Athletics
Director Muska Leaving
by John Byrne
Director
of Athletics Michael Muska submitted a letter of resignation this
week, effective June 30, bringing his four-year career at Oberlin
College to a close.
Meanwhile,
the College sought to quell rumors that Muska was pressured to resign
as a result of the recent scandal on the basketball team, in which
an ineligible player was discovered and the team was forced to forfeit
the season. Administrators confirmed that an investigation is underway,
but stressed that Muska is not being personally investigated.
He has done a great job, Vice President for College
Relations Alan Moran said, adding that Muska had revitalized
the football program and was instrumental in bringing
mens and womens golf and womens softball to Oberlin.
Muska said he has accepted a position at Poly Prep Country Day School
in Brooklyn, New York, working as director of college counseling
and as an assistant to the headmaster. He held a similar position
at Milton and Phillips Andover in Massachusetts prior to accepting
the post at Oberlin.
Upset by the rumors, Muska adamantly denied that he was forced to
resign. Ive always wanted to live in New York, and this
job gives me the financial means to do it, he said. I
miss the greater interaction with students you dont have as
an administrator.
Everything about my departure has been amicable and Im
looking forward to sending students here in the years ahead,
he said.
He has enjoyed traveling as an admissions associate while at Oberlin
and has been eyeing college counseling positions for some time,
he added.
Muska, the first openly gay male athletic director at the college
level in the country, presided over the creation of three varsity
sports and a burgeoning football squad.
During his tenure at Oberlin, Muska has sought to vet homophobia
in sports and endeavored to create a safe climate for gay athletes.
He recently gave a talk on homophobia in sports at an NCAA convention,
and has spoke at various high schools and colleges about his experiences.
Concurrently, he is working on a video that explores homophobia
in sports. One of four project managers, the project is underwritten
by a grant from the Womens Sport Foundation, along with a
generous contribution from tennis star Martina Navratalova. The
video will be distributed free to colleges and high schools across
the country.
As well as becoming a college counselor, Muska said he will also
be coaching cross country and track while advising the Gay/Straight
Alliance.
Asked how his experience at Oberlin would shape his future work,
Muska remarked that he had now worked on the admissions and sports
side both at high schools and colleges, and that this would help
him advise high school students on their college prospects.
Ive been on both sides of the table, he said.
David Harman. Poly Prep is among an elite cadre of eight private
high schools in the New York area that are known as an ivy
league of college preparatory schools.
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