Brian Fluck will not return as West Catholic football coach
The announcement comes nearly a month after the Inquirer reported on Feb. 8 that Fluck had stepped down after spending 10 years as president of the Philadelphia City All-Star football game amid questions about missing money.
Brian Fluck, one of the most accomplished football coaches in Philadelphia Catholic League history, is no longer the coach at West Catholic, the school announced Wednesday in a statement.
School officials said that Fluck’s contract expired at the end of last season and was not renewed. He had been the Burrs coach since 1999.
The position was posted on the Archdiocese of Philadelphia Schools website on Wednesday.
The statement from the school, signed by West Catholic president Paul Colistra and principal Kelly Lanza, said, “We thank Brian for his service to the West Catholic Prep football program.”
The announcement comes nearly a month after the Inquirer reported Feb. 8 that Fluck (pronounced “Fluke”) had stepped down after spending 10 years as president of the Philadelphia City All-Star Football Game amid questions about missing money.
On Feb. 13, members of the game’s executive committee, through an attorney, alleged that Fluck “misappropriated and embezzled funds that he was entrusted to manage while in his capacity as president.”
Last month, several board members, who asked not to be named, said more than $50,000 was expected to be unaccounted for.
Fluck has declined comment. In an email on Feb. 13, his attorney, Richard F. Klineburger III, wrote that his client was “more than willing” to participate in a full-fledged audit “to ensure that he, along with the Board, complied with the by-laws.”
The annual game is expected to be played on May 18 at Northeast High, according to Cliff Hubbard, the former longtime Roxborough coach who was also the executive director of athletics for the School District of Philadelphia from 2002 to 2006.
One hundred players from the Philadelphia Catholic League, Public League and Inter-Ac League were selected to the All-Star teams Tuesday night.
Last season, West Catholic (12-3, 6-1) finished second in the Catholic League’s Blue Division. In the PIAA state playoffs, the Burrs advanced to the Class 2A semifinals before losing to eventual state champion Southern Columbia.
In total, Fluck won nine Catholic League football championships, six city championships, and a PIAA Class 2A championship in 2010.