athletic directors making the call, it usually comes with a great deal of hand-wringing as they decide if an immediate change will help the program or if they’re better off waiting to see how the rest of the season goes.

“It’s not an easy process,” said Arizona athletic director Greg Byrne, who fired Mike Stoops after the Wildcats lost five of their first six games in 2011. “There are so many moving parts to decide what the right thing is to do.”

With more midseason firings potentially on the horizon, here are a few things athletic directors take into account when making a coaching change:

KNOWING THE RIGHT TIME: The dilemma in firing a coach before the season’s end is deciding whether to make a change right away or see if the coach can do something to save his job by the end of the season. When Miami (Ohio) athletic director David Sayler fired Treadwell last season, the RedHawks were 0-5 and Sayler sensed a turnaround wasn’t in store that season. He believed “the whole program was in a malaise of hopelessness” and it needed to be addressed immediately. “If you really feel the decision is that you’re going to make a change at the end of the year, I’d absolutely go ahead and do it again during the year,” he said. “It reaches a tipping point where you just know it’s the right decision. I think when you reach that point, you have to make the change.”

SAVING THE SEASON: Once an athletic director has given up on a coach, how do the players avoid giving up on the season? Southern California showed last year that a coaching change doesn’t have to result in a lost season. USC was 3-2 when Lane Kiffin was fired and went 7-2 the rest of the way. The 2011 Arizona team went 3-3 under interim coach Tim Kish after a 1-5 start led to Stoops’ firing. “When you’re going through a process like this, you recognize these young men only have four or five years to play this game,” said New Mexico AD Paul Krebs, who fired Mike Locksley in September 2011 after a rocky tenure marked by a string of off-field issues. “You’re mindful of that, you’re cognizant of that and you’re really sensitive to that, knowing a change like this in midyear really makes it very, very difficult to have a successful year. You feel badly about that.”

FINDING THE RIGHT (TEMPORARY) CHOICE: Selecting the right interim coach is critical to making sure players don’t give up on a season. USC made its late-season surge last year under Ed Orgeron, a popular assistant on Kiffin’s staff. Miami (Ohio) turned to Mike Bath, a former quarterback at the school who’d been an assistant on Treadwell’s staff. Kansas made a similar move this week by appointing Clint Bowen, a former Jayhawks defensive back and longtime assistant coach at the school. “That’s what you need really to work through the rest of the season in that type of situation, somebody that people can relate to, people can believe in and trust and respect and (who) are going to give it everything they’ve got,” Sayler said.

CHOOSING THE NEXT GUY: The biggest benefit of a midseason move is that it allows a school to get a head start on its coaching search. Sayler said he interviewed three candidates the day after the 2013 regular season ended, something he couldn’t have done if he’d waited to make a change. Krebs was Bowling Green’s athletic director in 2000 when Gary Blackney announced in late September that he was resigning. Because Krebs knew early on he’d have to find a new coach, it gave him more time to research Urban Meyer, a Notre Dame wide receivers coach and a candidate described by Krebs as “a little bit under the radar.” Meyer took the job and went 17-6 in two seasons at Bowling Green before having considerably more success at Utah, Florida and Ohio State. “I’m not sure, if it would have been the normal time frame — an end-of-season making the change — that we would have had the time and would have ever gotten to Urban,” Krebs said.

AVOIDING A LAME-DUCK SITUATION: Firing a coach during the season can create plenty of distractions and potentially send a team into a deeper downward spiral. But, as Sayler points out, it could cause an even bigger distraction to keep a coach in place when his firing seems inevitable. “I think the longer it floats around and people are talking about it, it becomes even more of a distraction, and I don’t think that does anybody any good,” he said. “It certainly doesn’t help recruiting when you’re in that kind of period where no one knows what’s going to happen or what’s going on.”

Copyright 2014 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Don’t Settle for Student Loans to Pay for Online Education

By WTOP Staff
Online college programs are becoming a more popular choice for prospective students, with one study finding that more than 6 million students enrolled in at least one online course in fall 2015. The popularity of these courses can be attributed in part to their flexibility with working adults' schedules, students' ability to progress more quickly through online programs and, oftentimes, cheaper tuition. [See 10 low-cost online bachelor's programs for out-of-state students.]Online degrees can be beneficial to many college students, but some studies have shown online learners complete their programs at lower rates than students at traditional brick-and-mortar campuses. Individuals with student loans but no degree comprise two-thirds of defaulted borrowers. Though these numbers are not encouraging, just like for traditional programs, there are ways to reduce how much you'll need to borrow for an online program to ensure you won't become one of these statistics. Don't just settle on borrowing student loans to cover the whole cost of your program and living expenses. Instead, start thinking about how to cut costs and cover your balance in different ways, such as the following. -- Grants and scholarships: Even though you are taking an online course, you can still apply and receive grants and scholarships. But your first step should be to complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, commonly referred to as the FAFSA, which will allow you to receive a Pell Grant if your expected family contribution is low enough. The EFC criteria and award amounts are adjusted annually, but the 2017-2018 academic year awards range from $606 to $5,920, which could significantly lower the amount you borrow annually. Your next step is to apply for scholarships. You can start by checking online scholarship search engines, such as the Salt Scholarship Search, College Board's BigFuture and Peterson's. But don't forget to take advantage of local organizations and your school's financial aid office. Both may offer scholarships that you can't find with a national scholarship search. [Review these 10 sites to kick off your scholarship search.]For instance, organizations like the Elks Club, Knights of Columbus or the Rotary Club typically offer scholarships annually to local students. Just because you're going to school online doesn't mean you're ineligible. Visit your local library for scholarship listings, and ask around town. You might be surprised how many local organizations offer scholarships. While these scholarships typically aren't large, every little bit counts. Each dollar you receive in a scholarship is a dollar you don't have to borrow and pay interest on. -- Work-study: Another option for online students may be work-study awards. Not all students enrolled in online programs are eligible, but students at some schools -- including, for example, SUNY Empire State College and Liberty University -- are. Work-study awards are not given upfront like scholarships and grants. In most cases, they are an offer to earn up to the awarded amount if you secure an eligible work-study job. While there is a misconception that all work-study jobs must be on campus, students can work for off-campus, nonprofit or public employers as long as the work is in the public's interest. You may be able to work for a for-profit employer if the job is relevant to your course of study. No matter who the outside employer is, it will need to have an established agreement with your college for you to receive work-study funds. Remember, to be eligible for federal financial aid, you must be enrolled and pursuing a degree or certificate. If you're not working toward a credential, Pell Grants and work-study won't be option, but you may still be able to take advantage of private scholarships -- just be sure to read the eligibility criteria carefully. [Explore what to know about financial aid in online programs.]-- Pay as you go: One of the great benefits to enrolling online is the flexible schedule, which can allow you to complete your college coursework around your responsibilities. But prospective students often overlook using their part- or full-time job earnings as an option for paying for college. Almost 80 percent of college students in 2015 worked at least part time while attending classes, according to the National Center for Education Statistics. By budgeting and thinking strategically about your college costs, you can likely reduce your dependence on student loans by paying a portion out of pocket. Many -- but not all -- online programs are less expensive than traditional programs and often have shorter payment periods. Six, eight or 10 weeks are common course durations. Because of the frequency of payments in an online setting, you may be well-placed to pay as you go and possibly avoid borrowing altogether. Attending college online and avoiding student loans may be challenging, but if you are willing to put in the effort, you can limit the amount you need to borrow. More from U.S. News Q&A: Understanding Student Loan Discharge Eligibility Student Loan Refinancing Isn't Right for All Borrowers
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