page_title: Edwin Sweetland
section_title: Return to Kentucky
hierarchical_section_title: Edwin Sweetland / College coaching career / Return to Kentucky
caption_attribution_description: English: 1911-12 University of Kentucky Wildcat Basketball Team coach by E. R. Sweetland: Standing (l to r)&#160;: Brinkley Barnett, R.C. Preston, W.C. Harrison, D.W. Hart, Jake Gaiser Kneeling: Team Manager Giles Meadors
context_page_description: Edwin Regur Sweetland was a coach, trainer, and athletic administrator at several American universities. During his coaching career he was head coach of many sports including basketball, track and field and crew, but the majority of for his coaching work was in football. Though mainly known for football, he left his mark on several college athletics departments and other sports. This includes being the first athletic trainer at Ohio State University, the first paid coach of the Kentucky Wildcats men's basketball team, and the first coach of Syracuse University rowing team.
  Sweetland attended Union College and was graduate of Cornell University in 1899. A gifted athlete, Sweetland was on the varsity football team at Union and Cornell and the varsity rowing team at Cornell. At Cornell he was coached by Hall of Fame coaches Pop Warner in football and Charles E. Courtney in rowing.
context_section_description: Sweetland returned to the University of Kentucky in 1912 as part of an overall revamping of athletic programs by University President Henry Stites Barker. Barker created a position of Athletic Director to oversee all athletics and physical education. The position had the faculty status of a department chair. Baker hired Sweetland to fill this position, which included that he serve as both head coach of the football and basketball team.
  The second edition of Sweetland basketball team at Kentucky was more successful than his first. His second stint as head basketball coach went better than his first. The Wildcats posted an undefeated season with a record of 9–0.
  Even with the success on the hard court Sweetland's return was marred by several problems and troubles. Sweetland had to deal with disciplinary action by KIAA who had been investigating the use of ineligible athletes. Sweetland announced that Kentucky would leave the KIAA after the end of the academic year. Even with this announcement the KIAA suspended the Wildcats for one year. This caused Sweetland several problems including putting together a schedule for the 1912 football season. Most games had to be filled with schools from outside the state with emphasis put on games with fellow SIAA schools. Rumors that the KIAA had informed the SIAA of its findings plus strong criticism from the faculty council, most notably the dean of the engineering department, Paul Anderson were ongoing issues that Sweetland had to deal with.
  The 1912 Wildcats posted a 7–2 record, losing only to Sweetland's former school, Miami University, by a score of 13–8 and VMI by a score of 3–2. During the season, Sweetland had to fire his assistant coach Richard S. Webb after he took several team members to a Knoxville Red-light district after the football game versus the University of Tennessee.
  Near the end of the season a fire broke out in the on-campus office of Athletic Department critic Paul Anderson. The fire caused little damage to the building but destroyed several items in the office. Originally it was reported as an electrical fire but latter changed to arson. This was reinforced by discovery of several items from Anderson's office near the football field. In early December Sweetland, along with six students with ties to the athletic department, were arrested for starting the fire. The warrants for arrest were sworn to by Captain Richard Webb. As well as being a former Kentucky football coach and captain of the 1910 Wildcat football team, Webb was from a prominent Lexington family as well as being an officer of the court. Sweetland and Webb had been close friends and business partners but their friendship had deteriorated.
  The case took an unexpected turn when the investigation by the State Fire Marshall, Police and District Attorney changed its focus from Sweetland to Richard Webb. Webb hired a prominent legal team which included Henry S. Breckinridge. During the preliminary trial Webb's defense attorneys tried to paint Sweetland mentally unstable and tried to switch suspicion to Sweetland. At the end of the preliminary trail the judge ruled that probable cause existed to hold Webb on the charge of arson.
  At the trial Webb's defense team dropped the tactic of switching blame to Sweetland. Instead they focused on discrediting the testimony of Thomas Baker who had confessed to a charge of arson and implicated Webb as his accomplice. They also had several family members provide an alibi for Webb and were successful in having the fingerprint evidence thrown out. During final arguments the defense team argued that the prosecution had failed to Webb's motive. In the end the jury only took 45 minutes to reach a not guilty verdict.
  Early in 1913, before the Webb arson case went to trial, Edwin Sweetland resigned his duties as coach and athletic administrator. The UK athletic department announced that he "could not be induced to stay." As the football coach of the Wildcats, Sweetland compiled a 23–5 mark in three seasons.
caption: 1911-12 UK Wildcat Basketball Team coached by E. R. Sweetland
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