Arizona State has placed head coach Greg Powers on paid administrative leave.
Mike Corbett, who is entering his third season as an assistant coach on the staff, will lead the team this weekend when the Sun Devils open the season at Lindenwood.
Powers was placed on leave 40 days after the Aug. 20 workout during which Matthew Mayich collapsed. Mayich has remained in a coma at an Arizona hospital.
The university released the findings of its internal “review” last week. ASU acknowledged that certain university policies were not followed, but the report did not recommend disciplinary action.
Earlier this week, seven anonymous players sent a letter to university president Michael Crow asking that Powers be placed on leave so a full investigation could be conducted. On Tuesday night, the Mayich family released a statement echoing that request.
“We’ve heard some things about what our family wants that aren’t right, so we want to be clear,” the statement said. “We want this team to have a great season, and we’ll be cheering for you. But the coaches who ran that workout on August 20 need to be removed while an independent investigation gets to the truth. The players shouldn’t have to worry about retaliation from the people they report to every day.
“Nobody should keep quiet about what they think should happen because they believe that’s what we want. It isn’t. If anyone wants to know what we want, ask us. We want the truth, and we want it done in a way that lets the boys focus on hockey instead of wondering whether their coaches think they talked. Mostly, we want accountability for what happened to our son, and we want his teammates to be safe.”
ASU athletic director Graham Rossini met with players Tuesday and also held one-on-one meetings.
“Our focus continues to be on Matthew and his family, and on our student-athletes to make sure they have the support they need during this time and as the season begins,” Rossini said. “We have continued to collect as much information as possible. After thorough and careful deliberation, I believe this is the best move to provide stability for the hockey program.”
ASU said an interim head coach will be named soon.
The NCHC released a statement supporting ASU’s decision to place Powers on leave.
“The concerns raised by student-athletes deserve to be heard and thoroughly reviewed,” the statement said. “We will not prejudge the findings of that review. Hockey matters deeply to our conference, but the well-being of our student-athletes matters more.”
