Women’s Basketball Coaching News (Update w/ Caulton Tudor’s thoughts)

Thanks to a link on another thread, WRAL is reporting that Stephanie Glance will not be promoted to head women’s basketball coach at NC State. I don’t really follow women’s basketball, but didn’t want the BB Byte thread to be taken over by this emotional topic.

UPDATE: Ronnie Brown, Kay’s brother, talked to WRAL and also provided a copy of the letter that Coach Yow sent Lee Fowler and Chancellor Oblinger.

Caulton Tudor weighs in on Saturday morning.

But there’s a wise old adage that the hands of the dead should not dictate the hands of the living. On this issue, there’s more to be taken into account than the last wish of the legendary Yow. Her request should be a primary consideration, of course. But even more than honoring Yow’s request, Fowler and his superiors owe it to her memory to hire the very best candidate the school can afford.

About VaWolf82

Engineer living in Central Va. and senior curmudgeon amongst SFN authors One wife, two kids, one dog, four vehicles on insurance, and four phones on cell plan...looking forward to empty nest status. Graduated 1982

General Kay Yow NCS Basketball Non-Revenue

132 Responses to Women’s Basketball Coaching News (Update w/ Caulton Tudor’s thoughts)

  1. packof81 04/10/2009 at 6:15 PM #

    WRAL ran with it. They showed the letter. It makes the the administration look real bad. It’s no surprise there was nobody available for comment. If they weren’t going to name Glance, they should have already had someone lined up. This is starting to look like another botched search. It could be a blessing in disguise.

  2. nikemike 04/10/2009 at 9:25 PM #

    If only there had been more time to put a succession plan in place……..

  3. turfpack 04/10/2009 at 10:27 PM #

    Everything is going just like I thought it would with this group of incompetent Assholes in the lead.
    Embarrassment is our speciality here at N-N-N-C-C-C-STATE!
    When you can screw up a WBB search you get what you deserve.

  4. xphoenix87 04/11/2009 at 12:46 AM #

    “I’m sorry, are you saying that Yow could not have been both a devout Christian and in a relationship with another woman? I’m sorry that the idea of this upsets you so bad but, the two are possible.”

    From everything I know about Kay Yow, from the faith I heard her claim, from the actions she displayed throughout her life, and from the church I know she went to, yeah, I find it highly unlikely. Is it possible? Sure. People sin, and then there are some Christian denominations that don’t believe homosexuality is a sin (not, however, the denomination Kay was part of). Is it likely? Not hardly. I would have to believe that Kay Yow willingly was a long-time member of a church which doesn’t except that lifestyle. I would have to believe that there was some secret relationship going on which, over the course of her 30+ year coaching career, nobody ever said anything publicly about. I would have to believe that Yow, who was always outspoken about the trials she faced and the issues that were important to her, never said anything about it. That’s absolutely ridiculous. I’m not going to have a theological argument or a civil rights argument here, because this is certainly not the place for that, and it’s not the point anyway. The point is that there’s not a shred of evidence to support this idea other than “she was a single women’s basketball coach, therefore she must be lesbian”. The point is that you’re accusing someone who was, by every account, an outstanding person of inappropriate relationships with her staff and “nepotism”. It’s an insult to a woman who represented the university with class and dignity for 30 years.

  5. El Scrotcho 04/11/2009 at 12:58 AM #

    The previous coach has no business dictating who the next coach will be. Under any circumstances. Just because it was Kay Yow or Dean Smith does not change the fact that it is always a bad idea. Always. Anyone with the slightest grasp of human history knows that leadership should not be passed in this fashion.

  6. GAWolf 04/11/2009 at 4:25 AM #

    Let’s not lose sight of the real issue here: it’s not that he opted to go in a different direction (which from many accounts isn’t a bad decision) but it’s the way he’s failed miserably at it once again making NCSU look awful in the news. if he had a plan in place to bring the new coach in quickly, at least some of this bad press would be countered with something progressive and positive with the right spin from the University.

  7. VaWolf82 04/11/2009 at 7:56 AM #

    While LF has managed to embarrass the University many times, but I don’t see how this coaching search is one of those times….yet. State hasn’t been publically turned down, the search is not in the news (I just checked Google News), and State is not a joke on SportsCenter every night.

    Someone in the AD blabbed and WRAL is the only one that posted a story. That’s hardly the stuff of major embarassment.

    PS: I added a link to a Caulton Tudor commentary in the main article section.

  8. ClassOf95 04/11/2009 at 9:58 AM #

    I agree with ^ VAWolf82. From my outside looking in position, I can find many faults with Lee Fowler but I think a lot of people have lost their objectivity. I don’t see how someone talking to the press or Coach Yow’s brother reflect on Fowler. Open coaching positions do not come up often and we need to get the best person we can for the job. Having been in a managerial position and interviewed before, you interview a range of candidates (sometimes multiple times) before making a decision and informing any of them or the public as to that decision. And on another note, I think some of you need to reread your posts and check your tone about Coach Yow. She was a wonderful person and our school could not ask for a better ambassador and leader. Her life and career are not the things for some sanitary, heartless discourse and conjecture.

  9. whitefang 04/11/2009 at 11:52 AM #

    Here’s how it reflects on Fowler:
    1. Coach Yow’s cancer was known to be terminal for some time. While it would have been in extremely poor taste to be searching openly while she was still alive, nevertheless I would like to think the AD had some sort of plan. Especially since he should have already known he did not think Glance was the right person for the job.
    2. Kay Yow died nearly 3 months ago. She was on leave of absence prior to that. Even with the women’s seasons still going on for much of this time, surely we could be farther along than were are.
    3. State’s season has been over for a while. Glance should have known her fate when it ended if not before. She should have been encouraged to move along and this situation, if it could not be avoided, should have happened weeks ago.
    To me it smacks of an unprofessional organization to not have had this in hand.

  10. VaWolf82 04/11/2009 at 12:16 PM #

    It’s not hard to imagine LF unprepared and without a plan….but in this case that is an assumption/speculation not fact.

    – We don’t know when Glance was told.
    – We don’t know who LF has contacted or when that contact was initiated.
    – If we assume that LF was/is pursuing current head coaches, then it doesn’t matter when State’s season was over. What matters is when the prospective coaches seasons were over.
    – We don’t know how far down the list State had to go (or still has to go) to get a coach.

    So for now, I’m just happy that this coaching search isn’t a nightly joke on ESPN. There will be plenty of time to judge the results of the search after the new coach is named.

  11. Gene 04/11/2009 at 12:21 PM #

    So for now, I’m just happy that this coaching search isn’t a nightly joke on ESPN. There will be plenty of time to judge the results of the search after the new coach is named.

    If this was a search in a more high profile sport or with a more high profile program it definitely would be a national joke right now.

    Why Lee can’t keep his department from leaking info and embarrassing the university is…I would say beyond me to understand…but who am I kidding…I shouldn’t have such high expectations of basic professionalism from our athletics department

  12. Greywolf 04/11/2009 at 4:29 PM #

    VaWolf82
    April 11th, 2009 at 12:16 pm
    “It’s not hard to imagine LF unprepared and without a plan….but in this case that is an assumption/speculation not fact.

    – We don’t know when Glance was told.
    – We don’t know who LF has contacted or when that contact was initiated.
    – If we assume that LF was/is pursuing current head coaches, then it doesn’t matter when State’s season was over. What matters is when the prospective coaches seasons were over.”
    `
    VaWolf82,
    This kind of ‘talk’ will help more than most of us can imagine in having the BOT listen to other instances of Fowler malfeasance. A perfunctary examination of the Women’s HC search reveals posters with both a conservative point of view and those who claim this is catastrophic blundering. Just as proclaiming ordinary events to be spectacular is ineffective, claiming the same type events to be catastrophic is equally ineffective.
    `
    Except in my extreme distaste for anything Carowhiner blue, I consider myself to be capable of reasonable thinking. What most often claim is Fowler incompetence, I consider to be the result of his hands being tied by approval required by ‘institutional controls.’ That he would foul-up were he free to act on his own is different IMO than his being constrained from acting without approval. I wouldn’t have his job for all the Bar-B-Q in Wilson.

  13. hball57 04/12/2009 at 6:35 AM #

    I like the information and some of the articles that are presented on this site. I respect Alpha Wolf and his perspectives (I miss Red and White). I am discouraged, however, by the constant personal bashing of Fowler.

    A lot of you folks hate Fowler. I get it. But you also let your hatred override any rational thought. And some of the things you have mentioned make you thin skinned babies in my opinion. But I digress….

    Those of you who consider this coaching search as an “embarrassment” because of the length of time are simply reaching at straws to insult someone. The job has to be posted. A search committee was formed. We received a lot of interest in the job and checked out many candidates. We talked to people after their seasons were over. we have dealt with some personal issues regarding the person who has become our top candidate. We will have the contract finalized before we announce that person.

    Why on this site do the same people type the same old tired stuff about Fowler on every thread? It’s not even original! It just gets old and really ruins a good site about NC State athletics.

  14. Alpha Wolf 04/12/2009 at 7:55 AM #

    I don’t “hate” Folwer, per se, but over a long period of time I have developed reasonable and grave doubts regarding his performance and ability to do the job he was hired to do. I am a reasonable and patient person, and my loyalty lies with NC State, not any AD, chancellor, coach or even player.

    When I shut down R&W and came here to write entries, there was no sea change in my attitude, and I was not given a mandate to follow any editorial stance whatsoever. I have and I will disagree with my colleagues here and I know that they will with me. So in essence, RAWFS exists as part of SFN because I still follow the call-it-like-I-see-it attitude that I ran the other site with.

    And thanks for the compliment. I really mean that.

    Regarding Lee Fowler, my opinion is straight forward:

    The numbers simply do not lie. I have an extremely difficult time believing that the largest university in the ninth most populous state in America cannot compete effectively within its own conference. Ultimately, that’s his job — at least within the eyes of those of us who collectively carry a lot of the freight with annual donations.

    Ultimately, leadership is responsible for the results it produces. That is as true in the management of a corporation as it is a ship on the ocean: the captain gets the credit and the blame for all that happens under his watch. Fowler, as the de facto CEO of Wolfpack sports, is the captain of the ship in Brown-Weisiger. Fair or unfair, he gets the credit and the blame for what happens while he mans the helm. Given what we are seeing — across the board — the criticism he endures is part of his job.

    If the University wants to wallow in mediocrity and not strive for excellence, please tell us so and spare us wasting our time with misplaced desire. In fact, it could save us all money to devote to other more satisfying ventures.

    If NC State does want to compete, then it must do something to improve its position and its results. To do that, it must steer its ship in another direction. If the incumbent captain of said ship cannot or will not turn that wheel, then perhaps it is time to find a new hand.

  15. xphoenix87 04/12/2009 at 8:19 AM #

    “Those of you who consider this coaching search as an “embarrassment” because of the length of time are simply reaching at straws to insult someone. The job has to be posted. A search committee was formed. We received a lot of interest in the job and checked out many candidates. We talked to people after their seasons were over. we have dealt with some personal issues regarding the person who has become our top candidate. We will have the contract finalized before we announce that person.”

    Duke needed only 15 days to replace Gail Goestenkors with Joanne P. McCallie, and they didn’t know Goestenkors was going to leave.

    Pokey Chatman at LSU resigned midseason after she had an inappropriate relationship with with a player, and they were able to hire Van Chancellor (one of the greatest women’s basketball coaches of all time) by April 11th.

    We, on the other hand, knew far in advance that we were going to have to execute a coaching search. We knew that Glance was going to want the job, and we should’ve known that it would be a sensitive issue. If this search had been executed in a timely manner, none of this would have been an issue. The only reason this isn’t a bigger issue is, as another poster pointed out, because our women’s basktball program isn’t as high profile. Can you imagine if this was the search for Pat Summit’s replacement at Tennessee? Now, maybe Fowler can manage to bring in a established, proven coach like an Anne Donovan, that’s great, things will have worked out all right. However, if he brings in a mid-major coach or an assistant coach to fill the position, then this will have been another disastrous coaching search. Sorry if I don’t give him the benefit of the doubt, it seems to me like he should have to earn that.

  16. Bubba 04/12/2009 at 9:30 AM #

    IMO,Kelly Harper and her husband are going to do a great job at NCState.

  17. TOBtime 04/12/2009 at 12:02 PM #

    Thank you xphoenix87 for clearly responding to an insulting insinuation about Kay that really does not even deserve a response.

    ^We’ll see Bubba! I think Kellie could do a great job.

  18. GoldenChain 04/12/2009 at 4:43 PM #

    Other than what I read here I really don’t know how the program has handled the Glance issue.
    However what I do know is that the last time we won the Women’s ACC was in 1991 (before Glance came BTW). The last time we were in the Final 4 was in 1998. The last time we had a top 5 recruiting class was 1999. Since 1999 we have had some decent classes but none great.
    We haven’t had less than 10 loses since the 04-05 season. In fact the last two seasons where Glance has basically been acting coach, the team has lost 30 games.
    Since the last time we won the ACC unx and Duke have won multiple crowns. In fact they’ve both won NCAA titles. And yes 06-07 was a good season but the only good one in the last several.

    And a bunch of you guys think Glance is THE ONE that’s going to take us back to the ACC Championship?! I don’t get it.
    Besides, we need to completely get away from this emotional stuff. It’s killing our athletic program. We don’t need another ‘legacy’ that we can’t fire because “she’s Kay’s picked replacement”.

    I don’t know how Jed has handled this but I do know the program needs a fresh direction….evidently someone else thinks that too.

    As far as being ’embarrassed’ about our school/program, yeah I’m embarrassed too! Embarrassed that we can’t win an ACC title in anything that counts!

  19. ADVENTUROO 04/12/2009 at 8:46 PM #

    No matter how you slice and dice this situation…and I do NOT take credit for this analysis….

    Kay Yow’s Medical CONDITION was known to the AD and the Administration…LAST YEAR.

    NO TRANSITION PLAN WAS DEVELOPED…..NOTE…PLEASE DO NOT PUT THE AD IN CHARGE OF FEMA…HE WOULD DO A WORSE JOB…

    After Kay’s passing….the Glance Situation was allowed to “fester”…Or MAYBE…for those of us slightly older…FESTUS….the character from Gunsmoke.

    NOW…almost 3 months (thats almost 90 days), Festus (AKA JED) has NOT come up with a PLAN.

    Enter Ronnie Yow…and VIOLA…you have the indiputable….a TOTAL Cluster Intercourse…

    WHY OH WHY….Does the Administration….and PROBABLY the BIG DONORS in the WPC allow this to continue?

    NO plan

    NO planning

    NO WHATEVER….

    BUT, he DOES know Basketball…

  20. Wulfpack 04/12/2009 at 9:07 PM #

    Ditto. Well said Adventuroo. At least this is WBB where our ineptitude isn’t broaedcast across the country. But I can assure you the WBB community is out there saying “huh”? just as the MBB community was 3 years ago. There’s a reason there is a familiar tune. So sad.

  21. choppack1 04/13/2009 at 7:42 AM #

    Good point about the length of the search and a couple of other known factors. Still, I’m w/holding judgement here until the replacement is named. Depending on the replacement, it may have been impossible to bring him/her in much sooner.

    If this is yet another example of a rudderless ship – well, I’m all for that if it gets certain people replaced. Heck, then again, it could be that there is someone whom Lee reports to that makes him look decisive and competent in comparison.

    I don’t know – I just know that I have very little faith in my alma mater right now.

  22. Bubba 04/13/2009 at 8:14 AM #

    Not to interrupt another LF pissin contest,but I was told the delay was caused by some nepotism obstacle that we had to overcome.The decision was made a couple of weeks ago and will be approved this week.

    I think LF did a pretty good job with this search. Having a couple of former players on the search committee was a smart move on his part. Helps negate Coach Yow’s brothers comments IMO.

  23. Greywolf 04/13/2009 at 4:44 PM #

    Bubba
    April 13th, 2009 at 8:14 am
    “Not to interrupt another LF pissin contest,but I was told the delay was caused by some nepotism obstacle that we had to overcome.”
    `
    Bubbba: A “bubba” in name only. Don’t want to know how you knew… don’t care how the obstacle was overcome… just like the sound of this hire… Tennessee pedigree… HC experience… likes men… won’t be a bunch of “dikes in Nikes” running the show… (heard the phrase from a lezbo friend, it’s OK if they say it… besides, we have the same “taste” in women) While I could care less about that stuff personally, lot’s of mothers and fathers of teenage girls do. I wouldn’t want my daughter turning out that way…. come to think of it, might be better than marrying the guy she did.
    `
    Has anybody checked? Can the hubby coach men? LF could use a two-fer or two to make up ground. LOL

  24. leewolf 04/13/2009 at 6:46 PM #

    Asheville Citizen-Times is reporting that Fowler asked the WCU AD to talk to HC Kellie Harper. More signs are pointing in the direction of Harper getting the nod. Solid move IMO, someone who would be here for a long time and would definitely get the program back to the top of the conference.

  25. Classof89 04/14/2009 at 2:55 PM #

    Can we cut out the homophobic comments on here? My reference to the relationship between Yow and Glance (which from all accounts was longstanding and committed) was only an “insulting insinuation” if you still live in the fantasy world where loving, monogamous same sex relationships don’t exist. People like you making comments like that are the reason people like Kay Yow have to lead complicated and apparently contradictory lives where their faith community gives them hateful and condemnatory messages about who they are…Kay never chose to make an issue of it. That’s her prerogative, but it doesn’t somehow call the facts of the underlying situation into doubt. Not every GLBT person is a stark raving activist. For many of us, it’s just a small part of who we are…

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