Idaho volleyball coach Gonzalez resigns

From staff and news services

MOSCOW — Amid an investigation into allegations of abuse and bullying by Idaho volleyball coach Chris Gonzalez, Gonzalez has resigned, University of Idaho officials said Friday in a news release.

The separation became official Friday. With his resignation, the investigation stops, and no further action will be taken, Idaho officials said.

"Just relief, like finally, finally, this is happening," Idaho volleyball player Emma Patterson, from Boise High, told KREM-2. "All of the work that we've done and put in, all of the meetings that we had, and the evidence that we gathered, and the interviews with the law firms for the investigation, all finally came together," Patterson said. 

Idaho officials said the school is working on a succession plan for the head coaching job, and said assistant volleyball coach Romana Redondo Kriskova is expected to remain on staff. Kriskova joined the Vandals prior to the 2023 season.

Gonzalez was put on administrative leave March 27 as the university investigated complaints brought by volleyball student-athletes. The university was made aware of the complaints in November 2023. 

According to exhaustive reporting by the Orange County Register newspaper in Southern California, which first brought the players’ concerns to light in a story published in December 2023, Gonzalez withheld food from players after losses, and bullied and body shamed players, among other allegations.

Players expressed their concerns to Idaho athletic officials as early as the 2022-23 school year, the newspaper reported.

In early 2024 a case manager was provided for the student-athletes. This case manager attended all team activities where Gonzalez was present, and many others where he was not, Idaho officials said. 

“The students were connected with mental health and support resources,” the news release said. “The university worked to uphold our values and the principles of an inclusive, supportive and nurturing learning environment while maintaining due process under the law and our policies.

“With this resolution, we look forward to the volleyball program rebuilding an environment in which our student-athletes can be comfortable and succeed both on the court and off,” the news release added.

Gonzalez was 5-51 in two seasons at Idaho, including 1-31 in Big Sky Conference matches.

The university finished one of the two investigations earlier in May. Those findings haven't been released to the public, but Patterson says the findings are clear. 

"From the report, we found that there is sufficient evidence that Gonzalez is responsible for discrimination based on national origin, sufficient evidence that Gonzalez is responsible for sex-based harassment, sufficient evidence that Gonzalez is responsible for retaliation and multiple counts of retaliation," Patterson said. 

IDAHO WOMEN’S BASKETBALL

Associate head coach Arthur Moreira will be the Vandals’ interim head women’s basketball coach for the 2024-25 season, Idaho officials said.

Moreira joined the Idaho staff last season under first-year head coach Carrie Eighmey, who left after one season in Moscow to take the head coaching job at South Dakota.

Prior to coming to Idaho, Moreira was assistant coach at the University of San Francisco from 2016-23.