Vermont fires Todd Woodcroft after investigation into inappropriate texts

Vermont announced Tuesday that it fired Todd Woodcroft. (Brian Jenkins/Vermont Athletics)

The University of Vermont men’s hockey team will no longer be coached by Todd Woodcroft.

In a press release late Tuesday afternoon, the athletic department announced Woodcroft had been relieved of his coaching duties.

Athletic director Jeff Schulman cited “inappropriate text messages with a UVM student on multiple occasions that failed to maintain professional boundaries,” which led to Woodcroft’s firing.

“The University of Vermont Athletic Department has high expectations for the conduct of our coaches and all involved with our department,” Schulman said in a statement. “After reviewing the findings of an investigation conducted by UVM’s Office of Affirmative Action and Equal Opportunity that was completed this week, it is clear that Coach Woodcroft failed to meet those expectations.”

The school has named assistant coach Steve Wiedler as the interim head coach for the 2023-24 season. The team was informed of this news early Tuesday, according to Schulman’s statement.

“The team and I have tremendous confidence in Coach Wiedler’s ability to successfully lead our program,” Schulman said. “He has played a major role in the recruitment and development of our current players and will step into this important role with the full support of our team and his Athletic Department colleagues.”

Woodcroft took the head coaching job in April of 2020. Prior to that, he was an assistant coach with the NHL’s Winnipeg Jets for four seasons.

He finishes his three seasons at Vermont with a record of 20-35-9.