When track athletes arrived at Simpson College this year, they were greeted with a rather unfriendly surprise. Coach Tim Byers, head coach of the track team, had resigned from his position in mid-July.

Athletic Director and head baseball coach John Sirianni says, “I was the most shocked person on campus…” and “it created almost a sense of chaos around the athletic offices.” To clear the record and to make certain no blame falls on the athletic department, it should be known that Coach Byers left his position at Simpson College because of his desire to pursue his Doctorate degree at North Dakota State University in Fargo, North Dakota.

He is apparently going to Fargo because they had a position open for him at their Wellness Center, which is apparently a position the looked appealing to him, and the package they had put together for him would pay for him to get his Doctorate degree. In essence, he would be getting paid to get his Doctorate.

Head wrestling coach and Assistant Athletic Director Ron Peterson puts it this way, “He was going to make as much as he was making here, plus they were going to pay for him to get his doctorate.”

Now that the why has been cleared up, the big question in every track person’s head is, “What now?”

Runner Brian Caskey says, “All I know is that we don’t have a track Coach right now.”

Sirianni says that they have been “diligently looking” and have conducted almost twenty interviews. “All we are trying to do right now is to put a package together that is going to attract the best possible coach.”

All that’s left for those anxious track athletes to do is wait. The assistant coaches will have to run the show for a little while until the final candidate has accepted the job and is ready to take on the title of head track coach.