Chesney Contract Extension
Feb 11, 2022 14:16:21 GMT -5
princetoncrusader, mm67, and 1 more like this
Post by sader1970 on Feb 11, 2022 14:16:21 GMT -5
From the T&G:
www.telegram.com/story/sports/college/2022/02/08/hc-football-coach-bob-chesney-says-he-signs-5-year-extension/6711707001/
'I really do believe we’re just getting started,' HC football coach Bob Chesney says as he signs 5-year extension
'This is a lot bigger than one guy' he says. 'This is about a full organization.'
Jennifer Toland
Telegram & Gazette
Holy Cross coach Bob Chesney signed a five-year contract extension on Tuesday.
In Bob Chesney’s first four years as Holy Cross football coach, the Crusaders have won three straight Patriot League titles and made three consecutive Football Championship Subdivision playoff appearances, but the program, in Chesney’s view, has not yet reached its full potential.
“I really do believe we’re just getting started,” Chesney said Tuesday afternoon, soon after Holy Cross announced that Chesney and the college agreed to a five-year contract extension.
The new contract will keep Chesney as Holy Cross coach through the 2026 season.
Holy Cross’ commitment to Chesney, a proven winner and motivator and venerated representative of the school, is momentous as HC looks to its football future.
“I could not be happier with this process and the opportunity to reaffirm the college’s commitment to excellence for Holy Cross athletics,” HC director of athletics Kit Hughes said. “Under Coach Chesney’s leadership, our Crusader student-athletes have achieved new heights in the classroom, community and field of competition. I am excited to support him in our shared vision for the future and continue to build upon the tremendous foundation already in place.”
At Hughes’ introductory press conference in December, held just a few days after the football team battled in a five-point loss at Villanova in the second round of the FCS playoffs, he said he was excited to work with Chesney and help continue to move the program forward. Holy Cross president Vincent Rougeau likewise stressed that day the importance of football to the HC athletic program.
Chesney said on Tuesday that working with Rougeau, Hughes and senior associate director of athletics Nick Smith and building toward the future of the program has been a team effort.
“To be able to stay here and know that there’s a future,” Chesney said, “not only with what we’re doing right now, but a plan for the future moving forward, is exciting. I’m excited about the leadership at the top from President Rougeau to Kit to Nick Smith. It’s just really a great team that we’re part of here. I’m blessed, and I feel like these guys get it, they understand it, they care a lot about it, and they really want to take this team to the next level.”
Chesney considers the contract extension not just a commitment to him, but to his players and staff.
“This is a lot bigger than one guy,” Chesney said. “This is about a full organization.
“Today might be public and it marks my extension,” he said, “but before I was willing to do that, I needed to make sure there was a great plan in place. I wanted to make sure there was growth potential for everyone here, and that’s what I think we captured. Kit has a phenomenal understanding of what it takes to run a high-level program and Nick understands the inner workings of our current staff, so they were able to develop something very strong with President Rougeau that this was something that we all could be proud of moving forward.”
In four years at HC, including the COVID-shortened 2021 spring season, the 44-year-old Chesney is 25-16. His career record, which includes stops at Assumption and Salve Regina, is 92-41.
Following the success of last season, it was expected that Chesney would be a sought-after candidate for a higher-level job. His phone did ring.
“Any time there’s a conversation that your name comes up in, the natural reaction for a lot of people is to get excited about being wanted,” Chesney said, “and they start thinking that the grass is way greener on the other side. When I look around here and look at our facilities, our player development, our education, our alums and everything that comes with Holy Cross, it is the full package. Now, we have a chance to talk about our coaching staff and our futures being in the same light.”
In 2021, Holy Cross finished 10-3, its most wins since 1991, and ranked 19th nationally. The Crusaders opened the season with a win at UConn, their first over a Football Bowl Subdivision opponent since 2002.
HC went 6-0 in the Patriot League for the first time, played the first football game at Polar Park, home of the Worcester Red Sox, before a sellout crowd, hosted a playoff game at Fitton Field for only the second time, and beat Sacred Heart in dramatic fashion for the program’s first postseason victory.
“It was a season of many firsts,” Chesney said, “but to me, that’s just it. They’re firsts. That’s not where this thing ends. You don’t become the first time ever doing something and just stop. It will take more work, but none of us came here to reach firsts then drop this thing down.
“We’ve tasted what it’s like to be at that higher level,” Chesney said. “We’ve tasted what it’s like to be in a situation where we can be considered on a national stage, and I don’t think anybody wants to go back to what it was before. We all want to stay up here and fight to sustain it.”
HC will be seeking an unprecedented Patriot League four-peat this fall.
Chesney arrived at Assumption in 2013, and for the past nine years, he and his wife, Andrea, and their three children have called Worcester home. He has become a proud and vital part of the community and, as evidenced by the capacity crowd that watched HC beat Colgate at Polar Park and the brave backers who turned out on a frigid day at Fitton Field for the first-round FCS game, Holy Cross football, could, under Chesney’s leadership, make a return to city prominence, too.
“(Worcester) is a lot like the town (Kulpmont, Pennsylvania) I grew up in,” Chesney said, “a blue-collar town, a tough town that loves football and loves hard work and hopes that hard work ends in winning. I think that’s something we’ve been able to do — be a football team that’s been able to win because we’re tough and hard working. That fits who I am as a person, it fits my upbringing, and it fits what I hope our program can be. This community, as much as it’s where we live, it’s also what shaped us and it’s always what will continue to sustain us.”
—Contact Jennifer Toland at jennifer.toland@telegram.com. Follow her on Twitter @jentandg.
'This is a lot bigger than one guy' he says. 'This is about a full organization.'
Jennifer Toland
Telegram & Gazette
Holy Cross coach Bob Chesney signed a five-year contract extension on Tuesday.
In Bob Chesney’s first four years as Holy Cross football coach, the Crusaders have won three straight Patriot League titles and made three consecutive Football Championship Subdivision playoff appearances, but the program, in Chesney’s view, has not yet reached its full potential.
“I really do believe we’re just getting started,” Chesney said Tuesday afternoon, soon after Holy Cross announced that Chesney and the college agreed to a five-year contract extension.
The new contract will keep Chesney as Holy Cross coach through the 2026 season.
Holy Cross’ commitment to Chesney, a proven winner and motivator and venerated representative of the school, is momentous as HC looks to its football future.
“I could not be happier with this process and the opportunity to reaffirm the college’s commitment to excellence for Holy Cross athletics,” HC director of athletics Kit Hughes said. “Under Coach Chesney’s leadership, our Crusader student-athletes have achieved new heights in the classroom, community and field of competition. I am excited to support him in our shared vision for the future and continue to build upon the tremendous foundation already in place.”
At Hughes’ introductory press conference in December, held just a few days after the football team battled in a five-point loss at Villanova in the second round of the FCS playoffs, he said he was excited to work with Chesney and help continue to move the program forward. Holy Cross president Vincent Rougeau likewise stressed that day the importance of football to the HC athletic program.
Chesney said on Tuesday that working with Rougeau, Hughes and senior associate director of athletics Nick Smith and building toward the future of the program has been a team effort.
“To be able to stay here and know that there’s a future,” Chesney said, “not only with what we’re doing right now, but a plan for the future moving forward, is exciting. I’m excited about the leadership at the top from President Rougeau to Kit to Nick Smith. It’s just really a great team that we’re part of here. I’m blessed, and I feel like these guys get it, they understand it, they care a lot about it, and they really want to take this team to the next level.”
Chesney considers the contract extension not just a commitment to him, but to his players and staff.
“This is a lot bigger than one guy,” Chesney said. “This is about a full organization.
“Today might be public and it marks my extension,” he said, “but before I was willing to do that, I needed to make sure there was a great plan in place. I wanted to make sure there was growth potential for everyone here, and that’s what I think we captured. Kit has a phenomenal understanding of what it takes to run a high-level program and Nick understands the inner workings of our current staff, so they were able to develop something very strong with President Rougeau that this was something that we all could be proud of moving forward.”
In four years at HC, including the COVID-shortened 2021 spring season, the 44-year-old Chesney is 25-16. His career record, which includes stops at Assumption and Salve Regina, is 92-41.
Following the success of last season, it was expected that Chesney would be a sought-after candidate for a higher-level job. His phone did ring.
“Any time there’s a conversation that your name comes up in, the natural reaction for a lot of people is to get excited about being wanted,” Chesney said, “and they start thinking that the grass is way greener on the other side. When I look around here and look at our facilities, our player development, our education, our alums and everything that comes with Holy Cross, it is the full package. Now, we have a chance to talk about our coaching staff and our futures being in the same light.”
In 2021, Holy Cross finished 10-3, its most wins since 1991, and ranked 19th nationally. The Crusaders opened the season with a win at UConn, their first over a Football Bowl Subdivision opponent since 2002.
HC went 6-0 in the Patriot League for the first time, played the first football game at Polar Park, home of the Worcester Red Sox, before a sellout crowd, hosted a playoff game at Fitton Field for only the second time, and beat Sacred Heart in dramatic fashion for the program’s first postseason victory.
“It was a season of many firsts,” Chesney said, “but to me, that’s just it. They’re firsts. That’s not where this thing ends. You don’t become the first time ever doing something and just stop. It will take more work, but none of us came here to reach firsts then drop this thing down.
“We’ve tasted what it’s like to be at that higher level,” Chesney said. “We’ve tasted what it’s like to be in a situation where we can be considered on a national stage, and I don’t think anybody wants to go back to what it was before. We all want to stay up here and fight to sustain it.”
HC will be seeking an unprecedented Patriot League four-peat this fall.
Chesney arrived at Assumption in 2013, and for the past nine years, he and his wife, Andrea, and their three children have called Worcester home. He has become a proud and vital part of the community and, as evidenced by the capacity crowd that watched HC beat Colgate at Polar Park and the brave backers who turned out on a frigid day at Fitton Field for the first-round FCS game, Holy Cross football, could, under Chesney’s leadership, make a return to city prominence, too.
“(Worcester) is a lot like the town (Kulpmont, Pennsylvania) I grew up in,” Chesney said, “a blue-collar town, a tough town that loves football and loves hard work and hopes that hard work ends in winning. I think that’s something we’ve been able to do — be a football team that’s been able to win because we’re tough and hard working. That fits who I am as a person, it fits my upbringing, and it fits what I hope our program can be. This community, as much as it’s where we live, it’s also what shaped us and it’s always what will continue to sustain us.”
—Contact Jennifer Toland at jennifer.toland@telegram.com. Follow her on Twitter @jentandg.