by Geoff Fox
Despite the rumors, Hancock doesn’t yet have a new football coach. The school has, however, gained an acting athletic director and a new Assistant Principal in recent weeks.
The Hancock Panthers football team hasn’t had a head coach since November when then head coach Ron Hare resigned following a disagreement with school officials over the handling of the team’s postseason aspirations.
A recent social media post stated that there is a new head football coach at Hancock High School, but school officials say that isn’t the case yet.

According to Washington County Public Schools Deputy Communications Officer Steve Edwards, “a candidate has not yet been approved through the process used to hire coaches.”
Principal Jennifer Ruppenthal also confirmed no football coach has been officially hired for the Panthers’ football team as of yet.
Edwards said the process incudes applications being sought, accepted, and reviewed; interviews conducted; name of the candidate of choice and information forwarded to the Superintendent for consideration; and Superintendent’s approval of the hire.
No candidate for the Hancock Panthers football head coaching job has made it through that process yet.
When asked when that process could take place, Edwards said the earliest was the end of last week or early this week.
In an email to The Hancock News, Ruppenthal noted some staff changes at Hancock High School recently took place.
The first is exit of Assistant Principal and Athletic Director Kermit Moyer.
Moyer is moving onto a new professional role closer to his family, Ruppenthal said in a letter sent to Panther families.
With Moyer’s departure, that leaves two vacant positions.
Effective January 23, Jennifer Bausman is the new Assistant Principal at Hancock Middle-Senior High School.
Bausman has over 20 years of experience in public education with 19 of those years serving Washington County students. Bausman was most recently the principal at Eastern Elementary.
In her new role, Bausman will be focusing on supporting the school’s academic programs, collaborating with staff on instructional goals, and enhancing the school climate.
The other position is athletic director and will be a familiar face on an interim basis.
Former Hancock coach and athletic director Bill Sterner will be the interim athletic director for Hancock Middle-Senior High School.
Sterner was the athletic director at Hancock until June 30, 2018, before taking the same position at Clear Spring. Sterner retired in 2021 and was inducted into the Washington County Sports Hall of Fame in 2024.
Sterner will only be Athletic Director until March 1, he said in a text message to The Hancock News.