SALT LAKE CITY, Utah, Nov. 12, 2023 (Gephardt Daily) — University of Utah gymnastics coach Tom Farden has been placed on paid administrative leave over “recent conduct and actions … not related to student-athlete welfare,” university officials said Sunday.
“This action comes after recent conduct and actions by Coach Farden not related to student-athlete welfare, which simply do not align with our values and expectations,” according to a statement issued by the university about 8:30 p.m.
Associate head coach Carly Dockendorf has agreed to serve as interim head coach, officials said.
The university’s short statement noted that the change was not related to an investigation into the gymnastics program.
The outside review concluded some Utah gymnasts experienced “an increased fear of failure” to retain their athletic scholarships under Farden, but his actions were not considered “severe, pervasive or egregious.”
The university released results and recommendations Sept. 14 from a Husch Blackwell investigation into the gymnastics program commissioned in June following allegations of verbal and emotional abuse against Farden.
With the exception of one statement he allegedly made to a student-athlete, “we did not find sufficient evidence that Coach Farden violated SafeSport Code, the Athletics’ Well Being Policy or NCAA rules,” the law firm’s report concludes. “Nevertheless, there is a perception among some student-athletes that Coach Farden dismisses or ignores lower performing student-athletes.”
The statement in question, confirmed by Farden, was “a derogatory comment to a student-athlete that if she was not at the university she would be a ‘nobody working at a gas station’ in her hometown,” the report says.
“We find this comment was personally degrading and, although isolated, violates the Athletics’ Well Being Policy which prohibits the use of degrading language.”
The review included 45 interviews with current and former Red Rocks, their parents, coaches, and Athletics Department administrators and staff members.
“While the findings of the independent review by Husch Blackwell concluded that Coach Farden’s actions were not ‘severe, pervasive or egregious’ by the objective standards of the SafeSport or NCAA policies, we still consider the experiences reported by members of the program over recent years with great care, compassion and sensitivity,” Utah Athletics Director Mark Harlan said.
Harlan noted “there were a handful of instances in which Coach Farden should have demonstrated greater compassion and self-control, and better professionalism.”
Farden, now in his ninth season as head coach, has led the Red Rocks to four consecutive Pac-12 Conference regular-season titles, three straight Pac-12 Championships, three NCAA Regional titles and a third-place finish at the past three NCAA Championships.
Farden has been at Utah since 2011, when he was hired as an assistant coach. He served as co-head coach with Megan Marsden from 2016-19 and was promoted to head coach in 2020 following Marsden’s retirement.
In January 2022, Farden signed a contract extension to remain head coach at Utah through June 2026.
