Friday Morning: Lee Fowler on 850 The Buzz Friday; Audio Link Now Up

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Thanks to all of you who have posted 30 updates and comments regarding Fowler’s “interview” this morning. We’ll continue to have more commentary as time goes by.

11:15 Update

Here’s a link to the audio of the interview:

Lee Fowler Takes Your Calls (850 The Buzz’s Blog)

My apologies if I wasn’t the smoothest reader on the air, but I had an office visitor come in past a closed door and distract me while I was reading Sw0rdf1sh’s quote.

–RAWFS

9:50am UPDATE:
Before today’s relative waste of time on 850 we all had questions that we would like to see Fowler REALLY answer and not side-stepp. Since he just opened the door to more questions/follow-up, we thought that it would be a good time to ask you to log whatever questions you would ask in the comments section of this entry. Since LF gives so many “Q&As” to the press then you know that isn’t finished talking. Who knows…the next interviewer may read SFN and pick up on some questions?

It is really fascinating, but you should go check this entry from March of 2005 when we did a very similar exercise. Even though some of those questions were Herb Sendek related, a lot of them would continue to ring true today.

Here are a few to get the ball rolling:

(1) In your interview with GoPack that was published on April 13th you indicated that in no uncertain terms that there would be changes coming within NC State’s Basketball staff.

In this off-season, there will be some changes made within the basketball office. Sidney is going back to square one, looking at what each member of the staff does to make certain it is the most efficient and effective way of getting things done. He is reviewing all facets of the basketball operation.

In Sidney Lowe’s subsequent interview with the News & Observer that was published on April 29th, Coach Lowe leaves no ambiguity around the issue and 100% contradicts you when answering a similar question:

N&O: Will the staff stay intact?

Lowe: Yes.

N&O: Will the support staff stay intact?

Lowe: Yes.

Since you consistently discuss Coach Lowe’s control of the team last year in public and share your thoughts on what happened during our collapse – Which one of you is right? You say there will be staff changes. He says there will not be. Is he defying you by not making changes?

…alright gang….your turn!

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87 Responses to Friday Morning: Lee Fowler on 850 The Buzz Friday; Audio Link Now Up

  1. statered 05/16/2008 at 8:13 AM #

    I swear what a total bunch of bull that was. The guy completely lacks vision and a plan. That should be obvious to anyone listening. I am asking myself what he hoped to accomplish because it was obvious that he had no theme or agenda driving any of his comments. Pathetic.

  2. Plz2BStateFan 05/16/2008 at 8:25 AM #

    I can do his job.

    Period.

  3. ncsu96 05/16/2008 at 8:33 AM #

    Fowler showed what an idiot he is by agreeing to be on. There was no way anything good was going to come from that.
    It sounds like it turned into an opportunity for him to show his dislike of NC State fans.

  4. El_Duderino 05/16/2008 at 8:34 AM #

    Didn’t hear the interview, but did he really say this?

    LF “They have concerns about blogs. About people that do not put their names down. Opinions are great but you want it to be factual”.

    If you are lurking, here’s a quick list off the top of my head of people who published under fake names..

    Alexander Hamilton – see $10 bill.
    Benjamin Franklin – see $100 bill.
    James Madison – read bill of rights.

  5. Sw0rdf1sh 05/16/2008 at 8:38 AM #

    Well, all I can say is that at least he was kind enough to show up, even if he didn’t answer a whole lot of things directly.

    Apparently, I might be a figment of someone’s imagination because I don’t use my real name, but the good news is I have a lot of company. Maybe that $700 I just sent in for my season tickets (and comfy padded seating) wasn’t real either?

    All I can say is I’m glad he’s not going to be at the Wilmington Wolfpack Caravan next week or seeing me as a living breathing person might freak Lee right out.

  6. Plz2BStateFan 05/16/2008 at 8:47 AM #

    If he actually thought he was going to accomplish something with answers like that, then I am more worried about our programs now then ever.

  7. ruffles31 05/16/2008 at 8:58 AM #

    The funny thing is how he takes swipes at blogs, yet both 850 and the N&O have very prominent blogs.

    Just as a reference about costs, Tennessee season football tickets are only $20 more than NC State season ticket prices. Talk about a better ROI. Also, parking passes are cheaper at Tennessee than NC State and both teams have 7 home games this year.

  8. Noah 05/16/2008 at 9:00 AM #

    It’s REALLY NICE to be called a liar. Or at least have it inferred. I am sorry Mr. Fowler, but if you do not think that Annabelle Myers is more or less disliked (and in some cases despised) by the area media, then you are not doing your job.

    I can’t possibly fathom what sort of blackmail material ABM must have to keep her job. It’s not JUST that she’s clueless, she’s deliberately, willfully bad for NCSU.

    Imagine you got hired as the SID for Carolina and someone told you that no matter what you did, you wouldn’t be fired. Imagine WHAT you could do and the extent of the damage you could inflict.

    That’s our SID.

  9. StateFans 05/16/2008 at 9:14 AM #

    Let’s see/hear some questions from you guys. Especially follow-up ones that he created by his own accord today.

  10. Rick 05/16/2008 at 9:26 AM #

    Didn’t hear the interview, but did he really say this?

    LF “They have concerns about blogs. About people that do not put their names down. Opinions are great but you want it to be factual”.

    It is not word for word but yes he did say that

  11. Rick 05/16/2008 at 9:31 AM #

    “Let’s see/hear some questions from you guys. Especially follow-up ones that he created by his own accord today.”

    He did not really say anything so it is impossible to formulate questions based on that interview.

    There are still so many unasnwered questions, like the two RAWFS asked.

    This interview basically solidified the fact that LF does not listen to anyone except Oblinger (whom he threw under the bus on the tailgating question) and a few big dogs.

  12. highstick 05/16/2008 at 9:35 AM #

    I’ve got to go out for a while, but will formulate a list of questions later to post..Not that they aren’t any different than what we talk about constantly though.

  13. PacknSack 05/16/2008 at 9:42 AM #

    I would want him asked about the general lack of achievement in our athletic dept. Without efforting, what, three? varsity teams went to the postseason this past school year (baseball notwithstanding) and none won ACC titles. What is his plan for changing the downward drift of the entire department? If it is ‘stay the course”, then what does he know that no one else does? We haven’t hit rock bottom, but I can see if from here.

    To me this is so much more than football and basketball.

  14. BoKnowsNCS71 05/16/2008 at 9:43 AM #

    On the Tennessee season ticket prices. You also have to remember that they have almost twice the number of seats than we do. That’s a lot more revenue.

  15. wufpup76 05/16/2008 at 9:57 AM #

    Appreciate the effort, RAWFS … it went about like you would expect it to go … SSDD

    More questions generated, few answer given 🙁

  16. kyjelly 05/16/2008 at 10:29 AM #

    So he says “Sid lost the players and could not get them back”. But he did meet with them all individually but that did not work.
    But he is “refocusing” now?. Too bad it was radio I wonder if he had a straight face or just a bozo the clown suit on when he made these comments.
    Here is a guy who in his athletic program he has a coach in one of his biggest revenue making sports who after just a year on the job after he was an unproven hire who now admititly lost his team! But who is back for more and is refocused? Where or where is any accountability?

  17. Rochester 05/16/2008 at 10:46 AM #

    Generally when you see a quote saying “Coach X lost the players and could not get them back,” it’s followed by “and so we had to let him go.”

    Not that we couldn’t guess Lowe had lost the players, but to have this jackass confirm that he knew that to be the case is amazing. And that nothing is going to be done about it and he’s okay with that. You don’t “lose the players” and suddenly get them back. Fine if he “lost” Gavin, because he’s done. But the others are all still back (J.J. excepted, and I’m guessing Lowe didn’t lose him).

  18. Dr. BadgerPack 05/16/2008 at 10:52 AM #

    I would simply ask “If you profess to want to win as much as anybody, why the stagnation in so many poor programs?”

  19. James 05/16/2008 at 11:01 AM #

    The SID has 7 paid staff members. SID draws a little more than $250K in salaries alone.

    Qustions for Lee:

    * How do you justify making $245,000 a year for the total body of work your department produces?

    * How do you justify the fact that by the time you finished being coddled on the Buzz, NC State University paid you nearly $118 (assumes a 40 hour work week, with 52 weeks in a year)?

    * How many weeks in 2007 did you log over 40 hours in a work week?

    * How many days a week do you make it to the office?

    * What educational background and understanding of business and finance do you have to justify running a multi-million dollar enterprise like Wolfpack athletics?

    * Can you describe for me the annual review process at NC State? Are reviews documented? What are the metrics for how employees within your business (coaches and administrators) are evaluated?

    * What can be done to improve Wolfpack Sports Marketing?

    * Why should you make more than senior managers in the business world who actually produce results?

    These are just a few…

  20. RAWFS 05/16/2008 at 11:08 AM #

    “I would simply ask “If you profess to want to win as much as anybody, why the stagnation in so many poor programs?”

    Trust me, had I been given the chance, I would have asked him to compare his job performance to that of Ron Wellman, Wake’s SID.

    Wellman has (and I will paraphrase WRAL.com here) overseen Wake Forest’s football team is having its most successful stretch in school history, winning 20 games over the past two seasons and earning a pair of bowl bids. Wellman hired Jim Grobe and has kept him in Winston-Salem, despite major opportunities for Grobe to move into higher profile jobs.

    Wellman also guided Wake through the shocking death of basketball coach Skip Prosser and named assistant Dino Gaudio as his successor, maintaining continuity in a high profile program that has its perhaps its best recruiting class incoming this season.

    Wellman also set the plate Wake Forest men’s soccer team that defeated Ohio State in the College Cup to win its first national championship. Their field hockey team made its eighth consecutive appearance in the final four while the women’s soccer team earned an NCAA Tournament bid for the 12th consecutive season.

    And oh yeah, their upgrading their football and baseball facilities too.

    As such he is a finalist for National AD of the year.

    Under Wellman, Wake’s sports are succeeding and prospering. Can we say that about the Fowler era? Aside from Tom O’Brien, the baseball team’s success and the track teams, the answer is no.

    I’d love to hear what Lee Fowler thought Wellman had done right in comparison to his own management.

  21. WolftownVA81 05/16/2008 at 11:46 AM #

    I would like to ask:

    1. Since no basketball staff changes are apparently going to occur, what exactly is coach Lowe going to do differently this year to improve upon last year’s results.

    2. At what point to you think a coach, any coach, should be fired? What metrics or performance criteria play a part in that decision?

    3. Given the amount of financial and other support provided by the Wolfpack fans, where do you think NCSU should rate among the other conference schools in the success of its atheletic programs?

    4. What concrete plans do you have to address the gap in where we are verses where you would like us to be (ref. question 3.)

    5. At what point would you consider resigning your position if you were not able to acheive the results you desire (ref. question 4.)

    6. In the recent past, your stated goals for your department did not include on the field performance. Why is that?

    7. Do you think the fans have a right to demand excellence on the field as well as in the classroom?

    8. Why do you constantly disparage NCSU fans (directly and indirectly) at seemingly every opportunity? Do you understand that we collectively as doners and NC tax payers (not me I live in VA) pay your salary? Would you speak the same about your stockholders if you were in private industry?

    9. Do you understand that through carelessness or caulousness that NCSU has become the laughing stock of the conference and that a large portion of that blame lies with you and your staff (never mind the performance of our teams)?

    10. Do you feel no shame that this once proud institution, a founder of the conference, a perpetual leader in basketball is now at the bottom of conference standings in nearly every sport.

  22. choppack1 05/16/2008 at 12:06 PM #

    I’d be interested in asking Lee this:
    1) Has your manager clearly communicated to you what is expected in your current position? If so, what are those expectations?

    2) Without revealing any coaches by name, what is your criteria for evaluating their performance?

    3) Who do you think of as “your customers”?

    4) There’s a lot of criticism on the internet, some of it personal and unwarranted, however, do you think there are some valid criticisms on blogs/message boards of the athletic department?

    5) Aside from facility improvements, NCAA rules compliance and supporting the coaches, can you describe what actions you have taken to improve the athletic department of NC State?

    6) In your basketball coaching search, you hired a candidate without any college coaching experience whatsoever after extensive search where several candidates publicy removed their name from consideration. Since the search, NC State has one of the worst conference records in major college basketball – how much of this slow start is directly or indirectly attributable to the coaching search itself? Also, if you could do anything in the search differently, what would you do?

  23. happypackdad 05/16/2008 at 12:07 PM #

    One has to admit though, there are a lot of comments that are way off base & offensive on blogs/message boards. Also, recruits do frequent the internet world so fans need to ask themselves if they’re helping or hurting their school with their comments.

    SFN: Considering that NC State’s fans are just like every other fan base in the country – except for the fact that we provide more money and more support than others for less wins – how in the world do other schools manage through this?

  24. statered 05/16/2008 at 12:13 PM #

    happy – so what? That’s just reality….its akin to a 15 year complaining that life ain’t fair. You either except reality and learn to deal with it or else. To constantly complain about it is useless.

  25. packbackr04 05/16/2008 at 12:44 PM #

    alright Lee. so you say not many people would come before the 5 hour tailgate limit anyway…. so, I have to ask. why not just open up the tailgating with no time limit?

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