Making a difference off the court

In just a few short weeks, February 12^th, 2012 is going to mark the three year anniversary of when I tragically lost my girlfriend, Lorin Maurer, when Continental Flight 3407 crashed on approach to the Buffalo Airport, taking the lives of all on board and one man on the ground.  I think all of us as coaches can understand that, as hard as it is to land that difference-making recruit, finding a ‘better half’ who can appreciate and support the sometimes over-the-top demands of coaching can be even more challenging.  It took me more than a few years, but I truly thought that Lorin, as an athletics fundraiser and former swimmer, was finally going to be that ‘one’, and to have that all taken away in the blink of the eye is still very hard to come to grips with.

This crash did not need to happen.  It exposed a glaring gap in safety between our country’s major airlines (like Continental in this case) and their regional partners (Colgan Air in this case).  For all the times that I fly for recruiting, I had absolutely no idea that over 50 percent of all commercial flights are on regional airlines, and that the last six fatal crashes (since 2003) have all been on these regional carriers, who spend considerably less money on pilot compensation, training, and safety programs. 

We always preach to our players about having a ‘next play’ mentality when something goes wrong, and along with Lorin’s parents and other families who lost loved ones in the crash, we devoted ourselves to learning what went wrong and doing everything we possibly could to ensure that these safety deficiencies were addressed.  Thanks to nearly forty trips to Washington, meetings with a who’s who in our government including President Barack Obama, Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood, and Speaker of the House John Boehner, we were able to get a significant aviation safety bill signed into law in August of 2010, which addressed issues such as pilot qualifications, training, and fatigue. 

While it will still take three to five more years to fully implement, our group, ‘The Families of Continental Flight 3407,’ celebrated a major achievement this past December when the Federal Aviation Administration met one of the key requirements of the law by issuing new pilot fatigue guidelines, which it had been trying to do unsuccessfully for the past 25 years.  It will significantly improve the plight of regional airline pilots, who are subjected to the most grueling schedules in the industry, by limiting how long they can be in the cockpit for and mandating longer rest periods.

I also think that it is extremely noteworthy that our group’s overall success likely would not have been possible without the support of the college basketball coaching community.  It starts with my three head coaches, Brad Stevens, Thad Matta, and now Archie Miller.  They have never ever flinched when I have requested time to head to Washington as part of our group’s efforts.  Coach Stevens and the Bulldogs wore black ribbons to commemorate Lorin’s memory less than 24 hours after the crash.  Coach Matta had the Buckeyes wear 3407 patches on their uniforms in nationally-televised games versus Illinois and Wisconsin on the first and second anniversaries, a tremendous way to raise awareness of our cause.  Saul Phillips of North Dakota State, fresh off an historic NCAA Tournament appearance and the cat’s meow in the state of North Dakota, was able to help get our group a meeting with his home state Senator Byron Dorgan, the Senate Aviation Subcommittee Chairman, who ultimately proved to be one of our group’s biggest advocates.  Brad Stevens, Barry Collier, Mike Brey, and Tom Crean all wrote letters to Indiana Senator Evan Bayh asking him to co-sponsor key legislation on our group’s behalf (which he did). 

And of course, over the past three years, I couldn’t be more thankful for all of the texts, emails, and pats on the back from my peers, showing their support as they would see an article in the paper or on the internet, detailing our group’s efforts.  You all have kept me going more than you’ll ever know.  And while there is sadly nothing we can do to bring Lorin back, hopefully we are making a difference in making the skies safer for all future passengers, including coaches who rack up thousands of miles flying across the country in search of talent.

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