Abe Woldeslassie last spring relocated to Denver for an assistant coaching position. He formerly was the MIAC’s longest running Black basketball head coach at Macalester (2028-25). Last Sunday, Woldeslassie returned to the Cities as his Denver Pioneers squad played at St. Thomas:
“I have my aunt out here,” he told reporters, including MSR, after the game before going inside the arena to say hello. “I have a lot of friends from Macalester, and I have a friend here from preschool and kindergarten. I will go see them now.”
Prior to Sunday’s contest, Woldeslassie told MSR, “It is exciting to be back in Minnesota. Minneapolis will always be home, and it will be fun to see family and friends at the game.”
The Minneapolis native is now in his 16th season in college athletics. Before, he led Macalester to the 2022 MIAC runners-up, winning 66 games at his alma mater, where he was a standout guard (2006-08) and led the MIAC in assists in both seasons after transferring from St. Thomas.
“I think it helps being an assistant before,” stressed Woldeslassie on making the transition from longtime head coach to an assistant role after his Pioneers’ 92-88 road loss to host St. Thomas. “I know when to say something and when to step back. Having that experience as a head coach helps our staff.”
Denver is leaving the Summit League after this season for the West Coast Conference, effective July 2026 for all sports except hockey (NCHC), gymnastics (Big 12), lacrosse (Big East), alpine and nordic skiing (RMISA) and triathlon (unaffiliated). A school release said moving to the new conference “brings greater exposure to DU and its athletic programs” with the WCC’s national television deals with ESPN, ESPN+, and CBS Sports Network.
As a result, Denver-St. Thomas contest on Sunday was the first and last time the two teams will play each other in the Tommies’ new Lee & Peggy Anderson Arena. “Amazing arena,” Woldeslassie said of LPA.
“We came here last night to shoot around. This is a high major arena with all the bells and whistles. Happy for them … Not happy for us, because we lost tonight. But I do cheer for them when we’re not playing.”
Taylor takes a break
Chip Taylor, shortly after the 2025 season concluded, announced that he will be stepping down as Hamline head football coach after 10 seasons.
“Right now, just resting, relaxation, reflecting a lot,” Taylor told MSR of his plans. “Think about things that you could have done better.”
Taylor was the MIAC’s longest tenured Black head football coach. He took over as Hamline HC in 2016 after three previous seasons as an assistant coach. In his first year he led HU to their best season since 1997.
“His impact extends beyond the field of competition, and we are profoundly grateful for his service to Hamline University,” said Assistant Vice President/ Athletic Director Alex Focke in a released statement after Taylor’s resignation.
With his emphasis on classroom excellence, Taylor’s teams achieved above a 3.0 GPA 20 out of 21 seasons, and he coached 20 athletes who were named MIAC All-Conference first or second team.
But as Taylor pointed out, it’s hard to win in the perennial top-heavy MIAC. “Man, it is a tough job,” he admitted. “[Hamline] has not had a winning record since 1995. We were trying to change that.
“And it might always look like that on the field, but we did graduate winners,” the former head coach said proudly. “I’m very proud of that, proud of the young men that came through there.”
Taylor also is proud to be part of MIAC history. MSR was the only media in attendance to watch as he and Augsburg HC KiJuan Ware became the first Black head coaches to coach against each other back in the season finale for both teams in November. Actually, the two first faced each other in 2021 when Ware was Macalester College interim head coach. Our newspaper was also there to document the historic meeting.
“It’s good to be a part of history,” said Taylor, adding he will take his time as he searches for his next coaching opportunity.
“Trying to figure out the negatives and positives so if I get the chance to do this again, [I’ll] hopefully make it better.”
Charles Hallman welcomes reader comments to challman@spokesman-recorder.com.