D3Playbook: Former Bates FB Coach Sues School

written by STEVE ULRICH
your must-read briefing on what's driving the day in NCAA Division III

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TOP STORY

1. Former Bates FB Coach Sues School

by Steve Collins, Lewiston Sun Journal / photo by Russ Dillingham, Sun Journal

"Nine months after Bates College abruptly replaced its first Black football coach, Malik Hall filed a federal civil rights lawsuit last week alleging racial discrimination by the school and accusing it of endangering his family’s health by putting them up in a “mold-infested house.”

The suit said that Bates hired Hall in 2018 “in an apparent attempt to address its tortured and well-documented record of institutional racism,” but his experience wound up instead highlighting issues that have plagued the school for years.

“Almost immediately after he accepted the position,” the suit charges, Bates “abandoned any pretense that it intended to treat Coach Hall fairly and respectfully, and instead subjected him to repeated and severe racial discrimination.”

Hall accused the college of “playing on racist stereotypes” by accusing him of sexual assault and a fabricated claim that he and another coach “had arranged for students to have sex with football recruits.”

>> What's Next: "The lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court in Maine, asks a judge to order the well-known liberal arts college in Lewiston to rehire Hall, who lives in Auburn, and to compensate Hall and his family for the damages they suffered during the three-year stint that he served as head football coach for the Bobcats. The suit names President Clayton Spencer and the trustees of the college as defendants."

>> Field Awareness: "In September 2019, Bates’ Title IX officer, Gwen Lexow, called Hall into a meeting, according to the suit, and informed him that he had been accused of sexual assault, but declined to provide any details. Three months later, Lexow again notified Hall of a potential problem: He and an assistant coach had been accused “of soliciting students to have sex with football players” they were trying to lure to Bates, according to the suit. Both Hall and his offensive coordinator, Custavious Patterson, denied the charge."

>> The Big Picture: "In addition to seeking financial compensation and for Hall to get his job back, the suit asked the court to order Bates to cease “engaging in any employment practices that discriminate against persons on the basis of race” and to “mail a letter to all employees notifying them of the verdict against them” and to tell them Bates “will not tolerate race discrimination in the future.”

>> What They're Saying: "Mary Pols, a spokesperson for Bates, said in a written statement Saturday that “the college has not seen the lawsuit filed by Malik Hall. I can tell you that Bates strongly disagrees with the account of events as described in The Bates Student newspaper.”"

>> Continue Reading

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VOLLEYBALL

2. Championship Field Announced

The 16-team NCAA Division III men's volleyball championship field was announced on Monday. Carthage is the defending champion.

April 15-16 - First/Second Rounds
Penn State Behrend at No. 1 Springfield; No. 14 Marymount vs. No. 6 New Paltz
Endicott at No. 4 Stevens; St. Joseph's (L.I.) vs. No. 7 Southern Virginia

Baruch at No. 5 Rutgers-Newark; No. 15 St. John Fisher vs. No. 10 Wentworth
Mount Union at No. 3 Carthage; No. 8 North Central vs. No. 2 Dominican

April 22-23 - Semifinals/Final at Carthage

>> Printable Bracket

LACROSSE (W)

3. Middlebury Holds Onto Top Spot

Tori Gay, SUNY Maritime

The latest Division III women's lacrosse polls is out and Middlebury retains the top spot. Franklin & Marshall remained at No. 2 while eight other teams stayed in the top 10 in a different order.

Women

Middlebury (20), 12-0
Franklin & Marshall, 11-1
Salisbury, 10-2
Colby, 10-1
Washington and Lee, 10-2
TCNJ, 8-1
Gettysburg, 9-3
William Smith, 10-1
Ithaca, 10-1
Tufts, 7-2

>> Team Scoring Offense: Capital 19.86, Alma 19.18, FDU-Florham 18.91, UW-River Falls 18.64, Whitman 18.43.

>> Team Scoring Defense: SUNY Maritime 5.00, Carthage 5.25, Chicago 5.36, George Fox 5.42, Pomona-Pitzer 5.44.

>> Unbeatens (6): Capital 14-0, George Fox 12-0, Middlebury 12-0, Pomona-Pitzer 10-0, St. Joseph's (Maine) 11-0, SUNY Maritime 10-0

Games We're Watching (Wed.)

No. 8 William Smith vs. No. 9 Ithaca
No. 11 Wesleyan vs. No. 16 Trinity

>> Complete Poll

LACROSSE (M)

4. Salisbury Stays at No. 1

Kevin Loonie making a save

Kevin Loonie, Farmingdale State

The latest Division III men's poll has been released and Salisbury retained its No. 1 spot as the top nine teams remained in place.

Men

Salisbury (24), 12-0
Christopher Newport (1), 13-0
RIT, 10-1
Union, 10-1
St. John Fisher, 8-2
York, 10-2
Bowdoin, 11-0
Tufts, 8-2
Dickinson, 11-0
Franklin & Marshall, 10-2

>> Team Scoring Offense: Tufts 19.90, Christopher Newport 18.92, Salisbury 18.50, MIT 18.40, Wesleyan 17.90.

>> Team Scoring Defense: Farmingdale State 5.22, Trine 5.62, Saint Vincent 6.00, MSOE 6.11, Adrian 6.27.

>> Unbeatens (5): Christopher Newport 13-0, Salisbury 12-0, Bowdoin 11-0, Dickinson 11-0, MIT 10-0

Games We're Watching (Wed.)

No. 9 Dickinson vs. No. 10 Franklin & Marshall
No. 11 St. Lawrence vs. No. 19 Middlebury

>> Complete Poll

NEWS

5. Lightning Round

Yeshiva's Ryan Turell has been selected to play in the Portsmouth Invitational Tournament, which invites 64 of the best college basketball players (seniors) from across the nation to participate in a four-day, twelve game tournament in front of representatives from every NBA team.

Congratulations to Stevens' AD Russ Rogers who will be honored with the Distinguished Service Award from the Metropolitan Basketball Writers Association.

Two bills proposed in Rhode Island would enable cities and towns to tax private colleges' endowments and properties. DIII schools that could be affected include Roger Williams and Salve Regina, although Brown University is the big target.

ICYMI (and we did), Randolph-Macon's Gracie Ellis struck out 14 of 21 batters on her way to a perfect game as the Yellow Jackets blanked Guilford, 7-0.

Cake and candles to Matt Kosderka, head baseball coach at Lewis & Clark.