MU officials startled by resignation

Missouri's chancellor and a member of the Board of Curators have joined the school president in expressing surprise about the timing of basketball coach Quin Snyder's resignation.

Snyder, in his first public comments since stepping down last week, said Tuesday night that he quit after a member of the athletic department dispatched by athletic director Mike Alden told him his contract would be terminated after the season and that all of the school's top administrators were in agreement.

School president Elson Floyd immediately weighed in after watching the televised news conference, saying he was "startled" to hear that he had a role in the move.

Chancellor Brady Deaton, who is heading an internal investigation into the handling of Snyder's departure, said Wednesday in a statement that he had been "surprised" to learn of Snyder's resignation last Friday.

"I was aware of and supportive of the performance expectations set by the Athletic Department that were noted by Quin in his news conference ... although I was not aware that any contact was being made with him last week regarding his coaching position at the University," Deaton said.

Curator Don Walsworth of Marceline also Tuesday issued a statement saying he "never advocated" having Snyder resign before the end of the season. Walsworth said discussion had emphasized evaluating the coach's performance after the season was over.

"President Floyd and I agreed on this assessment and timetable for evaluating coaches," Walsworth said.

Alden has said he sent a university employee, believed to be TV/radio basketball analyst Gary Link, to talk to Snyder to gauge his feelings about the rest of the season and his future. Snyder said repeatedly that the representative informed him there was no way he could save his job.

Deaton appeared noncommittal on the issue, saying "the content and meaning of any conversations that occurred in conjunction with the coach's resignation are subject to individual interpretation."

Deaton was complimentary of Snyder's diplomatic farewell address. The former coach often referred to Missouri as "we" and added "I'm going to bleed black and gold" referring to the school colors, during a 45-minute news conference.

"I appreciate that Quin was very gracious in his comments about Mizzou and that he said his resignation was the best possible decision for him, the basketball players and the University," Deaton said. "We have shared good times and tough times with Quin, and I am pleased that a satisfactory settlement with him was reached."

Jon Sundvold, a former Missouri star point guard for Norm Stewart and now an analyst for the Missouri Sports Network, attended Snyder's news conference. He said the school could benefit from "better communication" in the future.

"Any company has the way they handle things," Sundvold said. "Whether the president is upset, disappointed or OK with all of that, that's his call and the chancellor's call.

"I don't know if we'd have a lot of this discussion if it was handled differently."

For his part, Snyder, 39, appeared uninterested in the internal investigation.

"My opinion is not important," he said. "It still doesn't involve me and it won't involve me.

"It was what it was: I was informed in a certain fashion. It was the right decision. I respect the university's decision."

Snyder said his only immediate plans were to watch the rest of Missouri's games on television and spend time with his family and "decompress." He didn't know yet if he wanted to coach next season.

"This has been a whirlwind," Snyder said. "When I was watching on Sunday it was hard for me to not be coaching that team.

"I don't know how long it's going to take me to get distance from this thing."

Snyder said he hoped having him out of the picture will facilitate Missouri's search for a successor. Top assistant Melvin Watkins is coaching the team the rest of the season.

"There's always speculation about who the next coach is going to be and that can take place openly now," Snyder said. "Missouri can move forward now."