Former Head Women’s Basketball Coach Shane Flanagan did not renew his contract for what would have been his 10th season at Haskell Indian Nations University (HINU). Instead, the contract was awarded to Coach Aaron Poor Bear (Oglala Lakota Nation), the former Assistant Men’s Basketball Coach for Buena Vista University.
Earlier in the year during Flanagan’s final season, eleven players and former plays sought to remove Flanagan from his coaching position and filed a report with the Office of Student Rights. The report alleged Flanagan did not complete his duties as a coach and ostracized and picked favorites amongst his student athletes. The report also alleged Flanagan’s behavior resulted in a four year trend averaging almost seven student athletes a season who either quit or transferred schools.
When asked if these allegations factored into the decision to hire a new coach, Acting Athletic Director Gary Tanner said, “Coach Flanagan gave me a memo stating he was not seeking another option year as Womens Basketball Coach. That is the extent of the reasoning behind hiring another coach.”
One of the athletes that filed a report said, “I would just like to tell the new coach. These women don’t just play ball to play. This sport is our love. Our Passion. Our stress reliever. We dedicate so much time to this sport because this is all we got and all we know… We all have our own story of why we are the way we are but always encourage improvement… [T]each them to all be leaders, teammates, and most importantly sisters.”
