Hampton University AD admits ‘odd timing’ in Robert Prunty departure

Hampton University stunned many with its decision to let go of head football coach Robert Prunty months after the traditional hiring cycle, and Athletic Director Anthony Henderson agrees. Henderson acknowledged the awkward timing to Michael Sauls of the Daily Press, though both the university and Prunty’s camp refused to divulge details about the split.

“We’ve gone through spring ball; I will admit it is unusual timing,” Henderson said. “I think it’s something out of our control. Like I said, I can’t get into details, but it was unusual timing for us as well. I think the biggest thing that helped was actually having Trent [Boykin] on staff. It wasn’t something where I had to make a decision that we’re gonna go into a national search like right now because, as you know, it’s not ideal. We have somebody on staff that we felt could keep the trains running. So the timing is not ideal, but fortunately, we’re in the situation we’re in where we could bring Trent on as the interim and keep things going.”

Prunty officially released a statement more than a week after the initial news of his firing broke out.

“I want to thank Hampton University, President Emeritus Dr. William R. Harvey and former Director of Athletics Eugene Marshall for giving me the opportunity to fulfill my lifelong dream of being a collegiate head football coach,” Prunty said. “I also want to thank the players that I’ve had the opportunity to coach at Hampton as well as all of the people that make Hampton special – the faculty and staff, campus police, custodial staff and maintenance staff. I look forward to the next chapter of my coaching career.”

Sauls mentioned in his article that Florida A&M and Harvard were the last schools to name new head coaches for the 2024 season, according to theanalyst.com. FAMU elevated interim coach James Colzie III to the full time position on Jan. 27, while Harvard hired former Rutgers coach Andrew Aurich officially on Feb. 12. The news of Hampton and Prunty’s split released on April 30.

In Prunty’s stead, Hampton named longtime assistant Trent Boykin as the interim head coach for the 2024 season. Boykin, who joined HU in 2020, has had previous stints Akron, Wayne State, Lane, Kentucky State, Ball State, and Boston College, among others.

“I really appreciate the opportunity that they saw in me to be able to take this program over,” Boykin said. “I’m excited, I’ve been here with Coach over the last four and a half years, so I really feel like I know the community, I know the program and I know this university. I’m just excited and our staff is excited to kind of just move forward from where we’re at. We had a good thing starting to go and know we’re gonna take it to another level. That’s my job and that’s our staff’s job to really educate these young men and really get them involved in all aspects of this university and really get them ready to play.”

Henderson seemed confident in Boykin’s abilities to lead the program, at least for the next season.

“You always kind of just think about it, if you have to make that decision, who on staff could take over,” he said. “Having a relationship with Trent, I’ve known Trent for heck, almost 10 years now… I’ve worked with him, know the type of character he has and the type of football coach he is. So it wasn’t hard, it wasn’t a hard decision.”

Hampton kicks off their first game of the season against Morgan State on Aug. 31.