ACC Sports Journal Wolfpack Insider: Dividing Lines

AD & Department General NC State Administration NCS Basketball40

This article from the ACC Sports Journal was one of the more interesting and accurate takes on the relationship between NC State fans, former basketball coach Herb Sendek, and current AD Lee Fowler. This also was the only article written by the ACC media on the rumors of Lee Fowler’s departure that spread on various NC State message boards a few weeks ago.

(UPDATE: Joe Ovies of 850 The Buzz reminds us that he penned this article on April 12th: The Curious Case of Lee Fowler, so there were actually two stories.)

The Sendek supporters, though, will not admit that Sendek failed to win anything of significance or at a high level. While he did lead State to five consecutive NCAA Tournaments, the Wolfpack was seeded higher than No. 7 only once. In seven trips to the Big Dance as a head coach, Sendek has made it to the Sweet 16 just once. He also is now 0-4 in ACC or Pac-10 title games.

Now there is a new dividing figure in Raleigh, and that’s athletic director Lee Fowler. On April 2, one day after April Fool’s Day, posts were popping up on message boards that members of N.C. State’s Board of Trustees were meeting regarding Fowler’s future and that the AD was on the way out.

Sure enough, Fowler was in his office the next day, but the rumors had been so strong that WRAL was granted an interview with Fowler to settle them.

“I’m still here,” he said. “I’ve got a contract through October of 2013.”

AD & Department General NC State Administration NCS Basketball

40 Responses to ACC Sports Journal Wolfpack Insider: Dividing Lines

  1. WolftownVA81 04/22/2009 at 11:40 AM #

    I’m glad the article was written. It does give the rumors credibility. However, I was disappointed that the reasons for the fans being upset with LF was buried so far down in the article: “Now with the athletic department ranking among the worst in the conference in performance the past couple of years, the heat is picking up on Fowler. His ultimate fate could be tied to how he handles the hoops program.” This is where they could have inserted the overall performance of the department since his arrival. That information would have made it perfectly clear why people want him gone. Seems they chose to put only enough of the facts in to support the premise that the fans disappointment is mostly a carry over from the previous BB coach and subsequent search.

  2. old13 04/22/2009 at 12:05 PM #

    . . . there hasn’t been a presser to announce that Lee Fowler has been drawn and quartered and his head is not sitting on a pike at the city walls.

    Can/will that be done! 🙂

  3. IMFletcherWolf 04/22/2009 at 12:34 PM #

    The article is not about Herb, it’s about Lee Fowler — and how many State fans do not like his performance as AD in a similar way many State fans did not like Herb’s tenure as basketball coach.

    I appreciate the ACCSJ enlightening the rest of the ACC about our displeasure with the AD, but they did it in a very weak way. The comment: “the athletic department ranking among the worst in the conference in performance the past couple of years” stuck out to me. Try last 15+ years, with over 8 years under Fowler. It’s not just basketball. Nearly the entire dept. is underperforming.

  4. choppack1 04/22/2009 at 1:13 PM #

    Whoah – if Ovies didn’t write the ACCSportsJournal article he should be pretty steamed at who did. A lot of similarities in some of the arguments there…

  5. Daily Update 04/22/2009 at 2:41 PM #

    I worried about where this discussion was going to go.

    But Classof89 made the point in terms of the significance of the article. Just the fact that the ACCSJ and apparently Joe Ovies wrote articles on the rumors and how the relationship between the fans and Fowler has reached this point was why I thought this was significant.

    There is no way any media outlet, not even the ACCSJ, would have gone on the record at that point with any information they may or may not have had behind the scenes. The only thing that they could discuss was the rumors and that led to the discussion of Fowler’s status.

    Also, I think it is important to note that this article just became free.

    I should have clarified that when I said it was accurate that I thought it portrayed the two sides of the Sendek and Fowler debates well without the standard generalizations (i.e. Herb does nothing but win games) except for the comment about Herb turning ASU into regular visitor to the NCAA tournament(1 time in 3 years isn’t “regular” IMO).

  6. Daily Update 04/22/2009 at 2:46 PM #

    Choppack: The ACCSJ article was in the print addition the week after these rumors hit NC State message boards(1st week of April?). Ovies apparently wrote about this a week or so later.

    The school sections in the ACCSJ are written anonymously and there are many contributors from around the ACC region.

  7. Greywolf 04/22/2009 at 3:03 PM #

    Times have changed. My friends and acquaintances (mostly over 50) could care less how the soccer team is doing, the volleyball team, the gymnastics team, field hockey (do we have a field hockey team), lacrosse (same question, do we have a lacrosse team), and almost any sport you want to mention except Football and Men’s basketball. Not once has a UNX fan thrown up a championship in field hockey, or lacrosse or soccer or any other sport in my face. Because it’s REQUIRED coverage in the sports pages now, women’s basketball sometimes gets some mention.
    `
    Unless the commenters here are all young and there is a caring at NCSU about minor sports that didn’t exist when I was at State, there’s a disconnect between what we are screaming about and what we really care about. I mean we’re getting our panties in a wad over the Director’s Cup standings. Something is not quite right about this. A prominent, regular commenter who in one thread says soccer should be banned as a sport, now is “concerned” because of the soccer team’s record.
    `
    I haven’t read a lot about soccer or volleyball or softball recruiting here on SFN. Somebody does a thread every year about baseball, and SFN gives due diligence to their record. I will admit that I get all happy and excited to read where we beat the tarbabies in anything, but this other stuff? Not really.
    `
    Let’s give credit where credit is due. Before LF who really gave a shit about the Directors Cup? Lee Fowler has done more to stir up interest in minor sports than all the ADs before him put together. 😉 (Sarcasm alert)
    `
    But there is no real excuse for nearly EVERY sport being a bottom feeder.

  8. choppack1 04/22/2009 at 8:50 PM #

    Grey – You’re right – if we were good in men’s basketball and football – no one would give tinker’s damn about the director’s cup. As a matter of fact, I’d take one college football national championship, over 10 consecutive cross country or track and field titles. I’d rather have one national championship in basketball than 2 in College Baseball or 5 consecutive in men or women’s soccer.

    It’s not necessarily about the Director’s Cup. UNC’s success in this endeavor doesn’t prove anything about certain AD’s being exceptionally strong.

    However, what we can grasp from this is an ADs ability to build programs, identify and keep good talent – and identify those who are in over their head.

    Basically, success and growth in the other 10 or so sports could show us that indeed Fowler can build a complete, well-rounded and successful athletic program. But we know this hasn’t happened. Nor have we become a force in football AND basketball. Right now, success in football looks much more likely, but things change.

    What Lee has been able to do – no matter where the credit lies – is be in the head position as NC State ramped up its building and balanced an athletic budget.

    But at the end of the day that’s not enough. It’s best now to thank Lee for this part of his tenure that’s been a success and find an AD who can identify and keep successful coaches, and weed out those aren’t cutting it – so NC State can grow.

  9. Greywolf 04/22/2009 at 11:55 PM #

    choppack1
    April 22nd, 2009 at 8:50 pm
    “What Lee has been able to do – no matter where the credit lies – is be in the head position as NC State ramped up its building and balanced an athletic budget…. It’s best now to thank Lee for this part of his tenure that’s been a success and find an AD who can identify and keep successful coaches, and weed out those aren’t cutting it – so NC State can grow.”
    `
    Chop,
    Obviously I truncated your post, leaving in what I think would NOT be acceptable. Do you really think the fans we hear from daily could be satisfied with letting Lee Fowler leave with a “thanks” for a job well done in the areas you mention. I don’t. Fowler has big-time licked the red of some apples amongst the State Fans. And it’s not because he hasn’t fired the Euro-mullet and replaced him with Pele. It isn’t replacement that’s wanted, it’s his ass as well.

  10. Rick 04/23/2009 at 6:50 AM #

    “Fowler has big-time licked the red of some apples amongst the State Fans. And it’s not because he hasn’t fired the Euro-mullet and replaced him with Pele. It isn’t replacement that’s wanted, it’s his ass as well.”

    Unfortunately that is what happens when people invest a lot of time, money and emotion into something and all they get back in return is bad performance and insults.

  11. choppack1 04/23/2009 at 9:01 AM #

    Grey – I don’t care – and if I was the head-hauncho I wouldn’t care. It’s all about the end result and what you really want.

    I don’t want Lee Fowler as AD anymore. I don’t care if he resigns or is fired. I think most NC State fans are in a similar position.

  12. old13 04/23/2009 at 12:29 PM #

    What Lee has been able to do – no matter where the credit lies – is be in the head position as NC State ramped up its building and balanced an athletic budget . . . It’s best now to thank Lee for this part of his tenure that’s been a success . . .

    That would all be well and good EXCEPT for his MULTIPLE public and written insults to fans, alumni and $$$ CONTRIBUTORS, and his many verbal and performance gaffs which put NCSU in a less-than stellar light. Considering his “full body of work,” I say to him “Get the heck out and don’t let the door hit you in butt on the way!”

  13. Cardiff Giant 04/23/2009 at 2:44 PM #

    What’s amazing about this story is that it’s one of the few media acknowledgements of what is obvious to anyone who so much as looks at the statistics: Under Lee Fowler, the overall performance of the athletic program has turned from inconsistent to the worst in the conference. And that’s after he’s had ample time to implement his “Facilities Plan” that was the supposed cure for all this failure.

  14. choppack1 04/23/2009 at 2:50 PM #

    Cardiff – Yes, compare to the Dane Huffman article the other day that acts like the Wolfpack nation was solely po’d at Fowler because he didn’t hire Glance.

    Ole Lee has a pretty long list of mistakes and gaffes.

    Still, it’s a lot easier for the media to pull out the old “State fans have unrealistic expectations/State fans are impossible to please” template and provide one strawman example that “proves” this POV. But that’s what passes for thinking these days in that profession.

  15. GAWolf 04/24/2009 at 9:44 AM #

    Fowler’s ultimate gaff was repeatedly calling out the fans.

    It sort of reminds me of the Lawn Party where, I believe, Darius Rucker (of Hootie and the Blowfish) condescendingly called out the crowd for throwing beers at each other. As soon as he did all the beers were immediately aimed at the stage. Certainly it was stupid for fans to be shaking up beers and throwing them… if not down right dangerous. However, it was even “stupider” for Rucker to bitch about it.

    If fans are upset (or “irrational” which we all agree is debatable if not down right wrong) then it’s not really the AD’s job to talk about it. He should fully expect that criticism to immediately be pointed toward him.

    Back to Lawn Party analogy, a band that played decent music might could away with that sort of degrading comment without getting pelted with beer cans. Fowler’s music is as bad as HATBF’s.

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