Oxy Alumni Launch Online Petition to Support Fired Coach

This past Thursday, we reported that Occidental College fired Dale Widolff, a legendary football coach, following a National Collegiate Athletic Association probe into alleged recruiting violations.

During Widolff’s 30 years at Oxy, the college won 11 Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference titles, and Widolff’s 178 victories ranked him fifth among active NCAA Division III coaches.

In response to the coach’s termination last week, a group of Oxy alumni has launched an online petition aimed at pressuring the college to reconsider its decision to fire him—or to honor him “in a manner commensurate with his immense contribution to Occidental College.”

By signing the petition, titled "Honor Coach Widolff," signatories pledge to stop supporting their alma mater in any way financially until the college reconsiders Widolff’s termination or writes him a check commensurate with his contributions to college football.

As of Monday evening, there were a total of 156 signatories to the petition, which can be viewed by clicking this link.

Widolff was suspended for six weeks without pay in August 2010 after Oxy administrators discovered that he had allegedly violated NCAA rules and college policies.

"We take violations of the rules very seriously and believe that, however difficult, we have done the right thing," Occidental College Athletic Director Jaime Hoffman said in a statement announcing Widolff's termination. "Our top priority is to ensure that the future of our student-athletes is not placed in jeopardy."