Arizona State has reached a mutual agreement with hockey coach Greg Powers to part ways and has hired Dave Hakstol, a former Colorado Avalanche assistant, as head coach. The change follows the August 20 collapse of sophomore Matthew Mayich during an outdoor workout and his placement on life support. Teammates have alleged that Mayich lacked water breaks, showed distress, and did not have access to required emergency equipment; those claims have not been established in the account. ASU has asked former Arizona Supreme Court Chief Justice Scott Bales to oversee an independent investigation. Its timetable, full scope, and findings are not yet reported, and the family wants the probe to continue and its findings made public.
TLDR: Powers has left the ASU hockey program, and Dave Hakstol has been named head coach. The independent investigation into Matthew Mayich’s workout collapse remains ongoing, with its scope, timetable, and findings not yet reported.
Arizona State University announced Thursday that it had reached a mutual agreement to part ways with hockey coach Greg Powers. The decision came nearly two months after sophomore Matthew Mayich collapsed during an outdoor workout and was placed on life support. ASU also announced that Dave Hakstol, a former assistant coach for the Colorado Avalanche, would take over as head coach.
The university did not give a specific reason for Powers’s departure beyond describing it as a mutual agreement. ASU said it was grateful for his work in establishing the school’s Division I hockey program and for nearly two decades of service. The university has separately said its focus is on understanding what happened and preventing a similar incident.
The coaching change does not resolve the questions raised about the workout. ASU has asked former Arizona Supreme Court Chief Justice Scott Bales to oversee an independent investigation into the circumstances surrounding Mayich’s collapse. The school’s stated purpose, as conveyed by Mayich’s family, is to establish what happened and help ensure another player does not experience the same outcome. The findings and the investigation’s timetable were not specified in the available account.
Mayich collapsed on August 20. Robert Carey, an attorney for the family, said Mayich suffered heat stroke during the outdoor workout and was placed on life support. Carey also said Mayich was unlikely to recover, according to KPHO-TV. The account does not provide an update on Mayich’s condition beyond those statements.
Seven teammates later sent an anonymous letter alleging that the university’s description of the workout was inaccurate. They said Mayich had not received water breaks and had shown signs of distress before the final exercise, during which he collapsed. They also alleged that required emergency equipment, including cold-water immersion tubs, was not on the field. Those claims remain allegations in the account and are among the matters the investigation may examine.
The students described the workout as grueling and military-style and said it was run by outside consultant Tim Ziesel. In a statement released through his attorney, Ziesel disputed that characterization, saying the phrase had no meaning beyond calisthenics performed to a cadence. The available information does not state whether Ziesel has been interviewed or what role the investigation will assign to the consultant.
Powers was placed on paid administrative leave late last month. That followed demands from Mayich’s parents and several teammates that staff responsible for the workout be removed while an investigation took place. Powers later said he intended to cooperate fully with the independent investigation. His departure is now complete, but the family has said that it should not restrict his cooperation or the cooperation of anyone else.
The family has also called for a full investigation covering everyone involved in the workout and its approval, including a review of digital evidence. It wants the findings made public and players who raised concerns protected. The account does not establish whether those requests have been formally adopted as investigation procedures. It also does not describe any new rules for workouts, emergency equipment, water breaks, or staff oversight.
For the university, the practical change is immediate at the coaching level: Powers is out and Hakstol has been hired as head coach. Powers had been on paid administrative leave, but the account gives no figure for the cost of that leave, the terms of the separation, or any further financial details. No new forms, compliance requirements, penalties, or deadlines are reported. The investigation directly concerns the circumstances of Mayich’s workout, the people who conducted or approved it, and the claims raised by teammates and family; its precise scope and schedule remain to be established publicly.
The family has made clear that a personnel change alone is not the same as a full accounting. ASU’s appointment of Bales gives the investigation an identified overseer, while the key findings are still pending. Powers has said he plans to cooperate, and his departure does not remove the need to examine the workout and the decisions around it. The investigation’s scope, evidence review, protections for players who spoke up, and publication of findings remain necessary steps for establishing what happened and assessing accountability.
Julie Harris serves as a Staff Writer for Just Right News, where she tackles some of the most pressing and complex issues facing the nation today. As the lead reporter for the Migration, Demographics & Cultural Shifts beat, Julie provides a grounded, principled perspective on how the movement of people and the changing makeup of communities are reshaping the American landscape. Her work is defined by a commitment to exploring the long-term consequences of social change, prioritizing the stability of local institutions and the preservation of national identity.
Her deep understanding of these issues is rooted in her upbringing in Tucson, Arizona. Growing up in a prominent border state, Julie witnessed firsthand the intricate realities of migration and the profound impact it has on local infrastructure, law enforcement, and the social fabric. This early exposure instilled in her a respect for the rule of law and a keen awareness of the challenges that arise when federal policies fail to align with the needs of border communities. Her reporting often reflects this lived experience, bringing a necessary level of nuance to topics that are often treated with abstraction in coastal newsrooms.
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