Pat Disabato: No fond farewell for Rich South AD Mark Hopman.
This isn't the way Mark Hopman expected his final year as Rich South's athletic director to end.
It was supposed to be a celebration of almost two decades of building Rich South's athletic department into one of the Southland's most efficient.
And, of course, there would be the final time hosting the McDipper holiday boys basketball tournament, set to tip off on Dec. 26.
Instead, Hopman was put on administrative leave Oct. 9 and submitted his resignation on Nov. 11.
"They thought they could totally bully me," Hopman said. "All I wanted to do was have a great last year. For 18 years I felt our athletic department was the standard of excellence in the south suburbs."
Hopman wasn't alone in leaving. Rich South athletic secretary Nancy Adduci, who devoted 30 years to District 227, followed Hopman out the door. Like Hopman, she intended to retire on June 30. However, Adduci moved up her retirement to coincide with Hopman's departure.
"My loyalty was with Mark. We were a team," Adduci said. "I felt that way for every athletic director I worked for."
"They lost the No. 1 administrative assistant in the Southland in Nancy," Hopman said.
"They" would be Rich South principal Mike McGrone and District 227 school board president Antoine Bass, who did not respond to messages seeking comment for this story.
McGrone was named principal last summer after holding the same position at Lowell-Longfellow Elementary School in Harvey.
Hopman had worked with seven principals and nine superintendents at Rich South. He had good working relationships with each. There was mutual respect. Protocol was followed.
McGrone, however, was a different story.
"The new principal was making decisions on things pertaining to the athletic department without consulting me," Hopman said. "He has a right to make the decisions. But I'm at least entitled to know what he's going to do."
Without consulting Hopman, McGrone decided to not to bring back Rich South football coach Andre Taylor for a third season.
"I believe I should have been included in this decision," Hopman said. "Andre was coach for two years. He deserved more time to turn around the program."
Hopman said McGrone disciplined athletes without consulting him or adhering to the school's athletic code of conduct.
"He disciplined kids his own way and didn't let me know about it," Hopman said. "For example, there's a policy that students must have a 2.0 GPA in order to attend games. He arbitrarily ended that."
What really drew the ire of Hopman was McGrone and Bass making demands of the McDipper.
"Over the summer I came back from vacation to attend a meeting at the district office," Hopman said. "Mr. Bass didn't feel the district's investment in the McDipper was warranted. Demands were made to increase ticket prices and initiate other savings."
According to Hopman, the McDipper lost approximately $25,000 each year, which the district always covered.
According to Hopman, it was the cost of providing security during the four-day event that caused the McDipper to fall into the red.
"Every principal and superintendent through the years thought the district's investment in the tournament was worth it," Hopman said.
According to Hopman, another way Bass suggested to close the deficit was to start charging the dozens of college coaches who attended the McDipper to scout talent.
There's some irony in Bass's request. "Guess who asked me for the most (free) passes to the McDipper last year?" Hopman said.
According to Hopman, that would be Bass.
Where push really came to shove was when Bass questioned the value of calling the tournament McDipper. Up until seven years ago, the tournament was referred to as the Big Dipper. It was changed to the McDipper when Melvin Buckley, who owns two local McDonald's, became the tournament's top sponsor.
A meeting between Buckley, Bass and Hopman in September didn't go well.
Ultimately, Buckley, along with another local sponsor, pulled out of this year's McDipper. In fact, according to the tournament's website, the tournament is again the Big Dipper.
"It fell apart," Buckley said of the meeting and his participation. "They wanted more money from me. It's like they wanted me to fix their entire budget problem. I wasn't involved in sponsoring the McDipper to make money. I was in it for the kids. I grew up here. I still live here. Whatever I can do to help these kids off the streets, I try to do. Mr. Bass made it sound like I wasn't doing enough for my sponsorship. I'm devastated by this. I can tell you that not every day you meet a gentleman who is as passionate about kids and a tournament like Mark Hopman. But these guys (Bass and McGrone) have no idea how to run a tournament."
Already, there are rumors multiple teams and additional sponsors are prepared to end their relationship with the McDipper after this year.
Let me say this: there hasn't been a more innovative tournament than the McDipper, which originated the 3-point shot and the shot clock in Illinois high school basketball. Much credit goes to Big Dipper founder George Egofske and to Hopman and Adduci, who deserved to end their careers on a harmonious note.
"I wasn't going to preside over a tournament that was going to become third-rate," Hopman said. "Here's what they don't get: The McDipper is more than a basketball tournament. It's a community event. McGrone has never been to a single McDipper game. So, if this is the way things were going to be, I felt they could have their job (athletic director). Both Nancy and I feel like we were cheated out of the kind of retirement where we could say goodbye to people and have a celebration of our careers. We needlessly lost all of that."
Adduci never imagined it would end this way.
"They turned off my key fob to get into the school when I moved up my retirement date," Adduci said. "I had to have someone let me into the school for five days. They had no explanation. It was humiliating. I worked in the district for 30 years. My last day I had to go out the doors of the locker room. Nobody loved those kids at Rich South more than Mark and I. It's really sad."
Boys Basketball: Morgan Park 79, Bogan 58
This isn't the way Mark Hopman expected his final year as Rich South's athletic director to end.
It was supposed to be a celebration of almost two decades of building Rich South's athletic department into one of the Southland's most efficient.
And, of course, there would be the final time hosting the McDipper holiday boys basketball tournament, set to tip off on Dec. 26.
Instead, Hopman was put on administrative leave Oct. 9 and submitted his resignation on Nov. 11.
"They thought they could totally bully me," Hopman said. "All I wanted to do was have a great last year. For 18 years I felt our athletic department was the standard of excellence in the south suburbs."
Hopman wasn't alone in leaving. Rich South athletic secretary Nancy Adduci, who devoted 30 years to District 227, followed Hopman out the door. Like Hopman, she intended to retire on June 30. However, Adduci moved up her retirement to coincide with Hopman's departure.
"My loyalty was with Mark. We were a team," Adduci said. "I felt that way for every athletic director I worked for."
"They lost the No. 1 administrative assistant in the Southland in Nancy," Hopman said.
"They" would be Rich South principal Mike McGrone and District 227 school board president Antoine Bass, who did not respond to messages seeking comment for this story.
McGrone was named principal last summer after holding the same position at Lowell-Longfellow Elementary School in Harvey.
Hopman had worked with seven principals and nine superintendents at Rich South. He had good working relationships with each. There was mutual respect. Protocol was followed.
McGrone, however, was a different story.
"The new principal was making decisions on things pertaining to the athletic department without consulting me," Hopman said. "He has a right to make the decisions. But I'm at least entitled to know what he's going to do."
Without consulting Hopman, McGrone decided to not to bring back Rich South football coach Andre Taylor for a third season.
"I believe I should have been included in this decision," Hopman said. "Andre was coach for two years. He deserved more time to turn around the program."
Hopman said McGrone disciplined athletes without consulting him or adhering to the school's athletic code of conduct.
"He disciplined kids his own way and didn't let me know about it," Hopman said. "For example, there's a policy that students must have a 2.0 GPA in order to attend games. He arbitrarily ended that."
What really drew the ire of Hopman was McGrone and Bass making demands of the McDipper.
"Over the summer I came back from vacation to attend a meeting at the district office," Hopman said. "Mr. Bass didn't feel the district's investment in the McDipper was warranted. Demands were made to increase ticket prices and initiate other savings."
According to Hopman, the McDipper lost approximately $25,000 each year, which the district always covered.
According to Hopman, it was the cost of providing security during the four-day event that caused the McDipper to fall into the red.
"Every principal and superintendent through the years thought the district's investment in the tournament was worth it," Hopman said.
According to Hopman, another way Bass suggested to close the deficit was to start charging the dozens of college coaches who attended the McDipper to scout talent.
There's some irony in Bass's request. "Guess who asked me for the most (free) passes to the McDipper last year?" Hopman said.
According to Hopman, that would be Bass.
Where push really came to shove was when Bass questioned the value of calling the tournament McDipper. Up until seven years ago, the tournament was referred to as the Big Dipper. It was changed to the McDipper when Melvin Buckley, who owns two local McDonald's, became the tournament's top sponsor.
A meeting between Buckley, Bass and Hopman in September didn't go well.
Ultimately, Buckley, along with another local sponsor, pulled out of this year's McDipper. In fact, according to the tournament's website, the tournament is again the Big Dipper.
"It fell apart," Buckley said of the meeting and his participation. "They wanted more money from me. It's like they wanted me to fix their entire budget problem. I wasn't involved in sponsoring the McDipper to make money. I was in it for the kids. I grew up here. I still live here. Whatever I can do to help these kids off the streets, I try to do. Mr. Bass made it sound like I wasn't doing enough for my sponsorship. I'm devastated by this. I can tell you that not every day you meet a gentleman who is as passionate about kids and a tournament like Mark Hopman. But these guys (Bass and McGrone) have no idea how to run a tournament."
Already, there are rumors multiple teams and additional sponsors are prepared to end their relationship with the McDipper after this year.
Let me say this: there hasn't been a more innovative tournament than the McDipper, which originated the 3-point shot and the shot clock in Illinois high school basketball. Much credit goes to Big Dipper founder George Egofske and to Hopman and Adduci, who deserved to end their careers on a harmonious note.
"I wasn't going to preside over a tournament that was going to become third-rate," Hopman said. "Here's what they don't get: The McDipper is more than a basketball tournament. It's a community event. McGrone has never been to a single McDipper game. So, if this is the way things were going to be, I felt they could have their job (athletic director). Both Nancy and I feel like we were cheated out of the kind of retirement where we could say goodbye to people and have a celebration of our careers. We needlessly lost all of that."
Adduci never imagined it would end this way.
"They turned off my key fob to get into the school when I moved up my retirement date," Adduci said. "I had to have someone let me into the school for five days. They had no explanation. It was humiliating. I worked in the district for 30 years. My last day I had to go out the doors of the locker room. Nobody loved those kids at Rich South more than Mark and I. It's really sad."
Boys Basketball: Morgan Park 79, Bogan 58