Randy Edsall‘s on-field wins in his second stint at UConn have been few and far between, but the head coach can now at least claim one off-field victory.
In a 41-page ruling, the Hartford Courant reported, a Connecticut Superior Court judge ruled that Edsall did not violate the state’s nepotism law in hiring his son, Corey Edsall, to his Huskies coaching staff. The university’s argument in support of their head coach had been that Edsall was not a state employee when he was helping his son negotiate a contract that would lead him to become the Huskies’ tight ends coach.
In his ruling, Judge Joseph Shortall agreed. From the Courant‘s report:The judge says the board made a mistake by determining that the head coach was hired on Dec. 28, 2016, finding that Edsall wasn’t a state employee until Jan. 3, 2018.
“The parties agree that only if Randy Edsall was a ‘state employee’ on January 1, 2017, was his involvement in setting the terms of Corey’s employment a violation of the (ethics statue) i.e. an illegal use of his public position to obtain financial gain for his son,” Shortall wrote.
UConn did indeed confirm Edsall’s return as head coach on Dec. 28, 2016, although an employment contract wasn’t officially executed until six days later.
Corey Edsall was officially hired by the Huskies on Jan. 1 of 2017. The state’s Office of Ethics had expressed concern over the hiring in March of last year, later ruling that the arrangement had violated laws banning nepotism but would allow Corey Edsall to remain on the job as long as the one-year contract wasn’t renewed; the elder Edsall appealed that ruling in September of 2017, and a separate judge’s ruling has allowed Corey Edsall to coach this season.
Judge Shortall’s ruling, as well a legislative maneuver this past June, will allow the younger Edsall’s continued employment by the university.
In one-plus seasons with the Huskies, Randy Edsall has posted a 4-16 record. That includes a 1-7 mark in 2018, with the only win coming against FCS Rhode Island in Week 3. In fact, UConn hasn’t beaten a team from the FBS level since downing Tulsa Oct. 21 of last year.
