FSW athletics director reassigned, placed on paid leave

SOUTH FORT MYERS, Fla. The man who restarted sports at Florida SouthWestern State College is finished as the school’s athletics director.

FSW has reassigned Carl McAloose to a position at the school’s Naples campus, a spokeswoman said Wednesday. He’ll do institutional research and work on projects comparing the athletics department to ones at other schools.

A search for a new FSW athletics director is underway.

The school wouldn’t disclose a reason behind the move, but McAloose told The News-Press it was because of negative comments he allegedly made about Dr. Jeff Allbritten. McAloose denied making any such comments.

McAloose was also placed on paid administrative leave for 12 days and barred from the school until the end the week.

Personnel reviews show McAloose rates above FSW standards. The college renewed his contract in late June with a small pay raise.

McAloose has been with the school since February 2014 and oversaw the renewal of a long-dormant athletics program that now features four varsity sports — baseball, softball, and men’s and women’s basketball.

He did much the same for Florida Gulf Coast University as its founding athletics director, taking sports at the school from their inception in 2000 to the NCAA Division I level in 2007.

He resigned from FGCU in 2008, two days after the school settled a $3.4 million gender-equality lawsuit involving two female coaches.