Arizona State hockey coach Greg Powers has been placed on paid administrative leave after several players asked the university to remove him pending an investigation into a teammate's collapse. Athletic director Graham Rossini said in a statement Wednesday, "After thorough and careful deliberation, I believe this is the best move to provide stability for the hockey program."

In their letter sent Monday, seven hockey players detailed the Aug. 20 workout in which defenseman Matthew Mayich collapsed. Mayich, 21, has been in the hospital since the workout, which was led by a former Green Beret, and is unlikely to recover, according to attorney Robert Carey, who said Mayich suffered exertional heat stroke. The athletes submitted their letter anonymously for fear of retaliation from Powers and his coaching staff.

Assistant coach Mike Corbett will lead the team for its opening games at Lindenwood this weekend, and an interim head coach will be named soon. Robert Carey said Powers' removal was not enough because members of his staff, including longtime associate coach Alex Hicks, remain. "Putting Powers on leave while his best friend of the last decade stays in charge of the locker room doesn't solve the problem," Carey told ESPN.

The players wrote that Powers told them after Mayich collapsed that his condition was "'just a little heat stroke' and 'heat exhaustion,' that he had 'seen this a million times,' and that Matthew 'just needs an IV.'" The attorney representing the players, Timothy J. Casey, told ESPN it was Powers who told them to leave the hospital. The university's review found that the coaching staff did not submit a training plan and the Green Beret who led the workout did not have a contract.