Dear Dr. Iadarola and Ms. Robin Moll:

I have been back to campus on a few occasions the past few years, noting the obvious changes since I graduated in 1996. While it pleases me to see the improvements and increased opportunities for the current students at Cabrini, it sickens me to hear both of the decision to let Coach John Dzik go and the manner in which it was handled by an institution of which I was once proud to have been a graduate.

Make no mistake about this letter. I am not one of Coach Dzik's former players writing to you today. Many of them have done so already, justifiably, to express their shock, anger, and disgust about this decision. Knowing the impact Coach Dzik had on many of them during our years together at the college, I wouldn't expect anything less.

I am writing to you as a former student who was not involved directly in athletics during my years at Cabrini but was active in other ways and knows what Coach Dzik means to Cabrini College. My closest personal interaction with him was during my time in the sports department at WYBF, as the radio station at the time attempted to increase the number of remote broadcasts and promotion of our athletes, starting with our very successful basketball teams. Even though we probably "got in the way" a few times setting up our operation and learning the layout of the gym those first few games, Coach Dzik appreciated our efforts and made it clear that his office was open to us if / when needed. I guess he realized and appreciated that we were doing what he spent so much time doing himself --- trying to help Cabrini move forward – though our activities were obviously on a much smaller scale than his.

More importantly, I saw the influence that Coach Dzik had on many of the people that I counted as friends during my years at Cabrini. I was a first-hand witness to his impact on many of the men and women who sat in classrooms with me, lived in the dorms with me, and loved Cabrini like me. Coach Dzik has clearly touched many lives in a positive way. There are many who can (and already have) speak about the man on a personal level much better than I can, so I won’t even try. What I will do, however, is continue to wonder how a man who has given as much as Coach Dzik has to Cabrini and deserves the best of treatment is shamefully ousted from his post rather than being allowed to exit on his own terms when he is ready.

In my life experiences, I have already witnessed or heard of quite a few administrative decisions that were handled "less than effectively." Rest assured, this situation takes the cake. Please know that I will, with some regret but also a sense of pride for what is right, now join with many of my fellow alumns in deciding to lend no further support to the college as a result of this decision and the manner in which it was handled.

Further, if your "strategic agenda" for the athletic department and the college in the future cannot include people who are the heart and soul of Cabrini like Coach Dzik, then in rethinking my strategic agenda for the future I have decided that it simply will not include communication with Cabrini College. Please remove my name from all lists for mailings or phone calls as well as any other form of solicitation or communication from the college, including alumni publications. Also, be advised that I am both a teacher and a coach in my professional life who is often consulted for his opinion on the issue of college options and potential destinations. Those students who interact with me will no longer hear the name of Cabrini College. I will no longer advocate the school as a potential destination for my students or players in the future, and any who inquire of me about the school because I went there will be told that loyalty, honor, and respect are not values that Cabrini's administration holds dear.

Sincerely,

Brian Mooney

Class of 1996

P.S. Please be sure to tune in tomorrow (Feb. 18th) to Comcast SportsNet for a special report on the John Dzik situation as was just announced. I am pleased to see that Coach Dzik's situation will be brought to the attention of all of the Delaware Valley's sports fans, including many potential students and their parents who would have considered Cabrini as an option in the future.