(09-27-2022 01:31 PM)Buc76 Wrote: New Blood, Fantastic AD.
What are the objectives the posters on this board want to see achieved by the Athletic Dept?
Well first & foremost, let's get the budget out of the hole. Story just broke on WJHL that athletics is at least $700K in the hole, and they completely bungled the Simon Harris (we already knew that) and provided Scott Carter a full year's severance walking out the door. When you fire someone for cause (ie, Harris), he doesn't get to walk away with a $150K check. That's ridiculous.
Second, they need to address title IX. My personal opinion, even though we are in the hole, is to not subtract a men's sport, but add a women's sport. We have subtracted before, and that causes a number of issues, including loss of morale. This can be done and still keep the budget in reasonable shape. How? Fund raising, which is a constant if you're the AD, and unfortunately, student fees, which are always going up but ETSU is still a cheap option. I don't like the latter, and hope they can keep that down or not increase it.
Third, what sport? I know they're not interested in lacrosse, but lacrosse is definitely a sport gaining in popularity and they could play on the football field. SHHS and DBHS both have women's lacrosse clubs, and I wouldn't doubt it will be a varsity sport soon. If you don't want to do lacrosse, there's bowling, which I think could be done. There's space in the Culp to build a small bowling alley, which students could use when the team isn't using it. That could be a cool add-on to the newly renovated Culp, and there's a cost and maintenance, but I think it could be done.
Fourth, take care of the softball trainwreck. Finish the investigation, and if you fire the Hendrixes for cause, then don't pay them for Chrissake!
Fifth, try to build our women's sports, because many of them aren't doing so hot, and there's been issues galore on that side of the athletic department. We have to be better at creating a positive environment, not a "I don't want to hear this so I'm putting my fingers in my ears" environment, or "We're going to investigate this for the next 9 months until everyone forgets about it" environment.
Gotta be better, and never be satisfied with where you're at. These are not a priority list - just things that gotta get done.