Harris Stowe State University head baseball coach CJ Bilbrey has been fired from his position. The former Harris Stowe State Hornet baseball player was into his sixth season as the head coach before the athletic department made the decision to dismiss Bilbrey. According to Coach Bilbrey, he was informed of his firing via the head women’s softball coach.
Black College Nines’ sources have stated the athletic department is consider hiring Harrison Leon as the new Hornet head baseball coach. Leon was a former HSSU baseball player three years ago with no prior coaching experience.
Bilbrey and athletic director Dorianne Johnson were at odds over the handling and daily operations of the baseball program. The department cost the program 20 percent of its season by scaling back on scheduled games and removing funding within the program’s budget.
Bilbrey only has 2.5 scholarships to work with and a total budget of $20,000. His yearly salary as the head coach was $4,000 while his lead assistant earns $4,000 and a third coach makes $1,000. He also has several volunteer coaches. The rest of the money went towards running the program, according to a story that Bilbrey was reprimanded for by the athletic department and the schools administration, that appeared in the 2019 Collegiate Baseball publication of “Resurrecting Program From The Scrap Heap”.
The article detailed how Bilbrey supported the program with little to no financial support, recruited four homeless players to his roster and turned the young men into honor students.
Sources have also stated that the administration recently informed Bilbrey that he needed a more diverse roster. His roster consisted of a equal mixture of black, white and Hispanic kids. The institution’s Human Resource department’s most recent phone call said Bilbrey lacked leadership skills. Shocking considering that since his 2016 hiring, the coach was able to fill his entire roster turning his players into honor student-athletes.
Before coming to Harris Stowe State, Athletic Director Dorianne Johnson served as Associate Athletics Director and Senior Women’s Administrator at Alcorn State University. Her responsibilities included serving as Title XI and Gender Equity Liaison, sports administrator for several sports, and served as the student athlete services compliance officer.
CJ Bilbrey’s Hornets teams have had success both on the field and in the classroom. In 2017 and 2018 the Hornets won 30 games for just the second and third time in 75 seasons and they have had 85 AMC Academic All-Conference selections as well as 5 NAIA Daktronics Scholar Athlete Award recipients since 2016.
Bilbrey was a four year member of the Harris-Stowe Hornets baseball team (2004-2007) before starting his coaching career as an assistant at North Central Missouri College in 2008. After his stint at NCMC, he went on to coach under Mike Sigler at Maryville University (2009-2012) where the program transitioned from NCAA III status to the Great Lakes Valley Conference NCAA II. He then went on to coach at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville in 2013 when the Cougars played its first playoff-eligible season in NCAA I. Bilbrey then came back to Harris-Stowe working under David Estes for the 2014 and 2015 seasons.
Coach Bilbrey has coached high school summer programs, Rock Memorial Legion and the St. Louis Gamers. He has served as the head coach at three different college summer leagues winning a 2013 summer league championship and being selected as the manager of the league all-star game in 2013 and 2014.
Bilbrey is a graduate of Harris-Stowe State University where he earned a degree in Urban Education.
Bilbrey Career Record:
Overall AMC AMC Standings Playoffs
2016 18-33 8-19 9th Place NA
2017 30-20 15-11 4th Place 0-2
2018 30-24 15-14 6th Place 0-2
2019 20-30 13-17 7th Place 0-2
2020 12-16 3-6 7th Place *Cancelled
2021 4-6 0-0
*Coronavirus shut all of collegiate sports down.
Harris-Stowe Baseball Accomplishments Since 2016:
- 85 American Midwest Conference All-Academic Team
- 5 NAIA Daktronics Scholar Athletes
- Highest single season winning percentage for a full season .600 (30-20)
- 7 First Team All-AMC : 3 Second Team All-AMC
- 4 AMC Player of the Week Awards
- 11 HBCU All-Elite Selections
- 5th place national ranking for HBCU Baseball in 2017
- 2018 HBCU Pitcher of the Year (Stephen Wells)
- Three Hornets have gone on to sign professional contracts?
- 2020 HBCU Small School Player of the Year (Matt Janocik)
On the day of his firing, thanks to several former players, Bilbrey has received offers of other baseball opportunities.
It’s a shame that as a society we continue to go back to the Black, White issue. The comments made here are based on a person who has given his all to a University that in return has turned there back on him. Does not matter if he is Black, White, Brown, Green etc… the bottom line still remains that as an Institution Harris Stowe State University has failed its student athletes and its Sports program.
Harris-Stowe has no interest in a successful athletics program. With a 6% graduation rate, the school has woefully failed to meet the needs of the African American Community in St. Louis. Tens of millions in Pell Grants have been awarded to students who’ve come nowhere near graduation. When athletes of all races are graduating at a higher clip than the general student body, that’s a bad look for the school. The bottom line is that Harris-Stowe needs struggling athletic programs to continue to portray itself as an underfunded victim. The
State has thrown millions of good dollars after bad funding this boondoggle. They’ll be back to 5 win seasons going forward. AD Johnson absolutely wants it that way.
Interesting article, quite a few inaccuracies though in my opinion. But sad situation overall.
Thank you , some were posted last night and were not appearing until today and it was alarming .
Absolutely NO comments are being removed, as has been implied. Before posting, they are checked for profanity and fact. Opinions are not filtered out. We do take the liberty to correct spelling when the misspelled word changes the meaning. We do not correct grammar, tense and the like. If a recent post was not monitored and posted in a timely enough fashioned, it is only because the administrator (me) of this site is a volunteer (like all members of Black College Nines) and I did not have access to the internet until just now. Knowing that, I’m sure you understand.
Why are OUR comments being removed , there is no profanity or misinformation in them. There’s comments alleging sexual harassment without proof , but we can’t provide our perspective ?
Why is “ Black college nines “ restricting the ability of black players to speak for themselves in this comment section?
This is sad , why are the players with different opinions on the subject being silenced by your website? All the white people associated with the team are telling their black counterparts how to feel about “ diversity “.
Sorry that my opinions are not welcomed on my own team any more after the first two seasons we had so I have to be anonymous. I see all the anonymous people supporting him are men though ..
All the black players just in the picture for the article alone are no longer on team , LITERALLY . Y’all gotta stop speaking for the black players when it comes to diversity and feeling welcomed , I have yet to see one come forward with the kind of support you all have for him.. interesting…
I’ve flown to STL from Atlanta to see games from outside and this lady doesn’t give a toss about the players of all teams. She don’t turn up for any game except for women’s basketball. If Harris Stowe truely cares fire this women and start investing in the programmers. If not be prepared to lose a whole load of talent across all the sporting teams
Unbelievable. They should be ashamed.
I think this AD needs to find a new profession
I think the problem here is bigger then what is being said. First of all the AD and all the wrong decisions she has made have to be supported by the school administration (President) and all the individuals who sit on the board. As for coach in the short time that I have had the opportunity to know him all I have seen is a person of character, determination, passion and most of all a person who cares for individuals and always has their best interest at heart. In a way this is a blessing in disguise he deserves a lot more then what this “quote on quote” institution of higher learning has provided him
Let me start out by saying in the little time that I have known Coach he has shown me to be a person of character, which by all indications it’s something that the Administration from this school lacks from top to bottom. The AD is nothing more then a glorified secretary. When you as the head of the department have a coworker be the one to dismiss a person who not only gave his heart and soul to the Baseball program but to the University as well, that he graduated from tells me all I need to know. Me I don’t stop at just the AD cause she has someone that she reports to that allows her to carry out her vindictive actions. ( School President)
Mr. Anonymous: I don’t respond to anonymous commenters, other than to say; I don’t respond to anonymous commenters. If you believe you speak the truth and believe in someone or something, be brave enough to speak up for your belief in your own name, no matter the cost.
CJ Bilbrey was apart of our effort to stage a HBCU Baseball national championship location. Because of his involvement with Major League Baseball the St. Louis Cardinals organization, Anheuser-Busch and his fundraising to renovate the baseball field. We thought HSSU would be the site and to play on the field perfect timing weather wise and it would have been a revenue stream for the school but the ADs shenanigans nixed everything.
I have never had a positive interaction with Dorianne Johnson, the AD at stowe. She never ever backs up any of the athletes when they need her. And she has never liked CJ. She has never once supported him in anything. Bilbrey has done such for us and for the school and never once asked for anything in return. He barely gets paid anything and spends so much of his own money. He works his butt off and did so much to help get the new field project and not once did she ever recognize him for that. Not that CJ wanted thanks but she made it seem like she did all that, which she didn’t. And now that she got him fired she is completely insensitive to the players. Instead she had a meeting with them tonight and told them if they had a problem with him being fired they could let her know and other arrangements can be made. Like really? I think they clearly fired the wrong person and I pray they realize that soon.
AD Johnson is a absolute joke. You should be ashamed of yourself! He has done more for that school and that baseball team and program as a whole than anyone would ever ask. If you offered him $0 to do what he did I promise he would have done it. That’s how much he loves the game and the guys he had. I would like to see this AD terminated. I hope this raises national attention. In the world we live in today and the way this was handled is SORRY. Diversity? This is sorry and honestly a absolute embarrassment for HSSU and the administration that was responsible for this inaccurate and ridiculous decision. I feel horrible for CJ the way he was stripped from his job and one of the things he loves most.
What a joke! This man gave his all to those kids. Especially with the funds he had to work with and on a $4,000 salary. He taught not only baseball but taught that a mixed race of boys can respected and supported each other like brothers.
When someone puts everything you have into their job only to be told that you are being let go by the softball coach is a total lack of professionalism.
This college definitely needs to take a look at who they hire for these Authoritory positions. Better yet! They need to take a look at where this schools funds are being spent on because it sure wasn’t going to the baseball team.
Firstly I would like to say that this AD is absolutely shocking. She has somehow found a way to ruin all of the men’s seasons for basketball, soccer and baseball. She doesn’t even show up to any other game except for women’s basketball. Not to mention she has an alleged sexual harassment against her. The lack of diversity comment is utterly ridiculous and I question if she will now say the same about soccer due to only three Americans being in the roster. However it is clear that Americans are behind the rest of the world for soccer ability therefore the whole roster is international, will be a problem for the AD? The school should refund all of these kids as it’s unfair, The international kids have sacrificed a lot to come here and don’t even play. Harris Stowe should be ashamed of themselves, this university has a losing mentality and forever be seen as a joke if things don’t change. New leadership Is well and truly needed and full financial backing to see this program even have a chance of success.
This is an absolute joke! This man cared for all his players equally no matter what their color was. He brought these mixed race ball players together and they grew to support and respect each other like brothers. ( Just what this world is missing! )
It is amazing what he has accomplished with the funds he had to work with along with the time he had spent with these kids on a $4,000 salary. That says alot about a person.
It sounds like the college needs to take a good look at who they put in the positions of authority. Better yet, maybe an audit of how their funds are being spent. It sure wasn’t going for the baseball team.
“You’re team isn’t HBCU enough” -AD Johnson
That’s the problem in this world. Trying to force diversity. Yes it’s an HBCU. I’m a white kid on the team and I knew before even committing to the team that the school was 90% black. I didn’t have a problem with it. Why should I? It’s no big deal. I’ve made over 100 new friends since being here at HSSU. And it’s not just friends on the team I made many friends in the classroom.
So when our AD says that, in my mind that’s just someone trying to cause problems. Ive been on the team 3 years now. I have many black teammates. There hasn’t been one incident involving race since I’ve been here. We are a team. We are a family. We don’t view the world like that.
Bilbreys job was to win baseball games. He doesn’t care if you are black or white or purple. He wants hard working guys who will flat out get after it.
Bilbrey told me on my visit by my sophomore year we would have a brand new field…. two years later we got it. Guess who wasn’t invited to the ceremony? Guess who didn’t get his picture taken of shoveling the new dirt on the field? Guess who got 0 credit for getting us that field. Guess who fundraised years to put us in a spot to make the new field happen? You got it. CJ Bilbrey. Instead he did the respectable thing. He sat back with his son and a couple players and just watched and kept his mouth shut. He was just happy he got that field for us. He didn’t even care to get recognized for what he did for that school that day. He sat backed and listened.
Now in two weeks we have our first home opener on the new field. And guess who won’t be there to write our lineup card…. CJ Bilbrey.
This is ridiculous! Bilbrey has brought so much to this program and to these guys. He not only cares about the athletics at Stowe but also cares about the players academics. And now he has pretty much worked his butt off to get with the cardinals and get the new field just for them to fire him. Why? Because the AD doesn’t like him or any of his players. She never supports him or the players and she sleeps at some of the games. Truly sad!!
CJ is the best coach I have ever played for. He’s signed kids who were sleeping in their cars and had no family to go to and he gave them one. He set many of my teammates up for jobs after baseball. He fundraiser $100,000 one year working at the PGA tour and Cardinal parking. He pushed every player to become a better person and teammate. He loves HSSU more then anyone on that campus. He got paid $4000 a year?! I remember he had to pay for our teams hotels with his own card one year and STILL the school hasn’t payed him back. He loved us all like we were his kids. I’d take a bullet for that man. Just like he would do for me and many others… #4CJ
I think it’s significant to point out that this AD has alleged sexual harassment allegations from a previous school and clearly has an ego/control issue.
For Mr. Harvey, I hope you check your numbers on the racial status of the team again. The number for black players on the team this year is 11 and the previous year was 17. It’s tough to get an equal number of everyone but the article is true when they say there are an equal number of all races.
Would love to see his last five season rosters
Last year it was COVID this year the coach is fired and these athletes are at a loss for words.. Young adults from different states that have no clue what the next step is..
Why does everything have to be about not enough diversity. My son has been on this team for many years and from what I’ve seen this was on of the most diversified team within their division. They have players from all around the world. I think it’s more of a power struggle the AD is having. Maybe someone should look into her diversity ethics!
I question whether “firing” is an appropriate word for someone who was paid $4,000 a year.
“A more diverse roster”? That’s ridiculous.
According to this article, Bilbrey was asked to diversify his roster. The article goes on to say that Bilbrey’s “roster consisted of an equal mixture of black, white, and Hispanic kids.”
However, I took a look at the 2021 roster, which consists of 44 players. It appears that 25 of the players are white, 11 are Latino, and only six are Black. No wonder the administration at an HBCU wanted more diversity on the baseball team.
After looking at the number of players on the roster, it begs the question, how can a coach provide tuition for 44 kids on only 2.5 scholarships and a $20,000 budget.
Also, I know that head coaching salaries at HBCUs are low, but $4,000. No college coach in America can support himself on $4,000 annually. And if he can, he should not be asked to do it.