Antoinette Iadarola
President
Cabrini College
610 King of Prussia Road
Radnor, PA 19087

Dear Dr. Iadarola:

While on a flight back on Wednesday, January 12th, I was tapped on the shoulder by another student/athlete alumnus. He asked me if I was aware that Coach Dzik was leaving Cabrini. My response was: Why would coach be retiring so close to winning number 500? At that point he handed me the Philadelphia Daily News where I read Mike Kern’s article.

Subsequent to returning home, I read the rest of the articles published on the issue and came to the conclusion that Coach Dzik was not leaving on his terms and that he was being forced out. Dr. Iadarola, while it is clear you have done some remarkable things for Cabrini, this decision is terrible.

In my opinion, this is not about Coach Dzik winning game number 500, or how many times his team has won the PAC. It is about the people who represent the college, how they are treated, how they in turn treat others, what type of adults are produced from Cabrini, and exactly what Coach Dzik has meant to many alumni (both athletes and non-athletes), and could mean to many future Cabrini students.

Many students enter college as young men/women, with no real direction, no perspective, no goals, and no real sense of who they are or why they are in college – except that they know they want to compete possibly in athletics, and that they want to learn and meet people. Coach Dzik, as well as others at Cabrini, became a mentor of mine and helped guide me from an immature 17 year old, to being a successful adult today. . I cannot tell you how many times coach helped me with matters other than athletics – personal, classes, professionally after graduation, et cetera. I know for a fact he influenced countless others in the same fashion – both athletes and non-athletes

Did he do this because I excelled at soccer, played on the JV basketball team or participated in track and field? The answer is no. He did it because he cares, is passionate about Cabrini’s students, and genuinely wanted us all to succeed; all characteristics that are nearly impossible to find today in prospective mentors, and undoubtedly in college athletics.

The value Coach Dzik, and his twenty five years of service, brings to Cabrini is not tangible. How many other employees of his tenure and stature would have stepped aside as Athletic Director (or a similar position with a high profile) so gracefully? Not many if the way this is being handled is any indication of the type of character your employees have today.

Good luck replacing Coach Dzik’s character, as well as attracting and producing adults who represent Cabrini the way those who were affected by him do today. Please note while you read this letter (assuming it is read) that it will not be suggested that you re-track your decision to force Coach Dzik out and ask him to return, because based on what I have learned about him over the years, he would decline anyway in light of how the situation was managed by Cabrini.

Sincerely,

Michael Tims

Class of 95