San Jose State University's athletic department was aware of decades-old abuse allegations against women's volleyball head coach Todd Kress during the team's controversial 2024 season, according to Fox News Digital. A former player who competed under Kress at Fairfield University sent SJSU a letter in October 2024 detailing an alleged 1998 assault, and university officials acknowledged receipt, thanked her for coming forward and apologised for her experiences. Despite this, Kress was not suspended and has remained in his post as head coach, raising questions about how the university handled the complaint amid an already turbulent season.

The alleged incident is said to have taken place in a hotel room following Fairfield's first-round loss to Clemson at the 1998 NCAA Tournament in December that year. The former player, whose name Fox News is withholding, described being asked by a teammate to bring a shirt to Kress's room, where she alleges he smeared caramel over her face and hair, forcibly held her down on a bed and behaved in a demeaning manner. Fox News Digital said it independently verified that the woman played under Kress at Fairfield in 1998, and reviewed emails from an independently verified source, but SJSU declined a public records request citing "substantial privacy interests," and Kress, university officials and legal counsel did not respond to requests for comment.