opinion

UVM, Sneddon agree to new 3-year contract

University of Vermont Director of Athletics Jeff Schulman confirmed Thursday that the university has agreed in principal to a new 3-year contract for UVM men’s hockey coach Kevin Sneddon extending through the 2019-20 season.

Sneddon had been working on the final year of a contract that ran through the end of the 2017-18 school year. Schulman said Thursday that he prefers not to have any coach working on the final year of a contract without knowing her or his status for the future. Schulman said the two sides reached an agreement last summer but said details must finalized.

The UVM men’s hockey season has been subpar with a 4-12-3 overall record and a 1-6-2 record in Hockey East competition.

Although very young on defense, the Catamounts were not expected to struggle as much as they have. Sneddon has been under fire from some segments of the fan base which have advocated for his dismissal.

MORE: UVM hockey needs turnaround to start in Lowell

MORE: UVM hockey falls to Harvard, goes winless in Catamount Cup

“I continue to have great confidence in Kevin’s leadership of our program,” said Schulman, who said he understood some fans would not agree with his perspective and decision.

The second-year athletic director said he felt “very confident” in his ability to evaluate the men’s hockey program.

“I know who we are, what our capabilities are and what the leadership is,” said Schulman, who played four seasons for the Catamounts before returning to the school as an athletic administrator in 1993. “I understand not everybody will agree. Nobody feels great about where things are right now but I continue to believe Kevin Sneddon is the right person to be leading the program.”

Sneddon and the team traveled through Thursday’s winter storm to Massachusetts where the Catamounts will play UMass-Lowell on Friday.

Via text message Thursday evening, Sneddon wrote, “I certainly realize that our current season is not where any of us would like, but I am very humbled by the continued support of President Tom Sullivan and Director of Athletics, Jeff Schulman.

“We all believe this season has many more opportunities for growth, and the future is extremely bright,” Sneddon wrote. “My staff has done a great job attracting future prospects to go along with our current players, and the transformational renovation of Gutterson will help us go after championships.

“I have always been and will always remain honored to lead this program,” said Sneddon, now in his 15th season at the Catamount helm.

In discussing his decision, Schulman pointed out that UVM has won 20 games in three of the previous four seasons. The Catamounts also have finished in the upper third of the Pairwise and RPI in those three 20-win years. Those two metrics are used to compare and rate NCAA’s 60 Division I teams, and for determining the NCAA tournament field.

SEASON PREVIEW: Can UVM hockey prove the doubters wrong?

Schulman also pointed out that last year Vermont missed qualifying for the NCAA tournament by one rankings spot, finishing 17th in Pairwise. This season, UVM is No. 59 out of the 60 Division I programs.

“It would be a mistake to look at the last four years and say the program has been wallowing,” said Schulman, who pointed out that among challenges facing the program are the outdated Gutterson Fieldhouse and ancillary facilities.

RELATED: UVM proposes new on-campus events center, renovations

Aging facilities also affect other sports programs at UVM, he said.

Schulman said he hopes Sneddon’s contract will be formalized in the next couple of weeks at which time details of the contract will be available to the public.

“When Jeff took over as UVM Athletic Director, we both agreed that the current structure of our contract was not in the best interest of either party," Sneddon wrote. "We began the process of formulating a new contract with informal discussions during last season. The terms were then agreed upon this summer.”

In Sneddon’s contract signed on April 2015, Sneddon’s base salary for the 2017-18 season was set at $251,257 plus incentive bonuses for reaching Hockey East and NCAA goals. The contract also contains other prerequisites. Under that contract, UVM also had the option for two more years through 2019-20 that will be succeeded by the new contract once it is formalized.

Correspondent Ted Ryan covers UVM hockey for The Burlington Free Press. Contact him at TedRyanVT@aol.com and follow him on Twitter at @TedRyanVT.