University of Windsor track program without a head coach

One of the top university track and field programs in Canada finds itself without a head coach and in confusion after a recent hire declined to take the job.

Andy Hahn agreed to take over the University of Windsor track and field team back in May, but has since walked away from the position, school officials announced Wednesday.

"We're not in the place we'd like to be, this wasn't the plan, obviously," Athletic Director Mike Havey told CBC News. "We'd found our permanent solution, we'd hired Andy Hahn and we were happy with the choice and poised to move forward."

CBC News reached out to Hahn, who declined to speak publicly about his decision.

Resounding confusion

Havey said the confusion around the head coaching position created a "ripple" through the program as it seeks to find a successor to Dennis Fairall, who stepped down from the Lancers in 2015 after 29 years of coaching.

Fairall's teams earned 25 national championships in mens and womens Canadian Interuniversity Sport.

"It certainly has created a ripple," Havey said. "The University of Windsor hasn't had to hire a track-and-field coach in 29 years."

No clear plan

While the team awaits a new leader, most athletes are nervous about what this means for their future.

"I was really shocked and confused because if he is leaving, I am not sure what is happening," said Tichina Jones, a fourth-year track athlete.

This confusion is being shared by the current coaching staff who also says they are waiting for direction.

"We've never been lost before, and we've never been in a position like this, so no body knows how to handle it," said Austin Roth, an alumnus and assistant coach.

Roth says there isn't another example the team can turn to for guidance.

"There's no precedent from another scenerio, from another team, or organization that we can draw from their experience. And so a lot of people are just waiting for instructions."

That Lancer spirit

While the team waits in what feels like limbo, the season must go on.

"Right now all I can do is control what I'm doing and the way I train," said Jones.

Roth worries about losing the team atmosphere that took years to build up.

"Every school in the CIS wants to have that special Lancer spirit that we've created and cultivated, and I think people are afraid that element is going to be threatened," he said.

Havey said he's reaching out to athletes on the track team, and the school will move forward in its search for a new head coach.

"It's not our best moment in time," said Harvey. "But we will continue to act in the best interests of the program and the best interests of the student athletes, we'll have an interim plan and then a final solution."