Fighting back tears and taking several breaks to regain his composure, former Minnesota State University head football coach Todd Hoffner announced he will return to his coaching position in Mankato.
Hoffner, 47, who said he made his decision right before Tuesday’s news conference, said he is going to resume his duties Wednesday in Mankato. Last week an arbitrator ruled that Minnesota State was wrong to suspend, reassign and finally fire Hoffner. Hoffner, at his attorneys’ office in Minneapolis, said he believes returning to Mankato and coaching football will help him “heal the injury.” He said he is “not interested in revenge, and I’m not a spiteful person.”
Two of Hoffner’s attorneys, Chris Madel and Jim Fleming, weren’t as forgiving. Madel said he wants a Minnesota State Colleges and Universities system investigation and, if possible, an inquiry by state legislators. Madel also said Hoffner is considering filing a lawsuit against the university.
“Why were we spending our resources, our tax dollars on this?” Madel asked. “In our view there are violations that happened to the Hoffners outside the union contract, legal violations.”
Madel said the Hoffners were thrust into the situation that included criminal child pornography charges against Todd Hoffner that were dismissed.
“This was a tidal wave that fell on them. Todd has had one of the most trying experiences anyone can have.
It’s unfair that this guy has to sit here and get emotional in front of this many cameras.”
Fleming wants Blue Earth County Attorney Ross Arneson held accountable for the decision to pursue criminal charges.
“Who’s accountable, most accountable here, is the county attorney,” Fleming said. “I think in cases like these the remedy is an election and that’s coming up in the fall.”
Fleming said they approached the prosecutor three times to try and get the case dropped.
Union wants investigation
Nancy Black, president of the Inter Faculty Organization, said she doesn’t support Madel’s call for action by the Legislature, but she does support an investigation by the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities system. She also said the IFO union used a lot of resources, financial and otherwise, to defend Hoffner and his contract through arbitration.
Without a union, Hoffner would not have gotten his job back with back pay, said Pat Arseneault, the IFO attorney who represented Hoffner.
“They need to do an investigation and look into who is responsible,” Arseneault said. “They need to announce publicly what they did and how they handled this.”
Hoffner took the head coaching position in January at Minot State University in North Dakota after Minnesota State fired him. It wasn’t an easy decision to leave Minot because of the support he has received there, he said. But he also pointed out that it was administrators at Minnesota State that chose to fire him and force him into a long arbitration process that was also putting his family into a bad position financially.
The university responded with an apology to Hoffner and his family in a written statement by President Richard Davenport issued Tuesday afternoon through MSU’s media relations office.
“We have learned that Mr. Hoffner intends to return to Minnesota State Mankato tomorrow and we welcome him back to his position as head football coach. This has been a difficult journey for all involved,” the statement said.
“We extend our apologies to Mr. Hoffner and deeply regret the difficulties he and his family have experienced this past year and a half. It is our sincere hope that all concerned can now find ways to move forward for the sake of the Hoffner family, student athletes, the university and the community.”
A new start
Hoffner’s troubles with Minnesota State started in August 2012 when he was asked to leave a practice field and placed on paid leave. He was arrested at his Eagle Lake home four days later and charged with producing child pornography. An information technician at the university had found two short videos on Hoffner’s work cellphone of his young children dancing naked.
Three months later, Blue Earth County District Court Judge Krista Jass dismissed the charges, saying the videos were of children having harmless fun, not child pornography. The university kept Hoffner on leave until he was reassigned to an administrative job in December 2012. He also was told he would be suspended for 20 days without pay for violating university rules after an internal investigation.
Hoffner was fired by Davenport in May 2013 for allegedly viewing pornography or allowing someone else to view pornography on his university-issued computers. The arbitrator ruled those were not firing offenses. He also said at least two of the computers had been used by another staff member or student before it was issued to the coach. Hoffner already had filed grievances for the suspension and reassignment. He filed another grievance after he was fired.
The arbitrator’s ruling April 9 said Hoffner would have to be rehired or Minnesota State would have to pay the difference of his $90,000 contract with Minot State University and other expenses. His contract at Minnesota State was for $105,800 per year.
Hoffner said Minnesota State is “a beautiful place and it will be refreshing to return.”
“My family lives there, we have roots there and I helped build a program that’s a national powerhouse,” he said.
“My hope is to put this behind me as I take this step. I intend to make every effort to resume normal, working relationships.”
Hoffner thanked members of the community and said: “Mostly I want to thank my wife who stood back behind me like a rock.”
Obie Kipper Jr., a former MSU athlete and Hoffner supporter, reacted with a fist pump and a “Yes” when Hoffner was finally able gain composure and announce he was returning to MSU. It was the right decision for the coach, Kipper said.
“I think the administration at MSU will treat him fairly from this day forward,” Kipper said. “The whole situation was handled poorly by many people at the university and the Blue Earth County Attorney’s Office.
When Hoffner was asked if he would be returning to his former coach’s office or the make-shift office on the opposite side of campus that he was assigned temporarily, he said he would take any office the university provided for him.
Madel had a different answer.
“They’re sending him back to his office and there should be some nice plant perhaps,” he said. “A welcoming gift.”
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