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BANGOR — Cindy Blodgett, the former University of Maine women’s basketball coach who was fired Monday afternoon, said at a Thursday afternoon press conference that she was released without cause.
Less than one year after signing a two-year contract extension, Blodgett was bought out of the final year of her deal for another year’s salary, $109,772. Money to fund that buyout came from private sources, with no tuition or taxpayer funds used, according to a university press release.
Blodgett, a Clinton native and star in her playing days in the late 1990s at UMaine , said UMaine Athletic Director Steve Abbott asked for her resignation in a meeting last Friday.
“Perhaps I was naive in my thought process that the program I helped build as a player would be willing to commit to me,” Blodgett said Thursday at Paddy Murphy’s, a downtown Bangor pub. “We will not be able to see our first recruited class graduate.”
In an article published today in The Maine Campus, Abbott cited Blodgett’s four-year coaching record of 24-94 as the reason for her firing.
“We all liked and respected her, but as an administrator it’s not my job to make decisions based on those factors rather on what’s best for UMaine. I know it’s disappointing for [the team] and I’m sympathetic, but when it came down to it, she didn’t perform,” Abbott said.
According to Blodgett, she was told by Abbott that there was “a divide” in her locker room. When players rallied behind her, she said he changed his reasoning.
“At 9:10 [a.m.] Friday morning, Steve Abbott asked for my resignation,” Blodgett retorted. “No one spoke to me about wins and losses.”
She said she refused to step down and did not receive communication from any member of UMaine’s administration until her firing Monday afternoon.
When asked if she was fired without case, she said, “Yes, I was.”
As reported in The Maine Campus, Blodgett has hired an attorney, Tom Nale of Waterville, who said she has no plans to sue the university. But, on Thursday, she declined to answer up or down on that subject when asked by a reporter.
“That’s not to discuss at this time,” she said.
Blodgett excelled in her playing days as a Black Bear, scoring 3,005 points and still holds 20 UMaine records. She played professionally in the WNBA and overseas, and was an assistant coach at Brown University and Boston University before getting the UMaine job in 2007.
Former UMaine Athletic Director Blake James, arranged the majority of a two-year contract extension in September 2010, just before Abbott took over the job full-time.
“In retrospect, [the extension] was unfortunate,” Abbott said Wednesday. “I know Blake had high hopes as did I. We were both optimistic.”
Blodgett’s team went 4-25 this season, the worst in the program’s history.
“I’m sure the record is something you’ve all written about,” Blodgett said to the media in attendance. “But what I can assure is that none of you have built a program.”
