West Virginia University says it needs more time to consider the release of a report about the independent investigation of former football defensive coordinator Vic Koenning, who parted ways with the Mountaineers last week.
“Due to the fact that the University is presently processing an atypical number of other previously filed records requests that will likely yield a significant number of responsive documents, additional time is needed to search for, identify, gather, review, and process this request for records,” the university concluded.
West Virgnia MetroNews sent a formal Freedom of Information Act request to the university on July 22, the day WVU publicly parted ways with Koenning.
WVU says it will provide a response to the request before Sept. 15.
That’s after the first two football games of the upcoming season, if the schedule holds up.
WVU and Koenning “mutually agreed to separate” following allegations of mistreatment by sophomore safety Kerry Martin.
The separation agreement says Koenning will be paid $591,451 over the next 19 months. He signed a two-year contract with WVU in 2019. His contract had a remaining value of $1,074,059.
In a lengthy tweet posted on June 23, defensive back Martin detailed several instances of alleged mistreatment by Koenning over the course of the last year and a half.
“I had my first incident with him after a mistake I made on the field that he called me retarded for doing the wrong technique,” Martin said in June.
Koenning was placed on administrative leave shortly afterwards. He released a statement the following day apologizing to Martin and the entire WVU family while hoping to find common ground.
Athletic Director Shane Lyons released a statement at the time, alluding to an investigation.
“Coach Vic Koenning has been placed on administrative leave effective immediately, and the department will work with the appropriate parties to conduct a thorough investigation into these allegations. This is serious, and we will act appropriately and in the best interests of our student-athletes,” Lyons stated then.
Football Coach Neal Brown also alluded to the investigation in statements made at the time.
“After speaking with Kerry, I took immediate action. Along with Shane and his team, we launched an independent investigation,” Brown said then.
He added, “I stressed to our team and staff that we will be open and transparent throughout the University process.”
WVU says it will need more time to respond to requests to learn more about the investigation, though.
“Thank you for your patience as the University processes this and a significant number of previously filed requests for records while simultaneously responding to the COVID-19 pandemic,” the university wrote.