Kelly Cole was hired to coach women’s college basketball at Wentworth Institute of Technology in 2022. It appears as though she is also coaching the Leopards’ men’s team amid a mysterious absence that has yet to be explained publicly.
The university will not respond to inquiries about the unique agreement.
Wetnworth is a 121-year-old private university located in Boston, Massachusetts with a total enrollment of approximately 4,5000. Its 17 varsity teams, including the men’s and women’s college basketball programs, compete on the Division-III level as part of the Conference of New England.
According to the university’s official website, Arlen Galloway began his 12th season as the men’s basketball coach in 2024. He clinched a postseason berth in 10 of his 11 years at the helm. It’s not like he was on the hot seat. The Leopards hosted a playoff game last season and had the Co-Defensive Player of the Year.
However, Galloway has not been on the sidelines in the month of February. Nobody seems to know why. Wentworth did not indicate that it fired its men’s basketball coach. The university did not release a statement regarding a leave of absence or any kind of internal investigation. Hopefully his health is not a concern but no further information has been provided about why he is gone.
This unusual development was first discovered on the 5th when Galloway was not on the sideline for the men’s game against Curry. Cole and her top assistant took his place.
#Breaking: Arlen Galloway may no longer be HC of Wentworth MBB. Unsure if he or assts have been fired. He has not been seen on sidelines lately. WIT WBB coach Kelly Cole was coaching men’s team v Curry. Also seen, WBB asst Shannon Todd.
— Hoopsville/McHugh (@d3hoopsville) February 7, 2025
Photo: WIT sideline @ Curry (2/5) #d3hoops pic.twitter.com/TwK58sduZ3
She was also in charge of the men’s team on the 8th.
That trend continued for a third-straight win on the 11th. Cole was back on the sideline against Suffolk on Saturday, the 15th.
Galloway is nowhere to be found. As of this writing, neither athletic communications staffer responded to my inquiry about what happened. Kelly Cole has seemingly served as the men’s basketball coach at Wentworth since the beginning of the month but her employer will not answer any further questions.
And here’s the thing. Not only is Cole coaching the men’s team, she is pulling double duty! She did not give up her role as head coach of the women’s team.
Cole coached the Wentworth’s women’s basketball team against Suffolk just a few hours before she coached the men’s team against Suffolk in the same gym. (Both teams typically travel together to face the same opponent on the same day to cut down on cost.)
What is going on in Boston? What happened to Arlen Galloway? Is Kelly Cole getting a pay bump to coach two different college basketball teams at the same time? How long is this going to continue?
Maybe this article will prompt a response from Wentworth. We’ll see…