Aug. 7, 2007

by KRISTA HUTZ
Daily Pennsylvanian

While it's not strange for schools to hire within, often promoting assistants to head coaching jobs, it's a little more unusual for a current head coach to take on a second top position.

But that could be how Penn will end up filling the men's golf coaching position, left vacant after Rob Powelson resigned in late June.

It is possible that current women's golf coach Francis Vaughn could take on a second duty and double as the men's coach as well.

And that may bring a different dynamic to the programs next year.

Currently, no Ivy League school has the same head coach for its men and women's golf teams.

However Perdue, Cincinnati, Rutgers, Wagner and Holy Cross are a few Division-I schools whose programs share the same head coach.

Rutgers coach Maura Ballard, Janet Carl of Cincinnati and Wagner's Dean Gultula said that while both their teams practice at the same time, coordinating the tournament calendar is the biggest obstacle to managing both programs.

"I try to schedule [tournaments] on separate weekends as much as possible," Ballard said. "It lengthens the season for me, but I try to get to as many meets as possible."

The Penn athletics department has not released the fall golf schedules, so its unclear how many conflicts Vaughn would have if he took over both programs.

Both Carl and Ballard said they have assistants who can attend meets when conflicts occur.

The day-to-day arrangements at the two schools are slightly different, though.

At Cincinnati, Carl called her assistant, Doug Martin, "basically the men's coach," but that she does some of the administrative work.

At Rutgers, Ballard's two assistants just work with the players on mechanics.

Gultula performed his duties solo last year, but said the Wagner athletic department is looking for an assistant for next season.

Vaughn could be getting some help next year as well - no matter what his duties for the season involve. On the NCAA's online job listings, there was a post for an assistant to help with both Penn men and women's teams.

Even with some help, one head coach could be stretched pretty thin.

"I'm happy with what I do," Ballard said. "But if I could coach one team under the same circumstances financially, I think it would be something I'd like to do so I could give more to each player."

Gultula, on the other hand took a different angle.

"It's still a more intimate setting, even with two teams, than football," Gultula said, saying he feels he has ample time to devote to each player.

Coaching both the men and women's programs would hardly be new to Vaughn or to Penn, though.

Vaughn was at the helm of the men and women's golf teams from 1996 to 2002.

Courtesy of the Daily Pennsylvanian