Clarion U. Makes Controversial Hiring of New Women’s Track & Field Coach Official

| June 27, 2018


CLARION, Pa. (EYT) – Clarion University athletic director Wendy Snodgrass made official the controversial hiring of Jason Falvo as the new women’s track and field coach at the school Tuesday.

(Photo: New Clarion University women’s track & field coach Jason Falvo (right) accepts one of his PAC Coach of the Year Awards while at Waynesburg. Falvo’s hiring sparked outrage from current team members who wanted interim head coach Ben Bevevino to be hired. Photo courtesy of Clarion University Athletics)

Falvo replaces Clarion High School and Clarion University graduate Ben Bevevino, who had been the interim head coach the past two years. Bevevino is the son of Clarion Associate Athletic Director and former Golden Eagle All-American D.J. Bevevino and the grandson of former Clarion All-American football player David “Red” Bevevino.

When team members were informed of the decision last week, they took to social media and other avenues to express their displeasure with Bevevino not having the interim tag removed and not being hired as the regular, full-time head coach.

Among a myriad of complaints that included not being treated at the same level as other athletic programs at the school and a flawed hiring process, the athletes praised Bevevino saying “he became a friend and mentor.”

The team members also believed that not hiring Bevevino will hurt the program more than help it.

“Future athletes who look into running for our school deserve the respect and fairness that is given to other teams,” the letter said. “In order to run a strong team, we need more support from the university. Please consider our concerns. We truly believe that not hiring Ben Bevevino back will hurt the program more than help it. Ben deserved the same respect that he gives the university, and we want answers.”

In Tuesday’s announcement of Falvo as the new coach, the athletics department called him “one of the most accomplished coaches in the Presidents’ Athletic Conference in recent years. Falvo served as the head coach at NCAA Division III Waynesburg from 2005-17. He was also a football coach at the school and resigned from both positions following the conclusion of the 2017 football season but before the start of the track season telling the school newspaper, the Yellow Jacket, “It’s just time to go. There are times to just make a clean break and move on to the next chapter in your life, and I’m excited to do that, and I’m looking forward to the next chapter.”

For her part, Snodgrass said Falvo has shown the ability to “build a program from the ground up into one that develops All-Americans and wins championships.”

“I am excited and honored to welcome Jason to Clarion as our head track & field coach,” Snodgrass said. “We are looking forward to having him step in and connect with our athletes, and giving them a rich student-athlete experience.”

Falvo said he is honored to accept the position.

“I want to thank Dr. Snodgrass and the search committee for this opportunity and for welcoming me to Clarion with open arms,” Falvo said. “I am so thankful for the chance to lead this outstanding program, and I look forward to coaching these athletes on and off the track.

“I want to produce a team that excels in the classroom, on the track and in life. We only have a few short years to mentor these students and prepare them for the rest of their lives. It is my goal to collaborate with them on this journey at Clarion and beyond. I can’t wait to get started.”

Falvo started the men’s and women’s track & field programs at Waynesburg in 2005, and in a short span of time built the Yellow Jackets into a PAC contender and launch pad for national-caliber athletes as well.

The women’s team won four total PAC championships in his tenure, including outdoor titles in 2013 and 2016. Waynesburg swept the indoor and outdoor conference championships in 2017, as well. The conference honored him as Women’s Coach of the Year five total times, including four times in the outdoor season (2009, 2013, 2016, 2017) and once during the indoor season (2017). Falvo was also named the 2010 NCAA Mid East Region Women’s Coach of the Year.

There are also a slew of individual accolades to go with team honors.

In his 12 years at Waynesburg, Falvo’s Yellow Jackets produced 28 national qualifiers and five All-Americans, most recently Addisen Knetzer (Shot Put) in 2017. Elisha Jones was a two-time All-American in the Javelin (2008, 2010), Megan Sowers placed in the same event in 2012, and Ashley Dodd was an All-American Pole Vaulter in 2008. Falvo coached 145 men’s and women’s All-PAC athletes, 151 total East Coast Athletic Conference (ECAC) qualifiers and 133 all-academic award honorees.

His teams have excelled in the classroom with the women’s team earning nine United States Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) All-Academic Team awards and the men’s team earning five. Three Yellow Jackets earned College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) Academic All-District honors in that time as well.

In addition to his work as the head track & field coach, Falvo also served as an assistant coach for the Waynesburg football team, spending 12 years as assistant head coach, recruiting coordinator and special teams coordinator. Before that, he served as special teams coordinator, defensive backs coach, strength & conditioning coach, recruiting coordinator and academic coordinator from 2003-05, and as defensive coordinator during the 2005 season.

Falvo attended Juniata College from 1994-98, where he was a two-sport athlete competing on the football and track & field teams.

As a football player, he was a three-time first team all-conference selection and ranked second all-time in all-purpose career yardage. A sprinter for the track team, he was a four-year letter winner that set records in the 200-meter dash and the 4×100-meter Relay. He finished his degree at Waynesburg from 1999-2001 while acting as an assistant coach, working with running backs and receivers. Falvo then spent two years at Muskingum as a graduate assistant football coach.

Falvo is a USTFCCCA Level One-certified coach.

The Washington, Pa., native holds a Bachelor’s degree in Elementary Education from Waynesburg (2001) and Master’s Degrees in Education (Muskingum, 2003) and Administration and Coaching (Waynesburg, 2017).


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