The status of wrestling head coach Troy Sunderland is unclear as a report states he was told in a meeting Thursday with Penn State Athletic Director Tim Curley to discuss his job status he must resign or be fired.
When met at his Port Matilda home Sunday evening, Sunderland told The Daily Collegian he had no comment on the Bluewhite-
illustrated.com report as he talked outside his house.
Curley said he had no comment when reached by telephone Sunday.
Junior wrestler Bubba Jenkins said he had heard many of the rumors circulating but none of the coaches had contacted him to tell him about the situation.
"I did hear a couple things like he might be out, they gave him the option to resign or something like that," Jenkins said Saturday. "Until I can hear for sure, I don't know how definite it is."
While rumors of Sunderland's dismissal have flooded collegiate wrestling message boards, the athletic department has refused to confirm Sunderland's status.
Sunderland has coached the Lions for the past 11 seasons, compiling a 115-90-2 record. Sunderland's winning percentage of .555 is the lowest of any wrestling coach in Penn State history.
This past season, the Lions finished 17th at NCAAs after earning third-place national honors in 2008.
"The word was that they gave him two weeks, so if it's true, it's supposed to be two weeks," Jenkins said. "But I don't know."
Former Nittany Lion head coach John Fritz said he read an article that ran in the Centre Daily Times on Saturday that said Sunderland addressed the team at practice Friday, but did not check any wrestling message boards or blogs.
"Better not to believe anything until we know for sure," Fritz said Sunday in a telephone interview.
