UVM fires men's hockey coach over ‘inappropriate text messages' with student

The University of Vermont announced Tuesday that it had fired men's hockey coach Todd Woodcroft over "inappropriate text messages" with a student on multiple occasions that failed to maintain "professional boundaries."

Woodcroft was relieved of his duties "effective immediately," the school said, with Assistant Coach Steve Wiedler named interim coach for the upcoming 2023-2024 season.

"After reviewing the findings of an investigation conducted by UVM's Office of Affirmative Action and Equal Opportunity that was completed this week, it is clear that Coach Woodcroft failed to meet those expectations. The specific conduct leading to the investigation involved inappropriate text messages with a UVM student on multiple occasions that failed to maintain professional boundaries," Director of Athletics Jeff Schulman said in a statement.

No further details were released about Wiedler's specific conduct.

Schulman said he met with the hockey team on Tuesday to inform them of his decision and to introduce Wiedler as interim coach.

"The team and I have tremendous confidence in Coach Wiedler's ability to successfully lead our program. He has played a major role in the recruitment and development of our current players and will step into this important role with the full support of our team and his Athletic Department colleagues," Schulman said in his statement.

Andrew Miltenberg, an attorney representing Woodcroft, issued the following statement to NBC affiliate WPTZ:

“We vehemently disagree with the process and the findings of a proceeding that lacked fundamental fairness and due process. We strongly believe the University’s decision was contrary to the facts and the law. We intend to pursue justice for Mr. Woodcroft, who has been an outstanding coach and community advocate for over two decades.”

Woodcroft was hired as the University of Vermont's fifth head coach in April of 2020, and amassed a record of 20-55-9 in his three seasons at the helm. He had spent the previous four seasons as an assistant coach with the NHL's Winnipeg Jets. Before that, he worked with the Calgary Flames and Los Angeles Kings as a scouting director and professional scout.

His younger brother Jay Woodcroft is the head coach of the NHL's Edmonton Oilers.