When Belinda “Boe” Pearman was hired as the new athletic director at St. Peter’s University last September, it was supposed to be a historic event.
After all, Pearman became the first athletic director in the school’s history. She became only the third female AD at a Jesuit college ever. Pearman came from Manhattan College, a school that is a member of the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference, like St. Peter’s. Pearman was the senior associate director of athletics and senior women’s sports administrator at Manhattan.
Everything pointed towards a dramatic change for the St. Peter’s athletic program. There was a buzz of excitement.
“Saint Peter’s has a long athletic history and our search for a new director was focused on identifying an individual who embodies our mission and who is qualified to lead the University’s athletic program to new heights,” said Eugene J. Cornacchia, Ph.D., president of Saint Peter’s University. “We found those attributes and more in Boe Pearman. Her experience as an administrator, coach and student-athlete gives her a unique and vital perspective. We look forward to the future success of the program under her leadership.”
But now, less than a year into Pearman’s tenure at the school, there have been some dramatic and questionable moves that raise some eyebrows. It makes one wonder whether Harvard on the Boulevard made the right choice in selecting Pearman.
More than a year ago, Rutgers University was under severe scrutiny when former athletic director Julie Hermann’s past was revealed. Hermann’s decision making was also under fire by the media, causing major embarrassment for the entire Rutgers athletic community.
Hermann’s tenure at Rutgers was tempered with controversy and she was eventually fired less than two years after she arrived as the school’s first female athletic director.
What Pearman has done in her short time at St. Peter’s doesn’t rival Hermann’s record, but it certainly should have received more attention than what it has received.
After all, St. Peter’s is an NCAA Division I institution, albeit one that has struggled mightily in terms of being competitive in its litany of sports. Look up and down the St. Peter’s athletic program and it is almost impossible to find a successful team. Simply put, they all lose and some at shockingly poor rates.
Pearman has come in and cleaned house. She has already dismissed four coaches and her sports information director.
Not stopping there, Pearman ordered the removal of the banners off the walls in the school’s gymnasium, Yanitelli Center, banners that all represent a slice of the St. Peter’s athletic history, championships that were secured by proud student/athletes and coaches at the school.
Much like practically every other school in the country, there were about 30 or so banners that proudly proclaimed the Peacocks’ championships of the past. They are now gone, leaving the walls of Yanitelli Center totally bare.
When you walk into Yanitelli now, it seems like something is missing. It’s a gym without flavor, without color. It’s a dull and boring beige. You would never know it was the gym of a mid-major college program.
Pearman thought that the banners were dirty and needed to be cleaned. That was in November. It’s now July. The banners remain off the wall, angering many former athletes who were proud to contribute to those banners.
Pearman did not directly respond to an interview regarding the changes. Questions were asked via e-mail through Sarah Malinowski Ferrary, who is the school’s executive director of university communications. Pearman responded through the e-mails.
“The banners were taken down upon my hire with the intention of having them cleaned and re-hung once the upgrades were made to the RLC [Recreational Life Center],” Pearman said in an e-mail. ”Scheduling for the upgrades fell later in the year than originally planned. I was able to secure additional dollars and decided to invest in all new banners. Once the upgrades are complete in the RLC, the new banners will be hung. If all goes as planned, my hope is later this summer.”
They remain off the walls.
New banners? Isn’t part of the historic feeling the faded banners, the ones that have a little dust and a little bit of a droop? What school takes down banners that have hung in the gym for more than 40 years and replaces them with new ones? What school takes down banners and leaves the walls bare for months?
If you don’t like the way the banners look, then you take them down, have them cleaned and put the same banners back on the walls where they belong.
It’s bad enough that the entire athletic department now features teams that lose. It’s worse when a reminder of the school’s successful past is taken down and not returned.
I’ve spoken to several former athletes and coaches who cannot believe the banners were removed in the first place. The idea of taking them down was ludicrous. So what if they get a little dirty? That’s part of the lure and history. The banners may get dusty and faded, but they represent the past – and that should never be forgotten.
The whole move to remove the banners was disgraceful, but didn’t come close to the personnel changes Pearman made in her first year.
First, she terminated head track and field and cross country coach Mike Massone, who was just inducted into the athletic department’s Hall of Fame.
Massone took a totally moribund and decrepit track program and actually led the women’s team to three straight MAAC indoor championships and two straight outdoor league titles, an unthinkable feat.
In his eight seasons at SPU, Massone was named the MAAC Coach of the Year a staggering six times.
But for some reason, Pearman decided to remove Massone – and did so in the middle of the season. In fact, Pearman dismissed Massone before the important ECAC and MAAC championship and left the team without a chaperone to those meets.
Sean Powers, the school’s equipment manager and strength and conditioning coach, was finally dispatched to attend the meets.
Not stopping there, Pearman fired softball coach Ken Passante after three seasons. Pearman also discharged Passante before the season ended, leaving the team without a head coach for the final four games of the season.
Passante’s teams weren’t successful at all, but still, removing him before the season was over was a total slap in the face. Passante might have deserved a pink slip, but not in the middle of the season.
The absolute worst move Pearman made was the dismissal of Dave Musil, the former sports information director.
Before Pearman arrived, Musil had done an absolutely fantastic job as the voice of the athletic program. If a media member needed to speak to a coach or an athlete, Musil jumped to the cause and made sure those interview requests were made.
Musil did his best to embrace the history and tradition of the school’s athletic program. He wanted to learn more and consistently asked those who knew about the storied tradition to learn even more.
Musil tirelessly improved the program’s website, which was very poor prior to his arrival.
From a sportswriter’s standpoint, Musil was more than adequate. From someone who once held that same position for almost six years, I understood the constant trials and tribulations, endlessly trying to gain attention for the program.
With the teams all constantly losing, it made Musil’s job even harder.
For some reason, Pearman and Musil did not get along from the outset. So one of her first moves as athletic director was to give Musil added duties, determining that he had to help coordinate the general custodial work of the building. Gee, just what he needed. Musil was already working 12 hours a day on basketball game days.
In the e-mail, Pearman dodged the question about the personnel changes.
“Although I am not at liberty to speak specifically about personnel issues due to University policy, please know my decisions have not been made in a vacuum,” Pearman said. “When I was hired, I was charged with building a successful athletic program – one that aligns with the vision and mission of the institution.
Added Pearman, “My first day on the job I met with the entire athletic staff and I laid out my vision and expectations to all involved. The student-athlete experience has been, and always will be, paramount to me. I met with every team, had every student-athlete complete student-athlete experience surveys and had an open door policy for all coaches, staff and athletes to offer input and feedback. Based on all information, decisions/changes were made (with full administrative support) to enhance the student-athlete experience and to remain in alignment with the athletic strategic plan.”
Pearman’s past is under scrutiny. As an assistant women’s basketball coach at her alma mater, the University of Maryland in 1997, Pearman asked the school to conduct an investigation into long-time head coach Chris Weller, because some alleged that Weller was mistreating her players with bad language and other factors. At the time in the early 1990s, Maryland was the top team in the country, but Pearman resigned as an assistant coach.
Pearman then became the head coach at the University of Rhode Island, but resigned in the middle of her fourth season.
Pearman then went to Southern Connecticut State as the interim athletic director, before leaving for Manhattan.
Pearman remains steadfast about her decisions and timing. She is encouraged by the reaction of the student/athletes at St. Peter’s.
“Our student-athletes are excited about their future and our coaches and staff are energized with renewed institutional commitment, including enhanced facility upgrades,” Pearman said.
She said in the e-mail that there are changes being made to the training room, which includes new whirlpools and treadmills.
“In addition, conversations have been numerous and ongoing regarding upgrades to the outdoor playing fields,” Pearman said. “There is a plan for the RLC to be painted in areas as well as other upgrades yet to be announced.”
But for now, the banners remain missing and the program still needs a softball coach and a sports information director. On the website, those positions are listed as TBD, as in to be determined.
That’s a fitting way to describe Pearman’s leverage at St. Peter’s – to be determined. So far, it’s been a complete mess.
Jim Hague can be reached at OGSMAR@aol.com. You can also read Jim’s blog at www.jimhaguesports.blogspot.com.