BOWLING GREEN, Ohio — Bowling Green State University announced Wednesday it has fired athletic director Bob Moosbrugger.
Moosbrugger, who played baseball for the Falcons, was named AD in 2016. He made key head coaching hires in the football and men's and women's basketball programs, but those teams failed to see much postseason success.
University President Rodney Rogers issued the following statement:
“Since July 2016, Bob Moosbrugger has served as director of athletics at Bowling Green State University. During that time, the University’s athletics programs have certainly made progress. As a new president in 2018, I especially appreciated his leadership and counsel to me. On a personal level, I could always count on Bob's integrity, kindness and commitment to his alma mater. Beyond the accomplishments, which include securing our baseball program’s future, navigating COVID-19, increasing our high GPA levels, and elevating the success of our volleyball, men’s and women’s soccer, softball and women’s basketball teams, Bob has been a champion of our student-athletes and their success from his first day.
However, as Division I programs such as BGSU face the transformation of intercollegiate athletics – with opportunities and challenges such as name, image and likeness – along with the need to increase and diversify resources, and to refocus the holistic role athletics has on an institution, we need to consider new perspectives and strongly position BGSU Athletics for the future. We remain committed to competing at the highest levels athletically and academically.
I am grateful for Bob’s service to his alma mater, and I certainly wish him the very best in the next chapter of his career. In the interim, Stacy Kosciak, our current deputy athletic director, will serve in this leadership position, and BGSU will launch a national search immediately to place our next director of athletics.”
Moosbrugger was under contract through June 30, 2024, with an annual salary of $282,285. BGSU will pay him for an additional six months.
Moosbrugger was hired in July 2016 after serving as deputy athletic director at San Diego State University.
He hired head football coach Scot Loeffler, head women's basketball coach Robyn Fralick and head hockey coach Ty Eigner. The football team failed to reach a bowl game during his tenure and neither the men's nor women's basketball teams qualified for the NCAA tournament.
The hockey team made an NCAA tournament appearance in 2019, the season before Eigner took over.
BGSU made the move to fire Moosbrugger just 10 days before the football team begins its season at UCLA.
WTOL 11 obtained a letter Moosbrugger sent to athletic department staff:
WTOL 11 Sports Director Jordan Strack contributed to this report.
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