Turner was our AD through our self-imposed punishment. He’s a Carolina guy, and he’s obviously got the experience to lead them through the jungle of sanctions. I do not see a more reasonable choice for the position.
Like you’ve come to expect from SFN, here is a soothsayer-like discussion of Mr. Turner’s worthy resume that shows his propensity to ignore competition results in favor of off-the-field compliance.
Turner is just what the doctor ordered to restore North Carolinan’s confidence in UNC Athletics.
From his bio at University of Washington:
Turner previously held the position of athletic director at North Carolina State University and the University of Connecticut. He also worked in athletic administration at the University of Virginia.
As the athletics director at Washington, Turner oversees one of the nation’s most successful programs. It includes 23 sport programs with a $50.5 million annual budget. Approximately 650 student-athletes compete for Washington’s athletics teams, while the department includes a staff of 195. In the most recent NCAA graduation report, Washington student-athletes graduated at 84 percent, above the national average for Division I institutions and slightly ahead of the graduation rate for all UW students.
Turner has a reputation for being highly respected by his peers, and a leading advocate in the movement to bring academic reform to NCAA member institutions. After leaving Vanderbilt he continued to serve the NCAA as chair of the NCAA Management Council’s Working Group on Incentives and Disincentives tied to academic performance.
In 2004, his efforts on academic reform were felt when the NCAA implemented changes in academic requirements and eligibility restrictions aimed at improving graduation rates among student-athletes. The Incentives/Disincentives Working Group completed work on an academic reform proposal that includes raised initial and continuing academic eligibility requirements. That group developed an ambitious proposal to penalize schools based on poor academic performance.
Turner resigned from University of Washington in 2008 and left with the statement below regarding an alleged commitment to winning as reported by this article from the Seattle Times.
Turner said he would never say winning is not important, “but the message that our students hear, that our coaches hear, that our leadership hears from the general run-of-the-mill fan is that the only thing we really care about is how many games they win. And I have to look at that after 32 years of doing this and say ‘wow, is that really what we are all about? Have I been that naïve all this period of time? I have been spending all my time on the student-athlete experience and trying to create better lives for people and the proper place in higher education when all I should have been worrying about is how many games we’ve won.’ Why didn’t I go to the NFL if that’s all it’s about.’’’
From another article by the Seattle Times, a UW official had this to say about Turner:
Emmert praised the job Turner did in “getting the ship upright. We are in much better shape than we were four years ago. … The program was in many ways in great disarray, and Todd’s done a great job of turning that all around. But we also have a lot of other things that need to get done in the athletic program, and for me this is a question if this is the right fit for Todd at this stage of his career.”
Aren’t those statements essentially the “anti-Butch?” Hire him yesterday, Heels. Turner can certainly fix what ails you.
Turner is apparently now working as a Collegiate Coach headhunter via Collegiate Sports Associates.
