Wednesday, March 27, 2013

Morgan State football coach Donald Hill-Eley working to rebuild his program after firing that wasn't

DONALD HILL-ELEY
HEAD FOOTBALL COACH
MORGAN STATE UNIVERSITY
BALTIMORE, Maryland  --  Donald Hill-Eley has always told his Morgan State football players that life is 10 percent what happens to you and 90 percent how you respond.

Now, after enduring as strange a few months as any college coach could fathom, Hill-Eley is striving to live by his own lesson.

In late November, following the Bears' third straight losing season, Hill-Eley accidentally received an e-mail outlining the university's plan to seek his replacement. For almost six weeks after that, as rival coaches ramped up recruiting for 2013, he heard nothing official about his status. Day after day, he reported to work but was not allowed to have contact with his team.

During the same time, the chairman of the university's Board of Regents attempted to oust Morgan president David Wilson, the man seemingly behind Hill-Eley's own uncertain situation. That coups was ultimately unsuccessful. In early January, Hill-Eley finally heard from Kevin Banks, the university's vice president for student affairs: Morgan would honor the final year of his contract and he would remain coach.

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