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OK… here’s how to do this….
John Swofford is age 66…
… and if you think less of his intellectual skills… you might remember that he was a Morehead Scholar. Most of you know what that requires.Time is our friend…
Two – three years maximum… maybe… there’s a big “retirement” party…. same group as Coach Rat, Uncle Roy and the Basketsaurus Norte… although it’s worth noting that the first two ACC commissioners — Jim Weaver and Bob James both died while in office.
The next Commissioner of the ACC will be the fifth since 1954… that makes the average tenure 15 years… (Swofford is now in his 16th year)… so candidates best positioned might be ages 50++…
Bio on Bob James is sketchy… but the other three were all Athletic Directors at major schools immediately preceeding their election to Commissioner… Weaver(Virginia), Corrigan(Notre Dame), Swofford (*NC)…
There is perhaps some minor precedent of hiring from “outside” (Corrigan)… but it should be noted that Corrigan was the head lacrosse and soccer coach at Virginia prior to being AD at Notre Dame.
Traditionally six schools ( the Road plus Virgina and VaTech have voted as a block on most important matters.) With sixteen schools… the block controls 37.5% of the votes… enough to stop any action requiring a two thirds majority vote. The new commissioner would require the support of eleven (11) schools…
The “split” between the “the Block of Six” and the rest of the members has been an ingrained part of Conference tradition since the early days… and in no small part contributed to charter member South Carolina leaving the conference in 1971.
Expansion will also make it difficult if not impossible to elect the next Commissioner from a ‘new school’… i.e.,
Notre Dame, Syracuse, Pitt or Louisville… Notre Dame with zero chance unless they become a full conference member prior to the election.Upon closer examination… what all this history sets up is a perfect storm of ONE. One school from the Block of Six, if that school chose to, could “contol” the deciding vote…. if the election splits along these traditional lines.
So… it is quite possible that the Woodson/Yow team… could be sitting in the big chair…. since the one school that would have automatically vetoed that has removed themselves from the conversation (Maryland).
The key to that would be the successful rebuilding of the football and basketball programs under Coaches Doeren and Gott.
So tell me…. how does this sound….
“Mr. Chairman… with great confidence… I would like to nominate as the next Commissioner of the Atlantic Coast Conference…. the successful basketball Coach, respected Athletic Director… a women with vision… one of our own… Doctor Deborah A. Yow.”
The Campaign Committee is now organizing…
#NCSU-North Carolina's #1 FOOTBALL school!If we could just get someone from outside of the conference, that would be great. That would help put to bed the bias argument.
… one clarification for the history buffs…
The Block of Six originally was the Block of Four(Tobacco Road)…
There were seven charter members of the conference.
Virginia was admitted after the football season ended in 1953 becoming the eighth member…
And the Block of Four became the Block of Five…In 2004, when VaTech was admitted, the Block of Five became the Block of Six…
VaTech’s alignment with the Block of Five was most likely a condition of entry into the conference… but would have naturally occurred anyway…since the legislature in Richmond had joined the two schools at the hip… so to speak.
Will the Block of Six become the Block of Seven??
It will be interesting to see if any one of the four new schools… had the same deal as VaTech.None of this suggests… that from time to time over the years…. each school has not ‘occasionaly’ exercised it’s independence.
——————–More to point of the “next commissioner”…
No commissioner has been elected to date that did not have strong ties to the old Block of Five…
——————–This…
“The key to that would be the successful rebuilding of the football and basketball programs under Coaches Doeren and Gott.”
should be edited to read…The successful rebuilding of the football and basketball programs under Coaches Doeren and Gott would go a very long way in cementing Woodson/Yow’s claim to the Big Chair.
——————–
Bilas ??? You GOTT to be kidding….
#NCSU-North Carolina's #1 FOOTBALL school!More to point of the “next commissioner”…
No commissioner has been elected to date that did not have strong ties to the old Block of Five…Has there been a commissioner with strong ties to NC State?
..paky… that’s not automatically a ‘yes’ or ‘no’ question…
The first two Commissioners — Jim Weaver and Bob James — were part-time positions…
Gene Corrigan (1987) was the first full-time Commissioner.Understanding that… it may be safe to say that prior to 1987… the College Presidents played a much larger role in conference affairs which were also much less complex than today.
Secondly… background information on Bob James is difficult to find… except for one comment that indicated James was primarily a people person and did what the Presidents told him to do.
So given that…
In the beginning (1952-53)… there were at least two guys in the mix that perhaps played the biggest roles… Eddie Cameron at Duke and Everette Case at NCState.
After Case’s retirement in the 1960’s, the leading Presidents were our own and beloved Dr. John Caldwell (who had done his Masters work at Duke ) and Dr. Chris Fordham (*NC) who by all accounts enjoyed a very close working relationship for many years.
Combined with Cameron who did not retire as Duke’s AD until 1972, — and not to diminish the roles of other key figures — these three may well have acted as an ‘informal’ executive committee within the Block of Five. The majority (3) of the majority(5) — if you like…
So… I think we can say prior to 1975 ( when Dr. Caldwell retired ), NC State had strong ties to the top levels of the Conference and was treated fairly with respect to Conference administration.
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As we all know firsthand…
What happened in subsequent years… cannot be viewed objectively without placing much of the (pick any word you choose) on those working over in Holladay Hall.
—————Get your Dr. Debbie for Commissioner… yard signs, hats, t-shirts and bumper stickers now!
#NCSU-North Carolina's #1 FOOTBALL school!Bilas ??? You GOTT to be kidding….
I believe Pitino publicly campaigned for Bilas as the new Big East commish. He’s bright, engaged, takes a strong stance on NCAA issues, and lives in Charlotte as a practicing attorney. Obvious Duke slant. Not saying he’d be interested, but just thought I’d add that.
^ hadn’t heard that…
1. No Coaching experience.
2. No Athletics Administration experience.
3. Nothing personal to anyone here.. but he’s a lawyer…=== doesn’t fit the historical model…
But that’s not to say … it’s not possible and that Bilas wouldn’t do a ‘good’ job.
First thing is … NOT taking the Big East indicates some sense of “good judgement”…
As important, he’s definitely the ‘brightest’ amongst the sports journalists… and, quite frankly, I like a lot of his thinking about the impending revolution in collegiate athletics.
Bilas’s “vision of the future” could be a plus and a minus… at the same time.
—————
Nevertheless… let’s run Dr. Debbie for Commissioner up the flagpole and see if anybody else salutes…
#NCSU-North Carolina's #1 FOOTBALL school!Nevertheless… let’s run Dr. Debbie for Commissioner up the flagpole and see if anybody else salutes…
That raises the question, who would be the AD?
Jim Delaney, the Big 10 commish, is an attorney:
The 64-year old Delany is a native of South Orange, N.J. He received his undergraduate degree in political science from the University of North Carolina in 1970 and juris doctorate degree from the University of North Carolina School of Law in 1973. At UNC, Delany was a three-year member of the varsity basketball team, serving as tri-captain in 1970. As a Tar Heel, Delany twice participated in NCAA Final Four competition.
After earning his law degree, Delany served as counsel for the North Carolina Senate Judiciary Committee from 1973 to 1974, and was staff attorney for the North Carolina Justice Department from 1974 to 1975.
Delany’s distinguished career in administering intercollegiate athletics began at the NCAA where he was employed as an enforcement representative from 1975-79. For the next decade, he served as commissioner of the Ohio Valley Conference.
“No Coaching experience.” – Bilas was an assistant under K while attending Duke Law school after his professional playing days in Europe.
Not that being a coach has anything to do with being a conference administrator. I would value experience as a D-1 athletic director over coaching experience; also, I think knowledge of contract law would be more valuable than many of the attributes commonly associated with an atheltics director.Not trying to rub anyone the wrong way, but I cannot in any light see Yow as the conference commissioner. I don’t know if she has the clout around the country (much more around the conference) that the conference would want in its commissioner. I could see a Ron Wellman type (if he wasn’t as old) before several of these other names. The Buz hire has hurt his rep a little bit, but he’s extremely well connected and respected nationally and, by all accounts, very bright when it comes to running a program. I know WF is a smaller school, but really, what does the commish have to do on a day-to-day basis? Probably less than Wellman even has to do on a day in and day out at WF.
This is all I can find.
03/07/2014 at 2:44 PM
comment pending …—————–
Have you tried cutting the post in half?thanks…Wolf82… check again… I reposted with same results…
or email me… or both…fwiw.. this one is only nine lines…
#NCSU-North Carolina's #1 FOOTBALL school!thanks…Wolf82… check again… I reposted with same results…<br>
or email me… or both…fwiw.. this one is only nine lines…
Simple solution, just post in nine line increments 😉
NO BLUE TIES WHATSOEVER. If we had any brains/testicles, we would be rallying the other member institutions around this one cardinal principle. But we won’t, just go along to get along, content with our place sucking exhaust in the worst major D-1 conference.
FWIW, my job has bored me of late, so I am willing and able to be drafted into the running. I have a law degree, and am paranoid by normal standards, but very even-keeled and rational by NC State standards. So long as I can dress like Huggy Bear. I am built for comfort, not speed (now that I’m 40).
Ok… Beej…
Here’s the preliminary qualifying exam…
1. What’s your golf handicap?
2. Bourbon, Scotch or Cold Beer?
3. Who was the greatest coach in ACC history?
4. Pick one… the game is…
a. all about the Kids.
b. SHOWTIME !! complete with ShowGirls and Clowns on the Benches !5. True / False…. It’s OK to offer Rocks for Jocks as long as it’s a easy A – geology class.
6. All things being equal… do you build a new stadium or pay your kids more under the table?
7. True / False… Scholarship Football and Basketball Athletes should never have to drive anywhere.
8. Do you consider it to be an automatic conflict of interest to hire friends and family or will you allow exceptions.
9. Can you attend at least one home game a year, football or basketball, at each member school?
10. Is it OK to consider you for other positions within the organization?
Please submit your carefully considered answers and we’ll see where this goes….
Thank you for your sincere interest in the position.
–The Search Committee
#NCSU-North Carolina's #1 FOOTBALL school!1) I can’t elevate the ball above mid-shin level.
2) Beer
3) Everett Case, duh
Will think on the rest, hee hee.
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