Sun Devil Hockey head coach Greg Powers placed on administrative leave days before start of regular season
Update: Since publication, Coach Powers has made his first statement accepting the decision of the university, which can be found here.
Update 2: Mark Kelly has become the latest voice in Arizona politics to call for an independent investigation, in a statement made to Front Office Sports.
After an increase in temperature surrounding the aftermath of Matthew Mayich's collapse and hospitalization on August 20th, Arizona State University has made the unprecedented decision to place head coach Greg Powers on administrative leave, effective immediately. This decision comes just two days before the start of the regular season in St. Louis against Lindenwood University.
Pressure started to mount for the university on Monday when seven players anonymously submitted a letter to the university through their law firm, detailing key differences between the university's findings released on September 21st from Senior Vice President, Educational Outreach and Student Services James Rund to university President Michael Crow.
On Tuesday, it became widely reported that a meeting was taking place, initially intended to be a players-only meeting but later involving Athletic Director Graham Rossini. A players-only practice followed, with 1-on-1 meetings between players and administrators. These meetings marked the first sign of any attempt to sequester players from the coaching staff since the August 20th workout.
In the wake of this announcement, assistant head coach Mike Corbett has been tabbed as head coach for the season opening series this weekend. Corbett was the head coach at Alabama-Huntsville for seven seasons from 2013-2020 before the university suspended the hockey program, and most recently served as the assistant coach under Rand Pecknold at Quinnipiac from 2021-2024 before arriving in Tempe.
Powers is the only member of the staff to be placed on leave, and a statement from the university indicates that an interim head coach will be named soon. Athletic director Graham Rossini said the following:
“Our focus continues to be on Matthew and his family, and on our student-athletes to make sure they have the support they need during this time and as the season begins. We have continued to collect as much information as possible. After thorough and careful deliberation, I believe this is the best move to provide stability for the hockey program.”
At the time of this writing, Matthew Mayich remains hospitalized at Barrow Neurological Institute. We will continue to update his condition, as well as future news regarding coaching status.
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