The ongoing investigation into alleged abuse by Idaho volleyball Head Coach Chris Gonzalez could have a dramatic impact on the future of the volleyball program, according to a UI volleyball alum.
The timing of this investigation will have a ripple effect on the fall 2024 volleyball roster, says Meredith Rice, a former Idaho volleyball player and nationally renowned recruiting coordinator. Rice, who graduated from UI in 2010, works as the Club Director and Recruiting Coordinator for Academy Volleyball Cleveland, a top 15 club in the nation.
Rice said that the outcome of Gonzalez’s investigation—whether or not he is fired—does not change the fact that the program will be “in shambles” for the years to come.
The investigation is reportedly nearing a close. Jodi Walker, Executive Director of Communications for UI, confirmed Monday that the “report is being written up.” The report will be released to everyone involved including Gonzalez, the players, and President Scott Green, Walker said. However, if there is sensitive information on students that is protected by the Family Education Rights and Privacy Act, the report will not be released to a wider audience, according to Walker.
If Gonzalez is cleared, the investigation’s headlines and alleged abuse will remain. Rice said if two coaches are recruiting the same player, with one coach from Idaho and one from a competing university, the only thing the competitor must do to beat Idaho would be to send the athlete the Orange County Register article from Dec. 30 that detailed Gonzalez’s alleged abusive behavior.
“Why choose the school with the headlines?” Rice said. “Nobody wants to risk their future. They have dedicated their lives to volleyball since they were 10 years old.”
Rice said she saw UI volleyball assistant coach Romana Redondo Kriskova at the Triple Crown tournament.
“That poor girl out recruiting that weekend,” Rice said. She referred again to the difficulty Kriskova could have potentially had at the tournament.
Rice said that if Gonzalez stays, the only players he will be able to recruit to Idaho will either be international players, players late to the transfer portal, or players that have Idaho as their only offer.
“They are going to get whoever is available. They are not going to get the best of the best,” Rice said. “In this kind of desperate situation, what kind of athletes are you getting?”
An Incomplete Roster
Rice said it is a real possibility that the Vandal volleyball roster will not be full for the fall if Gonzalez is not fired. She also said that the fall team may not have a pre-season (non-conference) schedule for multiple reasons.
“No one will schedule him (Gonzalez),” Rice said. “Idaho’s RPI (Rating Performance Index) is so low. There is no benefit for other schools to beating them.”
Rice said recruiting will still be difficult, even if Gonzalez is fired. She said it will take a while for a new coach to gain credibility, respect, and trust from prospective players and recruiting coordinators such as Rice.
“The poor soul who has to come up and clean this mess,” Rice said. “It will be a two- to –three-year scramble. They will have to do the work to prove they are not another Chris.”
The credibility and stability of a coach is of utmost importance for player retention, said Kelsey Bouska, a former Vandal volleyball player who graduated from UI in 2009.
Bouska, who has worked at the highest levels of the athletic industry for many years, said that girls are two times more likely to drop out of sports than boys. Several barriers cause this statistic.
“Every detail of (alleged) abuse in the (Orange County Register) article hit on one of those barriers,” Bouska said. “It’s sad and disheartening. It’s hard to fathom that it has gotten here this fast.”
“But I am confident the volleyball program will get back to a good place if the right action is taken, and that is a big if.”
The Anti-Gala
Bouska and Rice both believe the right action is for the investigation to move as quickly as possible and for Gonzalez to be fired. Bouska, Rice, and over 30 other Vandal alumni and athletes chose not to attend the Vandal Scholarship Fund Gala held in Boise on Feb. 23 because Gonzalez has not been fired.
The annual gala brings Vandal donors and alumni together to raise money for University of Idaho scholarships. It is an event Haley Janicek, Rice, and Bouska, former Idaho volleyball teammates, look forward to every year. However, the three of them did not feel it was the right time to attend the event and donate to the school because of the pending investigation.
“We held a kind of anti-gala,” Rice said, as many of those who chose not to attend still met in Boise on Feb. 23. “It was an opportunity to get together and discuss how what to do about the (Gonzalez) situation.”
Janicek confirmed that more than 30 Vandals who chose not to attend the gala did so specifically because the investigation had not been completed. She recalled one of the donations made at the 2023 gala, saying a single donor gave $50,000.
“This shows the kind of financial impact that not going has,” Janicek said. “This was an actionable thing we could do to speak up.”
Joanna Hayes can be reached at [email protected]