The State of State Part Four – AD Battle Royale

In previous entries, several commenters had expressed an interest in some historical statistics for comparison purposes. Below are some conference title and winning percentage stats over the last 22 years for the past five Athletic Directors at NC State.

Notes:
• For the 1989-90 season, Jim Valvano was AD until October, Harold Hopfenburg was interim AD until April when Todd Turner was hired. For this analysis, since he was AD for the majority of the season, Hopfenburg will be considered the AD of record for 1989-90.

• ACC championship stats are only for the 20 sports in which all 5 ADs fielded teams (Softball is excluded).

• The win/loss percentage statistics are only for the sports with a win/loss record which excludes cross country, golf and track. Those sports are included in the conference titles.

• W Soccer was not an ACC sport in Valvano’s first season (1986-87).

• Gymnastics was not included because they were not in a conference until 1996.

• Historical data for rifle was not available.

Years
• Jim Valvano—3 (1986-87 to 1988-89)
• Harold Hopfenburg—1 (1989-90)
• Todd Turner—6 (1990-91 to 1995-96)
• Les Robinson—4 (1996-97 to 1999-2000)
• Lee Fowler—8 (2000-01 to 2007-08)

ACC Championships
1. Turner—15
2. Fowler—13 (14 w/Softball)
3. Valvano—12
4. Robinson—7
5. Hopfenburg—3

ACC Championships Per Year
1. Valvano—4.00
2. Hopfenburg—3.00
3. Turner—2.50
4. Robinson—1.75
5. Fowler—1.63 (1.75 w/Softball)

ACC Championship Sports
1. Valvano—9
2. Turner—8
3. Hopfenburg—3
3. Fowler—3 (4 w/Softball)
5. Robinson—2

ACC Titles by Year by AD for the 20 Common ACC Sports

Football ACC Winning Percentage
1. Valvano–.619
2. Hopfenburg–.571
3. Turner–.565
4. Robinson–.438
4. Fowler–.438

M Basketball ACC Winning Percentage
1. Valvano–.619 (1 ACC title)
2. Fowler–.469
3. Hopfenburg–.429
4. Robinson–.328
5. Turner–.298

W Basketball ACC Winning Percentage
1. Hopfenburg–.857
2. Robinson–.641
3. Valvano–.619 (1 ACC title)
4. Turner–.543 (1 ACC title)
5. Fowler–.525

Baseball ACC Winning Percentage
1. Hopfenburg–.667
2. Valvano–.593
3. Turner–.568 (1 ACC title)
4. Robinson–.522
5. Fowler–.512

Volleyball ACC Winning Percentage
1. Valvano–.895 (1 ACC title)
2. Turner–.258
3. Robinson–.188
4. Hopfenburg–.167
5. Fowler–.021

Wrestling ACC Winning Percentage
1. Valvano–.778 (2 ACC titles)
2. Fowler–.628 (4 ACC titles)
3. Turner–.600 (2 ACC titles)
4. Robinson–.550
5. Hopfenburg–.500 (1 ACC title)

M Soccer ACC Winning Percentage
1. Turner–.500 (1 ACC title)
2. Valvano–.389
3. Robinson–.250
4. Fowler–.182
5. Hopfenburg–.167

W Soccer ACC Winning Percentage
1. Hopfenburg–.750
2. Valvano–.571 (1 ACC title)
3. Turner–.517
4. Robinson–.259
5. Fowler–.164

M Swimming ACC Winning Percentage
1. Turner–.725 (1 ACC title)
2. Robinson–.640
3. Hopfenburg–.600
4. Valvano–.375
4. Fowler–.375

W Swimming ACC Winning Percentage
1. Turner–.400
2. Valvano–.250
3. Fowler–.234
4. Hopfenburg–.200
5. Robinson–.167

M Tennis ACC Winning Percentage
1. Valvano–.350
2. Fowler–.227
3. Robinson–.188
4. Turner–.170
5. Hopfenburg-.000

W Tennis ACC Winning Percentage
1. Turner–.255
2. Robinson–.219
3. Fowler–.213
4. Valvano–.150
5. Hopfenburg–.143

ACC Championships for non-win/loss record sports:

M Cross Country ACC Championships
Valvano—1
Turner—3
Robinson—4
Fowler—5

W Cross Country ACC Championships
Valvano—2
Hopfenburg—1
Turner—5
Robinson—3
Fowler—4

M Golf ACC Championships
Hopfenburg—1

M Indoor Track ACC Championships
Valvano—1

M Outdoor Track ACC Championships
Valvano—2
Turner—1

Softball ACC Championships
Fowler—1

Some Summary Statistics
• Lee Fowler has a lower ACC winning percentage than Todd Turner in 9 of the 12 common win/loss sports. Fowler leads in M Basketball, Wrestling and M Tennis. (Men’s Basketball was on NCAA probation and punitive academic restrictions under much of Turner’s tenure)

• Compared to the previous four ADs, Fowler ranks last (or tied for last) in ACC winning percentage in 6 of the 12 common win/loss sports.

• Compared to Les Robinson, Fowler’s predecessor, 4 of the 12 common win/loss sports have improved their ACC winning percentage under Fowler (M Basketball, Wrestling, W Swimming, M Tennis).

• NC State has never won more than 3 ACC titles in one season under Fowler, a mark surpassed by Todd Turner 3 times.

• As a 1996 graduate of NC State, I was in school for the last 4 years of Turner’s tenure as AD in which State won 7 ACC titles. This year’s State graduates in the class of 2008 will have won 5 ACC titles (including Softball) during their 4 years.

• Please feel free to share any other conclusions or patterns that you may have noticed.

Coming Sometime Soon in Part Five
Bar graphs galore–color coordinated with ACC winning percentages for each school!