Ink already covered Daryl Gross’ whiteboard before students left in May, but he quickly had to make room for a new line – reading resumes.

The Syracuse athletic department suffered three major departures this summer – women’s basketball head coach (Keith Cieplicki), softball head coach (Mary Jo Firnbach) and the No. 2 official in the athletic department (Mark Jackson).

Gross hired former Bowling Green softball head coach Leigh Ross as the second head coach in SU softball history. The other two vacancies haven’t been permanently filled.

The personnel moves were the most significant within the department since Gross replaced a retired Jake Crouthamel as athletic director in December 2004 and promptly fired Paul Pasqualoni in favor of Greg Robinson as football coach.

Cieplicki’s resignation as head coach of the much-maligned women’s basketball program was the most notable announcement. He stepped down June 6 after compiling a 28-55 record in three troublesome seasons during which six players, two assistant coaches and the director of operations left the program unexpectedly. He resigned to explore opportunities in ministry.

‘The coach that was here, Keith Cieplicki, has found what his calling is,’ Gross said at football media day Aug. 7. ‘I believe if you’re going to coach a team here, you’ve got to have passion where you’re waking up every single morning and you’re just a maniac about that sport. That’s all you care about in life, almost.

‘And if you don’t have that, and you’re working for me, then it’s probably not a good combination.’

Gross named Quentin Hillsman interim head coach for the 2006-07 season. While Hillsman served as the No. 2 assistant and recruiting coordinator, he came aboard under Gross in March 2005. The top assistant, Matt Luneau, came in with Cieplicki under Crouthamel.

‘When I evaluated both of these guys, there’s no question that Quentin was the guy who should be the head coach,’ said Gross. ‘He’s way more talented than I ever thought he was. He’s very organized, gets it, knows it.’

Gross said Hillsman remains in contention for the permanent head-coaching job, a position Gross won’t rush to fill because of the timing of Cieplicki’s resignation.

‘I want to give him a chance to see what he can do,’ Gross said of Hillsman. ‘And it also gives me a chance for women’s basketball to really be selective and look at what’s out there. The timing would’ve been bad. Who’s going to leave their program in July to come and take over?’

The day after Cieplicki resigned, The Daily Orange learned forward Amanda Adamson transferred to New Mexico. Adamson told The D.O. she transferred before Cieplicki stepped down, continuing a disturbing trend that began in spring 2004 when three black players walked out accusing the former coach of racism.

Now, it’s Hillsman job to turn around a program that went 2-14 in conference last season and has one winning season since 1990.

‘The guy I have now, Quentin, he’s got such passion for this job,’ said Gross. ‘The good recruits that have come in are his. He’s got a great reputation. I think he’s going to do very well.’

The most surprising development saw Jackson resign from his senior executive associate athletic director position to become vice president of athlete development at A2 Holdings, LLC, in Los Angeles on June 15. The private company promotes boxing at all ages in the U.S.

Jackson came with Gross from South California in December 2004 and held many responsibilities, including many within the football program. Gross said he will likely fill Jackson’s former position.

‘That one is a sad one because Mark is like a brother to me,’ said Gross.

Mary Jo Firnbach, the only head coach in the seven-year history of SU softball, accepted an associate head coach position at Texas A&M on June 27. She earned Big East Coach of the Year honors with a school-record 35 wins in 2005 and finished with a 174-169-1 overall record, making the Big East tournament four times.

Gross hired Ross on Thursday. Ross brought along her top assistant for three years, Kyle Jamison, as SU’s associate head coach.

‘Mary Jo did a good job here, but this is another job to enhance our program.

‘Out of all the changes, losing Mark hurts, but the other ones were OK,’ said Gross. ‘Everyone got jobs and got to move on.’

Published on August 27, 2006 at 12:00 pm