Fornelli staying at ESU
Hornet baseball coach turns down offer from Central Missouri
By Jesse Newell
Wednesday, July 4, 2007
Emporia State baseball coach Bob Fornelli is staying put, just a few days after being offered the head coaching position at the University of Central Missouri in Warrensburg.
UCM coach Darin Hendrickson resigned from the position on Monday to take a job at Division-I St. Louis University.
Fornelli, who led ESU to a second-place conference finish this year behind UCM, was contacted for the opening but made his decision to stay at ESU on Tuesday morning.
“I think the biggest thing is that this is my alma mater,” Fornelli said. “I played here, and I feel like we’ve got the program not only headed in the right direction, but doing the right things right now.
“It would be tough to be a Mule. That probably is one of the premier jobs in the country, but this is where I’m going to stay and make our home.”
Fornelli has compiled a 166-79 record in four years with the Hornets. He originally came to ESU in 2004 after going 306-113 in seven seasons at Fort Hays State.
UCM has been a mainstay at the top of the MIAA in baseball, finishing with 50 or more wins in seven of the last eight seasons. The Mules have been to the NCAA Division-II postseason for 14 consecutive years and have won the MIAA regular-season title in 13 of the last 14 seasons.
“It’s definitely flattering for them to call, no question about that,” Fornelli said, “but we feel like we’re on par with them right now, and we’ve just got to keep rolling.”
Fornelli, who graduated from ESU in 1991, has led the Hornets to the postseason in each of his four years.
ESU athletic director Kent Weiser confirmed that Fornelli’s contract had been restructured after he made his decision to stay, but specifics regarding the additional benefits were not disclosed.
“We’re all very, very pleased that coach Fornelli has decided to stay at ESU,” Weiser said. “The Central Missouri job is definitely a great opportunity. That’s a great program, and one we have great respect for. It’s nice that Coach decided we could build that same kind of program here.”
Fornelli made $47,500 as ESU’s head baseball coach last season.
The Central Missouri offer was believed to be several thousand dollars more than Fornelli will make next year even with his new raise.
“Central Missouri does not go without a lot of things,” Weiser said. “They offered a lot of stuff, and they offered more than what we could offer here.”
Fornelli called Weiser at noon on Monday to tell him he’d been contacted about UCM’s baseball opening.
The two met that afternoon, and Weiser encouraged Fornelli to talk to Tim Weiser, who is on the Division-I baseball committee as Kansas State’s athletic director. He also is Kent Weiser’s cousin.
“I think Tim reassured him, in baseball especially, that the level you’re at doesn’t matter,” Kent Weiser said. “If you do a good job, people will notice you.”
One of the draws to UCM could have been that its last two coaches have left to become Division-I coaches.
Brad Hill — who played baseball at ESU in the 1980s — left Central after nine seasons to become head coach at Kansas State.
Hendrickson’s jump to SLU earlier this week made it two in a row.
Fornelli said the final decision wasn’t easy.
“I thought about it. I really did,” Fornelli said. “I talked to a lot of people about it. The right thing for us — I talked to my wife, Jill, and our family — the right thing for us is to stay here.”
Though Fornelli made the decision to stay at ESU for now, Weiser said he wouldn’t be surprised if other schools came calling — especially with all the success that have followed the coach’s programs.
“I think Bob would like a shot at Division I, and that’s terrific,” Weiser said. “He has aspirations to do well, and we want to have those kind of people around us.
“There might be a time, and there probably will be a time, that an offer comes up that is too hard to pass up — one that’s a career advancement, whether it be Division-I or whatever that Bob will need to look at.
“I’m just glad this one wasn’t it.”