High school football: UHSAA clears Jordan assistant coach

MIDVALE — A Jordan assistant football coach was cleared of any wrongdoing in an undue influence hearing with the Utah High School Activities Association Wednesday.

The panel, made up of five members of the executive committee, concluded that while there might have been the appearance of a problem, there was no evidence that Chris Hathaway had even talked to the student athletes about following him from Riverton to Jordan to play football.

"I did not have any influence over their sons," Hathaway said of the four sophomores who enrolled in Jordan this year after attending a junior high in Riverton. "I have been a big supporter of Riverton sports for the last seven years. I did this to get a chance to coach."

Hathaway was a Ute Conference football coach for ninth-graders and coached all four of the boys who were attending Oquirrh Hills Middle School, which is in Riverton High's boundaries. He was offered a job by former Jordan head coach Alex Jacobsen last winter. Then, a few weeks later, Jacobsen resigned to take a position in Arizona.

Jordan principal Tom Sherwood said when all four boys registered for school in February, the program was actually without a head coach. While Jacobsen resigned that same month, Sherwood didn't hire Eric Kjar until March.

Hathaway said all four boys are good kids, and while he cared about them, a part of him would have preferred they stay at Riverton. Even he admitted that a superficial glance at the situation might look suspicious but denied that he discussed his coaching plans with any of the boys or their families.

"I wish all four kids would have stayed so I could just coach," he said. "I just wanted a chance to coach."

Hathaway had approached Riverton head coach Mike Miller about working for him but was told there were no positions available at the time. He said when Jacobsen approached him nearly a year and a half later, he accepted an offer of a job almost immediately.

The parents of the four boys in question attended the hearing and all said they left Riverton because the sophomore class was one of the largest ever at 1,200 students. All four voiced concern over class sizes and the ability of their children to excel under those circumstances.

Riverton administrators were concerned that several of the boys had attended at least one day of basketball tryouts at Riverton as freshmen, which established their eligibility at Riverton High.

The hearing was held after Jordan administrators said Hathaway would not be working as an assistant for the Beetdiggers, but then he was subsequently hired in August. Hathaway said he encouraged all of the boys to try out for the Silverwolves basketball team, which some did.

"Never, one time, did I tell a kid not to go to Riverton High," Hathaway said.

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