SUNY Buffalo State University’s administration confirmed Wednesday morning to The Buffalo News that women’s wrestling head coach Steve Hart and assistant coach Kellen Devlin are no longer employed by the school, adding in a statement that a search process is underway for a new head coach.
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Screenshot of an Instagram post made by an unofficial Buffalo State women's wrestling account.
Hart and Devlin were in charge of constructing the Division III women’s wrestling program, one of two in Western New York, along with D’Youville. Buffalo State is scheduled to begin competition in the fall.
The school’s administration did not say why Hart was no longer with the program or when he was dismissed, but Buffalo State posted an advertisement for a women’s wrestling coach on its website Wednesday.
Wayne Brumfield, interim vice president for student affairs, declined an interview request by The News, made through a school spokesperson Wednesday. However, Brumfield reiterated in a statement to The News that “Buffalo State is committed to building a thriving women’s wrestling program, beginning with competition this fall.”
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Hart, who was hired last September, said Thursday morning in a statement to The News that he wished Buffalo State the best of luck in their search for a new coach, and said he and the school could not come to a contractual agreement.
“I declined a one year offer because I’m committed to my career at UB,” wrote Hart, who is listed in the University at Buffalo’s online directory as a senior program support specialist in the school of engineering and applied sciences. “(I’m) a permanent employee there with 22 years in the state pension system. I would not give that up for a 1-year contract, especially being informed that an assessment has to be done to see if programs are being cut. That would be reckless for my family. I offered to continue on the same structure that was approved in September of 2023, when I was named Head Coach, which is I would be on a volunteer line with two part-time paid assistants working nights, weekends, during vacation time and holidays (after my professional obligation was completed for my full-time position), but days later, I was informed that they’re going to move in a different direction.
“I’m grateful for the time spent, the opportunity given to us by AD Renee Carlineo and Buffalo State. Connecting with the recruits is something that I value and I hope that they all have highly successful academic and athletic careers.
In a follow-up message, Hart said he was verbally offered a one-year contract and at the same time informed of the upcoming assessment, and made a counterproposal to continue on the same contract structure: a volunteer line with two part-time coaches.
Hart did not know what the assessment to determine if programs are being cut entails, and said he found out Monday that he would not be retained as the women’s wrestling coach.
“I was informed that they’re going to move in a different direction and are ending my volunteer appointment effective immediately,” Hart wrote. “My assistant was notified that they’d be ending his temporary part-time employment effective immediately. My other assistants’ contract had already ended.”
Hart’s statement to The News comes two days after Buffalo State women’s wrestling program on Tuesday night posted a lengthy statement regarding “announced restructuring within the women’s wrestling program” on its Instagram account.
“While Buffalo State leadership says it remains committed to the women’s wrestling program, the sustainability of a college program from a tactical, managerial and recruitment perspective is highly questionable with a little less than four month (sic) before the season officially begins, and with a team schedule that Kellen and I both built,” Hart said in the statement.
“I am saddened beyond belief at this turn of events, as we had great plans for the program as it was initially envisioned and funded. And to the 24 student athletes (and their families) that we worked so hard to recruit, I just feel awful. I have no answers as to what the Buffalo State program may look like now or in the near future, if it even moves forward.”
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Screenshot of an Instagram post made by an unofficial Buffalo State women's wrestling account.
That Instagram story was later removed, and by 10:30 a.m. Wednesday, the Buffalo State women’s wrestling program’s Instagram account did not include any posts. The account had been restored by 7:30 p.m., but without the story post that included the original statement.
Buffalo State confirmed to The News that the statement from the women’s wrestling program was not an official university statement. Devlin, the assistant coach, sent the statement to multiple media outlets, and posted on the Facebook page WNY Wrestling Central that “I took it down to avoid our AD having to answer from the high admin. I made the post public using the universities (sic) NIL without the schools consent. I’m trying to avoid them using the AD as a scapegoat.”
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Screenshot of an Instagram post made by an unofficial Buffalo State women's wrestling account.
The original post also stated that the changes were made by the school’s interim president and interim vice president of student affairs – Brumfield and interim president Bonita Durand were not named in the post – and were not done in consultation with “previous knowledge or input by the University’s Athletic Director.”
Renee Carlineo, Buffalo State’s athletic director, did not respond to a message left by The News regarding the coaching changes or the statement posted on social media by the wrestling program.
The statement also said that “Hart was notified last week that the University’s Interim President is now requiring a complete assessment of Buffalo State’s Athletic Department to measure its proportionality and compliance under Title IX, in light of the looming financial deficit the University has experienced in recent years.”
The statement issued by the Buffalo State women’s wrestling program remained on Devlin’s Facebook page Wednesday morning, along with a statement from Devlin.
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Screenshot of an Instagram post made by an unofficial Buffalo State women's wrestling account.
“To say that I am devastated for the 24 student athletes that Stephen and I recruited with the very best of intentions is an understatement,” Devlin wrote. “We had such great plans and were putting dreams in action … and to have our legs taken out from under with 4 months to the start of the inaugural season is unconscionable. The new INTERIM President and the new INTERIM VP have serious questions to answer from a lot of heartbroken woman (sic) and their families.”
Reached by phone Wednesday morning, Devlin declined to comment and referred all calls to Hart.
Hart was an assistant at St. Francis High School this season.
Hart was previously head coach of Starpoint High School’s wrestling program from 2014-23. He was not retained after the 2023 season, after the Starpoint School District commissioned an “independent decision-maker” to conduct a Title IX investigation, which determined in September that allegations of sexual harassment within the wrestling team in February were substantiated.