By Daijah White / Sports Editor

Missouri Valley College’s winningest Head Coach in Men’s Basketball history, Chad Lance, has decided to resign from the position. In a heavy and heartfelt resignation letter written by Lance addressed to the college, he expressed his concern and experience he has had with Missouri Valley College’s urge to create a safer and more productive environment for Basketball Athletes. 

After 3 decades, going from a student to a coach to a mentor for many, Lance is leaving behind a legacy. Lance has set many program records during his time as head coach, beginning in his first game when his team set a record for most single points in a game with 111. This record was broken this past season under him as well when his team scored 119 points in a game against Missouri Baptist.

“Chad Lance has been a fixture at Missouri Valley and has helped build so many young student-athletes into men,” said Missouri Valley College President Dr. Joe Parisi in a press release issued by Missouri Valley. “He’s also been a solid leader who built a family atmosphere on his teams year after year.” 

Lance has led teams to National Tournaments, helped develop eight All-Americans, and 51 all all-conference selections. He also carries a program high of 312 career wins. Through all of the successes, Lance has built a program that stands for heart, grit, and hard work, but is leaving because Missouri Valley is not giving back equally to what has been put in by the athletes, Lance himself, and his staff. 

“Change is a part of life,” said Lance in his letter of resignation. “But we are heading in a direction that I no longer want to be a part of.” 

Lance said in his letter that there are numerous issues that play into his departure. One of his main concerns was student-athletes’ safety due to things such as no air conditioning in Burns Gymnasium, and a major one being frequent roof leaks that occurred in Burns as well. 

“These issues lead to a severe injury to one of my athletes that still today has not been addressed and is unacceptable,” said Lance. 

Loyalty is what Lance says Valley and the program were built on, and Family was the foundation. He feels this is slowly fading through the decline in retention of staff, faculty, and coaches. The number of attendees is rising, but Lance feels he has done a lot working with what he has been given, and it is not only unfair to faculty staff and coaches, but also to the new and returning student-athletes. 

Along with Lance, Former Student and Current Coach Ramone Powell has also announced his departure from Valley. Lance plans to finish out this semester in regards to teaching classes and his loyalty to finishing out this year, but after this semester, he will be officially done with Missouri Valley. 

“I pray my resignation will save my love for Missouri Valley College,” said Lance. “I want to live the rest of my life with love for the place that has given me hundreds of men who are my family.”