Star-Journbal Editor
After one tumultuous season at the helm of the Tabor College football program, school officials confirmed Tuesday that head coach Robert Rubel's contract will not be renewed when it expires at the end of this month.
"His contract is up at the end of December and it will not be renewed," said Lawrence Ressler, vice president of academics and student development, who has administrative oversight of the athletic department.
Prior to an inquiry Tuesday by the Star-Journal, there had been no official announcement from the college that the coach's contract had been terminated.
According to Ressler, Rubel told his players Monday that he was leaving. He added that Rubel was notified "several weeks ago" that his contract would not be renewed.
The decision comes after an end-of-season evaluation by a committee that reviewed Rubel's performance. The review process evaluates every aspect of the program, including recruitment, coaching, academics, and esprit de corps on the team.
"It's a comprehensive review," said Ressler. He declined to name the members of the committee, but said the process included the athletic director, student representatives, faculty, coaches from other sports, and the college president.
Team members completed an evaluation of the coach and program as well.
The firing comes at the end of a season in which current and former Tabor football players have made headlines on the police blotter as well as on the sports page:
— In the community, a freshman player on the team is facing charges of attempted aggravated robbery (see story Pg. 1).
— On campus, Hillsboro police chief Dan Kinning said the volume of calls his department has received this year has been the worst.
— In the locker room, the season was marred by conflicts between veteran Tabor players, the new head coach, and his recruits.
— On the field, the Bluejays capped off a season with a victory at St. Mary Spires, 30-21.
The win marked Tabor's sixth straight winning season as it ended the year at 6-4 overall and 5-4 in league play for fifth place.
The Bluejays were picked by both media and coaches to finish seventh in the KCAC.
The recent spate of incidents involving football players was not the sole reason for the dismissal, said Ressler.
"There's no individual issue that was involved in the decision," Ressler said.
What's next?
The vacant coaching job has not yet been advertised, he said.
It is unclear what will happen to the Tabor assistant football coaches. But new head football coaches are usually allowed to make decisions on who to keep regarding their staffing needs.
"We have a normal search process," Ressler said. "The search team will do its best to get a [coaching staff] here who knows what we're all about; who understand the challenges of a faith-based, academic institution."
History
Rubel is a journeyman coach who worked his way up from high school ranks to a head college coaching job.
He came to Tabor in March from Abilene (Texas) Christian University, where for two seasons he served as offensive assistant coach, assistant athletic director in charge of compliance, kickers coach, and academic coordinator.
Prior to his stint at ACU, Rubel served as defensive coordinator at Oklahoma Panhandle State University, Goodwell, Okla.
He was defensive coordinator at North Dakota State College of Science during 2002.
As defensive coordinator and assistant head coach at Cisco (Texas) Junior College from 2000 to 2001, the defense finished 13th in the country in total defense, first in interceptions and third in pass defense.
Rubel has also made stops at three different high schools: Kermit and Henrietta, Texas, and Perry, Okla.
Rubel and his wife of nine years, Sheila, have an 8-year-old daughter, Noel, and a 6-year-old son, Noah.
Several attempts to contact Rubel for this interview were unsuccessful.
