East Aurora Advertiser

Iroquois Board Hears Final Appeals to Keep Baseball Coach



Five people spoke on behalf of former baseball coach Marv Matteson at the Iroquois Central School Board meeting on Aug. 26.

The group had hoped to convince the board to overturn its earlier decision in not tendering a final contract for next season. The meeting saw a gathering of between 75-100 people. The school board did not comment either way in the matter after people spoke.

Matteson was not asked back for his 20th year at Iroquois and 54th overall. The decision persuaded Iroquois junior varsity baseball coach Jim Snyder into early retirement. The Matteson-Snyder duo had planned to retire after next season with it being Snyder’s 50th at Iroquois. Both coaches are in halls of fame already and Matteson’s team captured a sectional championship this past May and he was named Coach of the Year. The elite Section VI Hall of Fame, which has less than 100 members, recently announced Matteson as a candidate for the Class of 2020.

The group that spoke on Matteson’s behalf at the most recent board meeting included a current athletic director, a former school board president, a Greater Buffalo Sports Hall of Fame (GBHF) retired college coach, a booster president and the most prominent current baseball figure in local youth baseball.

Only one of the five was looking for answers. Sal Buscaglia, the retired collegiate women’s basketball coach for nearly four decades and a member of the GBHF, said he was disappointed that he attended the last board meeting with his comments falling on deaf ears.

Some of the questions asked by Buscaglia at Iroquois Superintendent Doug Scofield included: Did you make phone calls to supporting parents, does the board give you advice, were you afraid of a lawsuit by disgruntled parents, was this initiated by disgruntled parents and was the interview process of the players consistent?

Scofield replied to the first question by saying, “We call everyone who we think has first-hand knowledge,” and answered the last question by saying the duration it took players to answer questions fluctuated total interview times.

Buscagalia was not happy with those answers. 

“That response does not give you a lot of respect because you won’t answer a simple question,” Buscagalia said. “I don’t think anybody thinks you’re transparent…If you won’t be transparent in the age of transparency, then Iroquois is not transparent…I’m frustrated, disgruntled and not happy with your answers.”

Local baseball guru Tom Prince told the board that he was approached by numerous parents throughout Western New York about the Matteson situation. He said many of those parents shared lengthy positive stories about Matteson with none being negative.

Prince initiated baseball’s top award this past season for the top player in WNY high school baseball and shared with the board that an Iroquois pitcher was one of the finalists and how that player attributed his success to Matteson.

“Restoring Marv would be good for a lot of people in this community but also outside the community because the baseball community really believes in Marv as a coach,” Prince said.

Former Iroquois Board President Terry Kunick spoke about how the board’s decision could influence every high school baseball roster in WNY with coaches keeping less players in fear of having disgruntled parents playing a role in their potential dismissal. Kunick referenced much of the negative publicity on radio talk shows and on the internet and said, “Right now, we (Iroquois) look pretty bad. Now that you have more information, it’s not too late to think with somewhat clearer heads. In allowing Marv one more season, you have an opportunity to right a wrong for one more year with a graceful way out.”

The most emotional plea came from Dave Schopf, the athletic director at Christian Central Academy. He described a four-decade relationship with Matteson, who guided him from a player to a coach to an athletic director.

After playing high school basketball for Matteson in the mid-1970s, Schopf became Matteson’s junior varsity coach for a decade before taking the head coaching job at Starpoint. 

“I came from a broken home with an alcoholic father, Marv was kind of my second dad. He was always there for me, I mean always. Marv brought out the best in me. He not only taught me the game of basketball but how to be successful in life. Knowing Marv for more than 40 years, I know he cares about all of his players. I witnessed that as a player, then as a coach with him and finally as an opposing coach against him,” Schopf said.

Iroquois baseball booster president Maura Birdd also had kind words for Matteson after working alongside him during the past two seasons.

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