Indiana’s volleyball season begins Friday despite unanswered questions about Steve Aird

Over three months in the past, the Indiana Each day Scholar printed an investigation on Indiana volleyball head coach Steve Aird, detailing a program constructed round punishment, rife with psychological abuse and the place gamers say psychological well being issues had been often dismissed. 

Forward of Indiana’s season opener Friday and regardless of 4 of IU’s volleyball gamers talking out anonymously, Indiana Athletics has not publicized any assertion or introduced any disciplinary motion towards Aird.

The IDS requested Indiana Athletics what adjustments have been made throughout the program or if any disciplinary motion had been taken. In response, Indiana Athletics launched this assertion with reference to issues raised by the scholar athletes.

“We instantly shared them with the Workplace of the Vice President and Common Counsel, which performed an in depth and thorough evaluate of all claims dropped at our consideration,” a division spokesperson stated in an announcement. “We’ve applied all the suggestions with the complete cooperation of coach Aird. It is very important observe that the evaluate did decide that the division and its employees members dealt with and reported all claims appropriately, and as we do with all groups right here at Indiana, we proceed to watch the state of affairs.”

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The IDS initially reported an inside IU investigation into Aird’s habits, which opened in December 2021, was minimize quick in January of this 12 months. The division launched an preliminary assertion for the story saying all suggestions had been applied with Aird’s cooperation.

Those that performed below Aird described him as a businessman, giving them a false gross sales pitch on the expertise of enjoying for him. Practices had been run to the purpose of exhaustion, and gamers had been typically punished for small errors. Gamers described their play getting worse as a substitute of getting higher.

The gamers claimed their psychological well being issues had been dismissed and that the college cared extra about its public picture than their psychological well being.

On the inaugural Huge Ten Volleyball Media Days in August, Aird made his first public feedback because the IDS printed its investigation. As a consequence of scheduling conflicts, the IDS didn’t attend Huge Ten Media Days.

Nevertheless, no questions had been requested in regards to the allegations made within the article. Aird’s feedback didn’t point out any of the claims or recommend he was working to enhance the surroundings. As an alternative, he introduced up a typical theme over the previous few years of the Hoosiers being a younger workforce.

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Over his 4 years teaching Indiana, this system has skilled a excessive turnover charge. Of Aird’s 25 totally different gamers, 15 have left this system earlier than ending their eligibility both by transferring, being kicked off the workforce or quitting volleyball altogether.

The turnover charge has stored the Hoosiers younger and inexperienced, making it harder for the workforce to compete within the Huge Ten. 

Indiana’s file has additionally gotten worse over Aird’s first 4 seasons. In 2018, he produced his solely profitable file at Indiana, going 16-15, however the Hoosiers dropped to 14-19 in 2019 earlier than producing a 5-15 file within the COVID-19-shortened 2020 season. They went 10-22 in 2021 and gained 4 Huge Ten video games.

Extra gamers will return this 12 months than any below Aird. Solely 4 gamers from final season left the workforce whereas 14 stayed.

The workforce’s solely new gamers had been each signed internationally. The Hoosiers added Candela Alonso-Corcelles, an out of doors hitter from Madrid, Spain, and Melisa Ilter, an reverse hitter from Bursa, Turkey. The 2022 class initially included one different freshman recruit, who decommitted earlier than signing with Penn State.