“No matter what you think about Lee personally, he couldn’t be trusted to run another search for either football or men’s basketball,†a source close to the situation said. “That (2006 search) was an embarrassment for everyone associated with N.C. State, and I think it will remain Lee’s most identifying moment. And that’s just not good.â€
We are usually pretty quick to point out mistakes, inaccuracies and general bad work from the ‘mainstream media’ – last Sunday’s articles in the N&O/Chlt Observer and just about anything from the awful WRAL blog community immediately come to mind.
So, when someone comes along and really gets it right we owe it to them and to you to praise them and make sure that you see it!
In a fantastic article that we heavily encourage you to traffic and read by clicking here, the ACC Sports Journal has somehow figured out how to write an honest, detailed and insightful piece on many of the ‘intangibles’ of the Lee Fowler ‘debate’ that the rest of the media never could see fit to publicly approach.
In the article, the ACCSJ doesn’t spend too much time on the statistics and numbers that highlight NC State’s Athletics struggles; and, as an SFN reader, you don’t need that kind of regurgitation. Instead, the article hits a home run reminding all of the clueless media observes (and few fans of other schools) who choose to ignore the obvious struggles of the department and feign bewilderment wondering, “what did Lee Fowler do – or not do – that was so bad.”
ACCSJ just ticks right down the list with balanced, well-written reminders of many of the developments that the rest of the media have chosen to conveniently ignore for years – from the ‘bungled 34-day search for Sendek’s replacement in 2006’ to giving proper credit for fund raising to the organization that is actually responsible for fund raising to Fowler’s infamous ‘Cougars’ phone call to A LOT more…the article is a welcome breath of common sense, honesty, balance and fresh air.
All of ^this, and they still don’t have time to mention:
(1) the awful academic performance of the Athletics Department as often highlighted by Chancellor Woodson;
(2) Fowler’s unwillingness to fire Chuck Amato forcing the Board of Trustees to mandate a change; (3) bungling of the Carter-Finley expansion that required the Wolfpack Club to step in to finish the project;
(4) the ‘done-on-the-cheap’ Doak Field project that was obsolete before it began;
(5) the Department’s inability to find ways to increase revenues during a period that other ACC schools grew at a much quicker rate;
(6) awful performance and perspective in the industry of the Sports Information Department;
(7) and the putrid state of affairs of morale amongst the employees of the Athletics Department.
…just to name a few.
Even if you don’t want to read the piece, please click on the link so that ACCSJ can get traffic and get the message that providing quality product will be rewarded.
But it’s about even more. If Amato was fired, in part, because of the silliness that routinely emanated from his mouth, Fowler’s legacy should be remembered for some of his doozies as well.
When asked in March about his job security – and a “For Sale†sign in his front yard – he said, “They had me fired about seven times, too,†speaking of State fans, whom he has chastised publicly several times. “I put my house on the market because our house is 4,200 square feet and our kids are out of the house.â€
He once referred to State fans on the internet as the “lunatic fringe,†and when Sendek guided State to the Sweet 16 in 2005, after a 7-9 ACC mark, Fowler said, “You know, I really haven’t heard much this week from a lot of the people that I’ve been hearing from recently.â€
And who will ever forget Fowler’s phone call to a local radio station to engage in a discussion about the “hottest cougars†in show business?
Post-script: With Lee Fowler’s departure, new Chancellor Woodson and all of the buzz of conference expansion the summer of 2010 is anything but a typical ‘slow summer’. So, we hope that you are taking the opportunity to follow and discuss everything in more real-time by being an active member of our growing message board community. Please click here and look around some. We really want to continue growing the participation here as we head into football season.
