Jan. 27—FAIRMONT — When information reached the administration at Fairmont State College that Alderson Broaddus College would shut final fall, President Mike Davis knew the college needed to act to assist college students affected by the closure.
“First time we sat down, we had an thought Alderson Broaddus was going to shut a couple of week earlier than [Higher Education Policy Commission] made their determination,” Davis mentioned. “We could not do something at that second, however I mentioned we obtained to be prepared in order that when it occurs, we are able to course of every little thing shortly [for students to transfer].”
Davis emphasised conserving switch college students on monitor so they may graduate in the identical period of time as they’d have at Alderson Broaddus, the non-public Baptist establishment in Philippi, West Virginia. Fairmont State in contrast programs to see which credit it might settle for.
In accordance with Davis, nearly all of college students at AB have been athletes. For wrestler Greg Griffith, the closure put him and other people he knew right into a panic.
“That first day, it is plenty of stress,” Griffith mentioned. “There was 4 or 5 of us that I am actual shut with, we had no thought what was occurring. We had two weeks to determine the place we’re gonna go to highschool. We needed to discover a place to reside. I would not say we have been scared, however we have been apprehensive about what was gonna occur.”
Griffith, a junior train science main from Chapitco, Maryland, utilized to each college within the Mountain East Convention and obtained accepted by all of them. He selected Fairmont State over the others as a result of he already knew folks right here and needed to be someplace with out ranging from scratch.
The switch course of went easily, based on Griffith. He mentioned he was accepted by Fairmont State inside per week of making use of, and the college gave him and mates who went with him one other week to seek out locations to reside.
“They did an awesome job,” Griffith mentioned.
His story is one in every of a handful of scholars who transferred from Alderson Broaddus to Fairmont State. In accordance with Fairmont State Athletic Director Greg Bamberger, about 15 to twenty scholar athletes made the bounce to Fairmont State.
In accordance with the rosters on Fairmont State’s athletics web page, there have been 5 soccer gamers, two baseball gamers and two wrestlers who transferred from Alderson Broaddus and are energetic scholar athletes.
On high of the gamers who got here from Alderson Broaddus, Fairmont State picked up three soccer coaches after the closure. Bamberger referred to as it a “blessing in disguise” to have employed these coaches.
“We had two coaches who had resigned to take different jobs within the early summer time,” Bamberger mentioned. “We have been form of within the midst of looking for some replacements, after which abruptly, right here comes AB with guys that have been skilled and wanted jobs and did not have to maneuver.”
These coaches have been Alderson Broaddus head soccer coach Travis Everhart, head dash soccer coach Matt Perotti and tight ends coach Jennings Berry. Everhart and Perotti turned the offensive line and outdoors linebackers coaches, respectively, whereas Berry remained a good ends coach.
The adjustment for the coed athletes has gone effectively. For Griffith, he is been in a position to really feel at house on Fairmont State’s wrestling workforce, and Head Coach Gennaro Bonaventura has been an awesome coach for him.
“G [Bonaventura] is without doubt one of the greatest coaches I’ve ever had,” Griffith mentioned. “I like G. He is an awesome man.”
Attain Colin C. Rhodes at 304-367-2548
