Fired coach decries lack of support for St. Augustine's football program
Posted October 16, 2023 12:23 p.m. EDT
Updated October 16, 2023 5:50 p.m. EDT
Raleigh, N.C. — Days after his sudden dismissal as head coach of the St. Augustine's University football team, Howard Feggins blasted the university for a lack of support, outlining conditions he said should be unacceptable to parents and players.
Feggins shared the letter he got from the university dismissing him for playing an ineligible player, but he spent most of his 30 minutes in front of the microphone outlining other ways in which he says the program fell short of the promises made to players, students, staff and supporters.
Asked about his claims, the university declined to comment.
Feggins said shortfalls ranged from a failure to pay the laundry bill for player uniforms to an inability to afford campus visits for recruits.
"I knew then from those two things that we have more of an issue than I could imagine. And so then we had to stop the spending," Feggins said.
Once student-athletes were on campus, Feggins said, they practiced and played without the support of a full-time athletic trainer and weren’t getting any type of treatment during the day.
"Because we had an interim athletic trainer, we only could practice from 6 a.m. to 8. But after that, we have no athletic trainer to assist with our medical conditions," he explained.
"Do they really care about the mental and physical health of our student-athletes?" Feggins wondered.
A cluster of players came out to hear Feggins speak on Monday, and two spoke on his behalf.
Both quarterback Anthony Butler and wide receiver Kevin Brewington said they were shocked by his firing.
"I've been a part of some teams where it's a revolving door with coaches, but I've never got a coach fired in the middle of the season, let alone the day before a game," Butler said.
Brewington said Feggins tried to address cafeteria issues beginning in the spring. Players told their coach that they went hungry or spent their money for meals off campus because the university didn't provide enough food to fuel football practices and games.
"I think as a university, I feel like they understand and they hear us, but I feel like they don't care enough because, yeah, we've had a history of losing seasons and everything, but at the same time, resources help a whole lot when it comes to winning and losing," Brewington said.
"They say that they care, but it's not really being shown from our standpoint."
Two ineligible players on St. Aug's football roster
Feggins did not deny that there were two players on the roster that he knew were ineligible to play. But Feggins said the university overestimated how much the two – Cameron Page and Nyron Campbell-Adams – actually played.
"Page only played three snaps of one game," he said, adding that Campbell dressed for one game but did not play.
Campbell told the same version of the story to WRAL News.
"It's silly in my opinion. They could have just asked questions," Campbell said.
Feggins said it is rare that a coach is terminated immediately for that type of violation.
The Falcons are 0-7; six of those losses were when Feggins was head coach. He replaced David Bowser who was fired in January after a 2-15 record at SAU.
