Believe it or not, a team that has been absolutely awful this season still has a shot to make the A-Sun playoffs (if what I presume to be the tie-breaker, head-to-head, is true).

The Bucs must sweep Stetson this weekend, then hope Lipscomb can take two of three against Campbell.

If they don't, the Bucs finish out of the conference tournament, the season ends with presumably a last place finish, and a program that was just a year ago was promoting they would be able to win 30 games for three seasons in a row is at the bottom of one of the worst conferences in the country.

My feeling on this is as long as Stanton and Mullins are in charge they shouldn't fire any coaches. You just don't have a chance under these guys.

However, the signs lead to Skole departing. Here's why-

A- Last year of his contract.

By the way, for all of you who felt I was nuts that a coach needs four years on his contract to be an effective recruiter (which is like thinking I'm nuts because I believe the world is round), please then explain why Skole hasn't been able to win during the past two seasons?

Furthermore, please explain to me why Bartow, with just two years left on his contract during the 2007 season, could only get JUCOs, with the exception of two players (one of whom was injured, the other was a project who was redshirted and not recruited by anyone else).

B- I truly feel ETSU has been in "The Era of No Accountability" for several seasons. They can mess up Memorial Center, their conference, their relations with the media, their basketball program, their new facilities, and about everything else you can name.

But they refuse to even address these things. David Mullins will tell an interviewer "we like to keep things positive" and then brag to Bill Meade about having "The Top Corn Maze in the Country!"

This is like bragging on the hot dog roast the neighbors are having while your home burns to the ground.

If they DON'T make a change, then the appearance will be the no accountability will continue.

C- Don't you think Stanton and Mullins are trying to put a footprint down for their successors to follow? If Stanton is leaving, and if Mullins has a sense his own tenure as AD will be close to an end, then this may be his last chance to do something.

D- The ETSU baseball media guide has the nice, new baseball stadium on the back of it. In some ways I feel this is disingenuous.

It's clearly an attempt to try and lure prospects to consider ETSU. But does ANYONE think a new ballpark will be completed in three seasons, thus giving the hope to a new recruit he might actually play there?

But at the University where the coaches are expected to do their own fundraising, Skole isn't building up any points. Otherwise groundbreaking would have begun already.

Now, while he'll stay-

A- This is a small thing, but I see where the "Tony Skole Baseball Camp" is accepting applications for the summer.

I would think the camp could be cancelled pretty quick, or if he was let go perhaps he could privately hold it.

But nevertheless, there stands the chance he's been told he'll come back and so ETSU is promoting it.

B- This IS the era of no accountability. When was the last time ETSU fired a coach, any coach?

Technically Alan LeForce resigned, but I would count that if you'd like.

Dean Webb took some hints and went to Belmont, but he wasn't technically fired, either.

I think it was Don Riley!

C- The easiest thing to do is just roll over his contract and keep him. He couldn't command a lot of money.

The textbook definition of what ETSU would look for in a coach would be "A good recruiter with ties to the area who can raise money and make inroads with the media."

Well, Skole has made inroads with the media- allowing media types to manage his team in intersquad games. Ron Bliss even expresses his endorsement for Skole in his column this week.

Half his team is from the area and he's been here for nine years.

As a recruiter- that's debatable.

As a fundraiser- that's debatable too.

He has the PittsburghBucs endorsement because he has been put in a position to fail by his administration.

Also, somehow, someway he was able to suffer through consecutive losing seasons/build a program up (whichever definition you prefer) while Todd Stansbury was the AD here. Stansbury went on to be the Assistant AD at Oregon State, and the Beavers have only won back-to-back College World Series titles during his tenure there.

Indirect praise to be sure, but somehow I think if Skole was good enough for Stansbury he should be good enough for 2009.

I'm a little disheartened that there hasn't been any discussion about this topic because it is the issue of the week at ETSU.

Bucs lost last night, 6-4, and their season will end this weekend as such.

Sadly nobody is talking about the future of Skole. And frankly that might be the nail in the coffin for the guy, because it shows there is no interest in the program.

Of course, when you move your games off campus, then plow over your old baseball field for a soccer stadium, all the while moving one of the greatest family names from your campus for that of a whimsical local businessman, maybe it isn't entirely Skole's fault there is little interest in ETSU baseball.

MAybe he can go get a job working for Campbell down at Walters State if he is interested in joining a program where the adminstration is interested in winning.
Walters State is 52-7 ranked 2nd in the nation and playing a 3 game series this weekend with winner going on to the JUCO World Series.


R

Pitt, I find college baseball just about as exciting as you find basketball.

Fine. But not everyone does.

Furthermore, this is a little more than just an issue of how the baseball program will fare. How ETSU will handle Skole now that his contract is up will likely show us the way the current administration, however long they stay, will handle their athletic department.

For instance, if Skole is kept, what WILL it take for a coach to be removed at ETSU?

I say that and I actually want him to stay. My thoughts on this matter are rather cut and dry. I think it's unreasonable to expect great things from the coaches at ETSU now with the exception of Fred Warren. Firing Bartow, Skole, whoever, will merely be passing the baton to someone else who will likely have his future coaching career ruined.

But Pitt, do you trust Mullins to hire a better coach than Skole?

ETSUfan1 Wrote:But Pitt, do you trust Mullins to hire a better coach than Skole?

But do you think he can find one worse?

R

I wonder if they will make any changes in coaching before the new president comes. I bet the new president will come in and replace Dave Mullins and then they can do that together.

That's why I said I don't want to see him go.

But if ETSU does keep him then we have to look at why. Will Skole take a pay cut? Does he have an "ace-in-the-hole" investor for the new ballpark? Is this truly an era of "No accountability?"

You wonder WHO will be the next coach if Skole goes. Who would be interested in the job?

There WILL BE somebody out there. Head coaching jobs are not easy to come by.

My guess is that ETSU will look to someone big league. For instance, there are three solid former coaches out there now- Rod Delmonico, Pat McMahon (formerly of Florida and Mississippi State), and Jay Bergman.

Bergman was at Central Florida for 26 years, so he knows about the A-Sun and building a program.

Unfortunately, he was fired because he supposedly held down an equipment manager and then thrust a bat towards his buttocks. And he's 60 +. Lots of questions to be answered by any school that would hire him, even as an assistant somewhere.

Now, I have no idea if a man of his age would be interested in a rebuilding project and moving from Orlando to East Tennessee.

I will say that prior to Wardrobe by Jim Ignatowski and myself ETSU COULD have hired him and there would be little outcry as it would be reported with one line at the end of the story, and then the matter would be dropped.
What ETSU wants is a coach who can raise money and get the occassional quality prospect to come.

Regardless- Delmonico would clearly attract a lot of attention and they might be able to get him for the simple reason UT will still be paying him for two years. So he could figure if he could raise the money for a stadium and turn the program around in two years a bigger school might hire him and he'd be in line for a relatively cheap buy out.

Of course, UCF might hire him, too.

I know ETSU will try to pitch the job, if it comes open, as one where you could have a new stadium to recruit to and in a legitimate baseball conference.

Whether potential coaches buy that or not, I don't know. They'll also look at the fact they could raise the money for a new stadium at any school. Most places have people that do that for the coach. Here- not so much.

And the fact they don't give four or even three years to work with for their coaches.

So they could shoot for big league, but then wind up with someone from a local small college.

One guy that I would speculate would throw his hat into the ring, if it came open, would be Steve Turco. He managed the Johnson City Cardinals for seven years but never went beyond that. He's now a scout in their system.

Unless he's building for a pension or something, here's a guy who has shown he likes the area, who has a line on prospects, and who has ties with the Cardinals organization, which may help get a new yard built IF the Cardinals would be willing to move their team to it.

Rod- definitely I do. Skole did lead the Bucs to back-to-back 30 victory seasons. Had that ever happened before- and if it has- has it happened in the last 25 years?

I'm not saying he's the greatest coach in the world. I am saying when he had time on his contract he won, and when ETSU tried to pinch pennies and not give him job security he lost.

Skole has probably put more Bucs in professional baseball than any other coach ETSU has had.

You could do far worse.

Have you read his bio on the website how syrupy can you get. Here are some of my favorite parts.

Quote:Tony Skole enters his ninth season as the Buccaneer skipper. The Roswell, Georgia native has brought confidence and respect to the East Tennessee State Baseball Program. Winning seasons, superb graduation rates, excellence in community service and a baseball team that is as close as a family are attributes that reflect on the man who will guide the Buccaneers into their third season in the Atlantic Sun Conference.

Quote:When Coach Skole came to ETSU in the fall of 2000 he found a program that was searching for strong leadership and a rebirth of success. He instantly instilled a sense of pride in those players who were wearing the blue and gold

Quote:Nationally known for being a great teacher of the fundamentals, Coach Skole and his staff are ensuring that Buccaneer baseball will become one of the nation’s top college programs and compete on a national level. “It has been our goal from day one to give ETSU a baseball program that will last, and one that will be worthy of post season play every year,” Skole said. “We want to continue to raise the bar every year.”

Quote: Every year Coach Skole sets two major goals for the Buccaneer baseball program: 1) To develop quality young men who will come through the program and leave prepared to be successful for the remainder of their lives; and 2) To continue to make the ascent to be one of the premier baseball programs in the Atlantic Sun Conference and in the country.

You do realize that those 2 30 wins seasons where the only 2 winning seasons that he has had in 9 years at ETSU? Also that both years he finished with a sub-500 record inside the conference, 7th in the SoCon one year and 5th in the A-Sun the next? In fact he has never had a winning conference record, he has made it to .500 twice but that the best he could do and 5th in the league is the best he has done. Not much about his resume stands out and hasn't he had the added benefit these last few years since dropping football of having more scholarships to offer then the coaches who came before him?

Charles Lodes won 30+ games 3 seasons in a row including a 40 win season.
1980 39-7
1981 44-14
1982 34-19
He won 29 in 1979 so just missed a fourth. That does just fall outside your 25 year window but does put us in the same time frame as our last Top 100 basketball recruit.

R

RodShaw2 Wrote:Have you read his bio on the website how syrupy can you get. Here are some of my favorite parts.

Quote:Tony Skole enters his ninth season as the Buccaneer skipper. The Roswell, Georgia native has brought confidence and respect to the East Tennessee State Baseball Program. Winning seasons, superb graduation rates, excellence in community service and a baseball team that is as close as a family are attributes that reflect on the man who will guide the Buccaneers into their third season in the Atlantic Sun Conference.

Quote:When Coach Skole came to ETSU in the fall of 2000 he found a program that was searching for strong leadership and a rebirth of success. He instantly instilled a sense of pride in those players who were wearing the blue and gold

Quote:Nationally known for being a great teacher of the fundamentals, Coach Skole and his staff are ensuring that Buccaneer baseball will become one of the nation’s top college programs and compete on a national level. “It has been our goal from day one to give ETSU a baseball program that will last, and one that will be worthy of post season play every year,” Skole said. “We want to continue to raise the bar every year.”

Quote: Every year Coach Skole sets two major goals for the Buccaneer baseball program: 1) To develop quality young men who will come through the program and leave prepared to be successful for the remainder of their lives; and 2) To continue to make the ascent to be one of the premier baseball programs in the Atlantic Sun Conference and in the country.

Rod- are you actually blaming the coach for what the Sports Information Department does?

You don't blame Skole for that writeup! You blame Mike White!

However, if you ever listen to David Mullins talk and try to promote the program- it's exactly like that write-up.

RodShaw2 Wrote:That does just fall outside your 25 year window

R

Why do you think I chose that number of years then, Rod?

The two things about Skole are that he is producing more professional players than ever before in the program's history and that when he had a chance to succeed, with time on his contract and a full alotment of scholarships, he won. Maybe not College World Series titles, but he produced winning records.

Even with that I might agree with you Rod. In fact I probably would, except I honestly think the problems of the program lie more administratively than coaching wise, and therefore to cut Skole would just be a method for Mullins to save his own skin at the expense of others.

I'd like to think that with Ron Bliss making that note earlier in the week that Skole should be kept that ETSU might fear reprisal from Bliss if they let him go.

But, yeah, .

That ain't gonna happen.

I didn't say he was the one that wrote the bio I was saying that with them laying the crap on that thick I don't see how they could suddenly pop up and fire him after heaping that much praise on him.

R

No, they could Rod, because ultimately that doesn't mean anything.

Give you an example. I have a copy of the 1969 Pittsburgh Pirates yearbook. In the bio of manager Larry Shepard- who was this loyal baseball man in the Pirates organization who got promoted to manage the big club in the late 60s, supposedly with the idea he'd manage the team into the Three Rivers Stadium era- he is given a glowing write-up.

His entire family is pictured. They give him great praise. My favorite line "Larry wanted to be a major league manager more than anything else in the world."

Unfortunately, he was fired before the Bucs' 1969 season ended- despite the fact the Bucs had won 84 games (if memory serves) under his tenure in 1969.

I always felt so bad for him!

Actually, I'm going to make a new recommendation-

Mullins fired, Skole turned into AD/Baseball Coach.

Here's why. If you go to the etsubucs.com website, you will see that Skole keeps a coach's diary for fans to read.

He has rather consistently kept it up (though not since April 14, perhaps telling?), as you can see here-

But five entries for the year- roughly one a month. Acceptable.

Now, David Mullins has the same diary. Here it is- http://www.etsubucs.com/info/ask_ad/

Nothing for 13 months. One entry for the last TWO YEARS!!!!!

In other words, he's made as many ad spots for Johnson City Honda during the past two years as he has providing his own forum to ETSU fans about their own team.

Priorities, Mr. Mullins! Priorities!

It is telling that an athletic director feels he can improve his reputation more by shilling for a car lot than he can commenting on his own team.

It is also telling that during the midst of a 1-16 start, Skole is willing to make comments to the fans and not run and hide.

Tell me how Skole would not be a better AD than David Mullins.

It's all a pretty moot point. Stetson knocked us out. Coach Skole is a nice guy and all but that record is unacceptable.

It's not a moot point.

For one thing, it is a shining example of the horrible way ETSU sports are covered here, and how that coverage works AGAINST the community interest.

For another, how Skole is handled will also reveal a lot about the standards and direction of the athletic department.

If what you PMed me is true, and I ask that you do post it, but if what you said is true, it really speaks loudly of the way things are handled and how completely out of whack things are at ETSU.

What I PMed you is a true story, but not one that needs to be shared to the general public. All I'll say is look at the direction the program went after that first year in the A-Sun. It went south, in a hurry. We've lost some quality players, quality coaches, etc... I just don't understand why the red flags didn't go up faster.