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Ware's Contract Not Renewed By Lions

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By BART O'CONNELL Tribune correspondent

The Tampa Tribune

Published: May 20, 2008

ST. LEO - Ricky Ware's six-year stint as Saint Leo's baseball coach came to an end on Monday, when Lions athletic director Fran Reidy announced that his contract would not be renewed.

Reidy cited the squad's lackluster record under Ware, both on the field and in the classroom, as the main reasons for the move. He added the search for Ware's replacement will begin immediately.

"We have many teams here at Saint Leo, not all of them win, and I don't make changes," Reidy said. "But I believe baseball has been one of the school's marquee programs. The expectations are more than sixth or seventh in the conference every year.

"There was also poor performance in the classroom, and that's never acceptable. ... That sort of put it over the top."

Ware, who lives in Land O' Lakes, could not be reached on his cell phone Monday, and his voice mailbox was full. Reidy described Ware as a "very good baseball man" and said the two parted ways "on good terms."

Ware first came to Saint Leo as an assistant in 1999, following successful stints as a high school, community college and minor-league coach. He left after one season, but returned in 2003 as head coach. He was 154-154 overall and 54-79 in the SSC, finishing with a losing conference record in five of six years, and 12-12 in his best season, a fourth-place finish in 2006. The team also failed to make the South Regional in his tenure.

He entered the 2008 season excited about the addition of several recruits, including a pair of Division I transfers, he felt were capable of leading the squad to a 40-win season and a berth in the NCAA II South Region tournament. But the Lions finished 30-22 and seventh (9-13) in the Sunshine State Conference.

But the bigger concern for Reidy was the squad's academic troubles. Of the 16 sports programs at Saint Leo, the grade-point average of the baseball team has been the athletic department's lowest since last fall. At that time, Reidy met with Ware to discuss his concerns academically.

Three-fourths of the way through the recently completed season, the baseball team again ranked 16th in GPA. Further investigation by Reidy uncovered an undisclosed number of players with poor attendance records. That's when Reidy began to consider a coaching change.

"We can't control what's already been done, but we can do something to prevent it in the future," Reidy said.

Reidy added that he was not pleased with Ware's recruiting efforts in recent months, questioning whether he put enough time into it, and describing this year's baseball recruiting as "a little behind." Ware's assistant coaches, Daniel Hersey and Copley Gerdes, remain under contract, Hersey through May 31 and Gerdes through June 15. Reidy said they have been in contact with recruits.

The recruiting issue is one of the reasons why Reidy would like to have the new coach in place quickly. The position must be posted internally for five days, and then will be open for applicants outside the university starting next week. Reidy said it was too early to discuss specific candidates, but he does have certain traits in mind for the next coach.

"We'll be trying to find a person that understands what D-II is all about," he said. "It is a challenge, because the head coach is not just a manager, but a travel coordinator, academic advisor, recruiter, everything. People that have come here and done well are comfortable with the resources we have, and resources we don't have."

Bart O'Connell can be reached at

boconnell@pop.tampatrib.com.

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