Former Freeman Football coach resigns position as track coach but will continue teaching

Former Freeman High School football coach Ben Cochran has resigned his position as head track coach, according to documents reviewed by the Freeman School Board on Wednesday.

Cochran resigned after the district chose not to renew his supplemental football coach contract. He said he didn’t want to coach track if he’s barred from football.

“Ethically, that’s not something I wanted to do,” he said.

Freeman parents, student-athletes and other staff came in swaths to a November school board meeting to express their frustration and confusion over the nonrenewal of the winning coach’s contract. Cochran declined to share the details of his resignation or contact nonrenewal.

“All I can say is nothing ethically was wrong, nothing policy and no kid was placed in any danger,” Cochran said. “They just chose not to renew my contract.”

Cochran teaches health and fitness at Freeman Middle School. He intends to stay in this position, he said.

“There’s nowhere to go,” Cochran said. “I’m happy with the building that I’m teaching in, so I’ll continue to do that.”

Neither the athletic director nor the superintendent could be reached by phone Thursday afternoon.