Is Debbie Yow The Best NC State Can Get?

It’s interesting to watch the media and how it handles a story. A look yesterday and this morning at the WRAL.com site has Debbie Yow as the next athletics director at NC State, and a glance at The News & Observer website pages say the search for the position has focused on Yow without saying it’s a done deal. Both are using reports from media outside the Raleigh area and primarily in Washington and Maryland. But, WRAL.com is more specific with “Sources say the announcement is expected to come at a news conference Friday afternoon.” I dare to say those are NC State sources except that Wolfpack Sports Marketing is owned by Capitol Broadcasting which owns WRAL.

So, if what WRAL says is true, it appears Debbie Yow, current Athletics Director at Maryland and sister of late NC State women’s basketball coach Kay Yow, will be named Director of Athletics at NC State University, replacing Lee Fowler who was chased away by friends and foes who agreed he was running a mediocre program at best. The blame for mediocrity was laid squarely at his feet.

The hire of Yow will/would be interesting to say the least. Except to return to her native North Carolina, one must wonder why she would leave Maryland for NC State and how well received she will be on and around the Raleigh campus as well as at Wolfpack sports venues. And, we all must wonder if NC State is getting the best it can get with Yow. With all due respect to Debbie, her sisters Kay and Susan, and her parents, all of whom I’ve known—not very close though—since Kay was hired at State in the 1970s, Debbie is qualified but maybe not the best sitting Athletics Director or other athletics related executive NC State can get.

On the surface, it appears Maryland has done rather well since Yow was hired there in 1994, winning 17 national titles in five different sports, but, while one was in men’s basketball (it takes a six-game winning streak to do that and that championship was in 2002 so what have you done for me recently which is more than has been done at State), and one was in women’s basketball (okay, you fill in the blank), there were also eight in women’s lacrosse (who cares and how many schools play women’s lacrosse) and five in field hockey (see writing in parenthesis about women’s lacrosse).

A win is a win is a win, but, if performance of teams is the search focus and while better and positive reputation in the minor sports at NC State is desired, consistent success in the two majors—men’s basketball and football—should be the primary view on the resume. Without actually looking at the record, I’d guess Maryland has performed better in those two sports since 1994, but the success has been fair at best. In the what-have-you-done-for-me-lately category, Yow has had a public personality clash with basketball coach Gary Williams and suffered through losing seasons four of the last six football campaigns. At the same time, Lee Fowler at NC State hasn’t had public disputes with either of his major sports head coaches, but the results have been similar to that at Maryland. All things being equal, give me public-perceived peace and harmony.

On the other hand, it appears Maryland has run a clean program during Yow’s tenure, but so has NC State. And, looking at the most recent multi-year Academic Progress Report by the NCAA, in football, Maryland was at 929 and NC State at 937. In men’s basketball, Maryland was at 913 and NC State at 990. Advantage NC State.

If Yow is the new NC State Athletics Director, she’ll have to immediately address the bread and butter revenue sport of Wolfpack football. Head coach Tom O’Brien is in his fourth season and has a three year mark of 16-21 overall and 9-15 in the ACC, not acceptable by any standards especially by those set by the Wolfpackers who continue to open the wallets when asked to do so. The flow of money will not last forever even if Yow would be willing to keep Wolfpack Club Executive Director Bobby Purcell in that position, and if he wants to stay after being jilted twice when it comes to the Athletics Directorship.

With O’Brien, Yow will/would find a coach who doesn’t consider being up against a wall, despite miserable records of wins against loses. “I don’t think there’s ever a make-or-break season,” O’Brien said recently according to Caulton Tudor of The News & Observer, who continued to quote O’Brien, “But the situation has changed. The chancellor I came here with and the athletic director I came here with are no longer here. Things have changed a lot. How that’s going to affect our situation won’t be solved until the chancellor and new AD decide what direction — or if there’s a new direction — they want to go in. Certainly you get evaluated differently because it’s not the people who brought you in, who did the research to bring you in.”

While those statements, if indeed O’Brien said those words that way, are harmless if said by a casual observer supporting the football coach, but, as stated by the head football coach, the words strung in that order could be the start of a public disagreement and dispute, especially if his stance is one of his being hired to do a job in a certain way and that’s what he’ll do come hell or high water. Of course, O’Brien is also assuming Fowler did research before deciding to hire the coach away from Boston College where we are told they were glad to see him go.

O’Brien shouldn’t wait until Chancellor Randy Woodson and Yow, if she’s the choice, get together to discuss direction. Mediocrity should not be the standard with the current football team, even with full seats at Carter-Finley Stadium. For various reasons outside his coaching ability, I was not a Dick Sheridan fan, but with the results of the last three years, I yearn for the days when the Wolfpack was 7-4 or 8-3 annually. O’Brien, if he produces and if he follows the company line established by his new bosses, will have the job for life until there’s grumbling to get to the next level, actually winning conference titles and playing in a BCS bowl game. Wins go much further in college athletics than excuses, especially with the fans.

Whether he believes it or not, O’Brien’s back is up against the proverbial wall, if not with administrators then with fans who buy the tickets, fill the seats, contribute to the Wolfpack Club and offer optimism that’s unparalleled across college campuses in the United States. On that front, maybe NC State fans in general are okay with a mediocre program, but that’s doubtful. If Yow is indeed selected to lead the NC State athletics department, there’s no assurance mediocrity will change across the board. In general, it appears Maryland’s athletics program is no better than NC State’s. It’ll be interesting to see how this develops and, though no NC State fan really cares, how the mainstream area media handles it as well.

NACDA Honors Lee Fowler With ADOY

In the for what it’s worth department, Lee Fowler, the embattled NC State University Athletics Director whose days are numbered (is June 30th his last day on the job?), will be receiving a very nice honor and award this week from the National Association of College Directors of Athletics (NACDA) during the organization’s annual convention.

Fowler, who got the boot from former temporary interim transitory NC State Chancellor James Woodward, whose decision was upheld by Chancellor Randy Woodson when he took office in April, has been named one of the 29 winners of the NACDA’s Under Armour AD of the Year (ADOY) Award. His selection is for the southeast regional honor in the Football Bowl Subdivison. There are only four regional honorees in that category, of course, considered the highest level of being an Athletics Director. Other honorees come from these categories: Football Championship Subdivision (formerly Division I-AA); Division I (formerly Division I-AAA); Division II; Division III; NAIA; and Junior/Community Colleges, along with one International winner.

From the NACDA new release: The ADOY award highlights the efforts of athletics directors at all levels for their commitment and positive contributions to campuses and their surrounding communities. Said Executive Director Mike Cleary: “Before the program’s inception, our Honors and Awards Committee recognized a need for an award such as the AD of the Year. The program brings to light the exceptional jobs done by athletics directors across the country. These 29 winners exemplify that, providing us with a group of outstanding athletics directors who excel at their jobs.”

In the same category as Fowler, the honorees are: Morgan Burke, Purdue University, Central; Bob De Carolis, Oregon State University, West; and, Jeff Hathaway, University of Connecticut, Northeast.

Also from the NACDA release and website: All NACDA-member directors of athletics in the United States, Canada and Mexico who met the criteria were eligible for the award. Among the criteria were service as an AD for a minimum of five academic years; demonstration of commitment to higher education and student-athletes; continuous teamwork, loyalty and excellence; and the ability to inspire individuals or groups to high levels of accomplishments. Additionally, each AD's institution must have passed a compliance check through its appropriate governing body (i.e., NCAA, NAIA, etc.), in which the institution could not have been on probation or cited for a lack of institutional control within the last five years during the tenure of the current athletics director.

Nominators were NACDA-member directors of athletics, institutional presidents and conference commissioners. Special Selection Committees composed of current and former directors of athletics, present and past NCAA and NAIA presidents, current and former commissioners and other key athletics administrators voted on nominees for the award.

Fowler will be honored this Thursday at the NACDA’s Awards Luncheon in Anaheim CA. For what it’s worth: Congratulations, Lee! You deserve the recognition.

Emails About Fowler Didn't Make A Difference

It’s not surprising that NC State University Chancellor Randy Woodson received emails about Wolfpack Athletics Director Lee Fowler before and shortly after Woodson took office. The faithful have been restless for several years, blaming the woes of the football and basketball programs on Fowler who hired both Sidney Lowe and Tom O’Brien.

What is surprising is the remote possibility that the opinions of 29 people who, according to a story in Sunday’s The News & Observer, emailed Woodson, former temporary Chancellor James Woodward and Fowler, had anything solid to do with Fowler’s dismissal.

From the newspaper’s article, written by Ken Tysiac: “The e-mails reveal a deep discontent among at least a faction of N.C. State fans who insisted on being heard by interim chancellor Woodward and then by Woodson as the university’s administration underwent changes at the top.”

Maybe Tysiac meant to say a small “fraction” instead of just a “faction” because if only 29 people wrote emails during that span there was not a lot of ground-swell to get rid of Fowler during the period of emails, Feb 1 through early May. And if decisions were made based on those emails only, then it’s time to either change administrations, again, or to fire several other people in the administration such as, for instance, Vice Chancellor of Advancement Nevin Kessler who is not doing his job in the more important role of chief fund-raiser for the University. His efforts pale in comparison to that of Fowler.

There was much more outrage when Kessler and his lackey Woodward fired then NCSU Alumni Association Executive Director Lennie Barton. I recall meeting Woodson at a reception in Reynolds Coliseum just after the UNC Board of Governors agreed with UNC President Erskine Bowles to hire Woodson. I extended my hand to his and introduced myself, “Chancellor Woodson, I’m Jim Pomeranz,” I said. Woodson, shaking my hand, looked me in the eye and said, “Very nice to meet you, and let me tell you I know of your concerns (about Kessler and Barton). And, there are many, many others who have your same concerns.”

Just based on that conversation, the outrage over Barton’s dismissal and Kessler’s inability was greater than the recent emailing about Fowler.

That said, the disappointment in Fowler, directly related to the results of the basketball and football teams as well as most all other sports, has been a sore subject for several years. In the past year, several regular Wolfpack followers have communicated that they refuse to buy season tickets to football and basketball or attend any Wolfpack sports event as long as Fowler is in charge. Now, they’ve changed their tune since the announcement of Fowler’s dismissal. They’re saying they’ve now applied for football tickets for the 2010 season and are looking forward to returning to the RBC Center for basketball games.

In reality, the idea of replacing Fowler has been stirring for several months, if not years. Chancellors prior to Woodward weren’t interested in replacing Fowler as much as they were interested in replacing head coaches. And, Fowler did himself no favors when Herb Sendek voluntarily left the Wolfpack basketball program and Fowler hop-scotched around the country looking for a head basketball coach before settling on Lowe who had no college coaching experience. And, when it was time to replace Chuck Amato as head football coach, Fowler settled on O’Brien who hasn’t done very well in that capacity.

So, when Woodward showed his true, weak colors and caved into the wishes of Kessler to fire Barton, it was obvious to several “high-rolling” supporters that Woodward could also make the decision to fire Fowler. One man’s lackey is another man’s salvation when it comes to decision-making. And, does anyone think that Woodson, who replaced Woodward, would reverse the decision? If so, there’s plenty of oil splattered beach front in the Gulf of Mexico for sale. Go get it.

Those emails from 29 people did nothing to continue or prevent the termination of Lee Fowler. Once Woodward made the decision to halt the contract of Fowler, it was a done deal. What would be interesting to know is who told Woodward to do it and when, possibly sometime last fall. I doubt Woodward made the decision on his own. Someone had his ear on this subject, and emails about that would be a lot more interesting to read than what was reported in Sunday’s newspaper.