CSC officials keeping silent about volleyball coach

College officials are still  remaining quiet about the status of Head Volleyball Coach Chris Wells, who was missing from three games last week and who did not make a road trip to New Mexico this weekend.

Sources, speaking on condition of anonymity, said that Wells is under investigation, but the type of investigation and the reasons for it remain unclear.

“At the moment, his (Wells’) status is still undetermined,” a source close to the situation, but who asked not to be identified, said last week. “There should be a report by the end of next week regarding his status. He is under investigation, but the reasoning why hasn’t even been released to us.”

An email to Wells, sent Wednesday for comment, went unanswered.

Meanwhile, college officials aren’t talking about whether there is an investigation, or about Wells’ status, including whether he’s been suspended.

An email exchange with Athletic Director Joel Smith produced no information.

“I would refer you to Alex Helmbrecht,” Smith wrote Oct. 21, deferring questions to Helmbrecht, CSC’s director of college relations. As of Tuesday, Smith repeated his prior statements.

“I am not at liberty to discuss personnel matters. Personnel matters are confidential,” Helmbrecht wrote in an email Oct. 21, in response to questions about Wells’ status. He also declined to comment in an email Tuesday afternoon.

One of two home games Wells missed was the Oct. 16 match-up against Colorado School of Mines, Golden. In his absence, Coaching Assistant Whitney Roth was listed on the game programs as “Acting Head Coach.” However, as of Friday, CSC’s athletic website still lists Wells as head coach and Roth as coaching assistant.

Interviewed on Oct. 21, Roth, too, declined to comment.

Another source, who also spoke on condition of anonymity, said CSC officials asked the volleyball team to keep information about Wells to themselves.

Wells was hired as the interim head coach in summer 2014, after former Head Coach Janel Baily resigned when her husband, former Track and Field Head Coach Ryan Baily, accepted a job at Colorado State University, Fort Collins.

Despite a dismal 3-24 record in 2014, the college hired Wells as permanent head coach at season’s end in December.

Before coming to CSC, Wells served as assistant head coach at New Mexico Highlands University, Las Vegas, in the 2013-2014 season, according to Jim Deisler, Co-Interim Athletic Director at NMHU. Deisler added that Wells was not fired, but instead left NMHU to accept the interim head coaching position at CSC.