HAMPTON, Va. (WTKR)- The odd timing of a change in football leadership at Hampton University raised plenty of questions. Few answers came Wednesday morning, but the Pirates are moving forward with a familiar face.
Trent Boykin was introduced as Hampton's interim head coach during a press conference at the Convocation Center. Boykin has been in the coaching ranks since 1995 and has a wide range of experience, most recently guiding the Pirates' running backs and special teams since 2020, but now he can call himself a Division I head coach for the first time.
"You dream about it, but to be at this university in this conference at this time, it is bigger than I ever thought about being," he smiled.
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Robert Prunty no longer head football coach at Hampton University
Boykin is taking over after Robert Prunty's abrupt departure last week. Hampton Director of Athletics Anthony Henderson Sr. did not elaborate on the reason behind the change, only to say that the decision was a mutual one.
"It was time for both parties to move on," Henderson said. "We wish Coach (Prunty) well on his endeavors, but it was just time for both parties to separate."
"We're just going about our normal business and then you get a call, 'hey, this is what's going on and you need to be in the office,'" recalled Boykin.
Prunty broke his silence, addressing his status in a written statement.
"I want to thank Hampton University, President Emeritus Dr. William R. Harvey and former Director of Athletics Eugene Marshall for giving me the opportunity to fulfill my lifelong dream of being a collegiate head football coach," the statement read. "I also want to thank the players that I've had the opportunity to coach at Hampton, as well as all of the people that make Hampton special- the faculty and staff, campus police, custodial staff and maintenance staff. I look forward to the next chapter of my coaching career."
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Henderson admits the timing is unusual for a football coaching departure. The Pirates wrapped up their spring football workouts on March 12 and the transfer portal is closed. A familiar face at the top has helped the program keep things rolling in the right direction. Henderson noted that four players opted to withdraw from the portal and return to Hampton.
"There wasn't a scramble of 'OK, what do we do now,'" Boykin said of the change. "We already had a plan on what we were doing and it's just now the leadership part of it has changed and we hit the ground running."
"It was right before the portal closed," Henderson added. "The timing wasn't ideal, but also the new landscape of the NCAA and the transfer portal makes you move even faster sometimes."
Interim implies temporary, but Henderson likened it to an eight-month job interview for Boykin, who will have the chance to remove that tag and earn the permanent job. As for the coach himself, he's approaching it like he's going to be the man in charge beyond 2024.
"I'm the head football coach," Boykin said. "I don't worry about the tag right now, I'm just going out there to do what they're asking me to do, so it may be an interview kind of deal, but I don't look at it that way."
"The season will kind of determine what we do at the end of the year," pointed out Henderson. "He has the opportunity to earn this position in a permanent role."
Prunty was 26-29 in five years as Hampton's head coach. Boykin's first game leading the program will come on August 31 when the Pirates host Morgan State at Armstrong Stadium.
