Two Big Administrative Announcements: Fowler Gets Extension, Radio Switches to 101.5FM

Campus News General Media NC State Administration99

One good announcement; one bad announcement.

First, the good news. NC State has entered the 21st century of FM radio coverage.

NC State officials announced today that an agreement has been reached involving its rights holder, Wolfpack Sports Marketing, and Capitol Broadcasting Corporation to partner with CBC station Mix 101.5 WRAL-FM. The agreement moves Wolfpack sports programming to the FM side of the dial and solidifies NC State’s flagship radio partnership through the 2016-2017 seasons.

Mix 101.5 WRAL FM is one of the most powerful (100,000 watt) and popular stations in the Triangle and surrounding areas. Radio broadcasts for the Football and Men’s Basketball season will move to Mix 101.5 starting with the NC State vs. Central Florida football match-up on Sept. 1. “Our relationship with NC State has been a great one over the years and we are extremely excited about expanding our affiliation with the University through this radio broadcast agreement,” Jim Goodmon, President of CBC said.

WCMC 99.9-FM will carry the weekly Tom O’Brien and Sidney Lowe coach’s call-in shows on Monday nights. The first Tom O’Brien show will debut on Monday, August 26, 2007. The Wolfpack Sports Network’s coverage of the ACC Men’s Basketball Tournament will also be carried on WCMC-FM, with the exception of NC State games broadcast on Mix 101.5 WRAL FM.

Now, the horrible news.

Lee Fowler, N.C. State’s athletics director since 2000, has signed a contract extension through 2013.

Wow.

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99 Responses to Two Big Administrative Announcements: Fowler Gets Extension, Radio Switches to 101.5FM

  1. noah 04/25/2007 at 4:38 PM #

    The sound of crappy AM static and NC State sports are so married together in my mind, I’m not sure how I’ll handle the non-mono, non-garbled sound of a football or basketball game.

  2. pakfanistan 04/25/2007 at 4:40 PM #

    Woop, now no NC State coach has to fear mediocrity. The future is bright gentlepersons.

  3. redfred2 04/25/2007 at 4:48 PM #

    To borrow from noah’s post, and put both topics together, with one minor change:

    “The sound of crappy AD static and NC State sports are so married together in my mind,”….”

  4. redfred2 04/25/2007 at 4:54 PM #

    LAKE…HOUSE, LAKE…HOUSE, LAKE…HOUSE!!!

  5. GAWolf 04/25/2007 at 5:22 PM #

    State wasn’t so generous with me as a student when I struggled getting good results…

  6. GAWolf 04/25/2007 at 5:24 PM #

    Y’all used to get to listen to basketball and football games on the radio? Not in Raleigh…

  7. Texpack 04/25/2007 at 5:50 PM #

    My Dad had a big boxy radio with vacuum tubes in it in the 60’s and early 70’s. The only reason he kept it around is that it would pick up WPTF 150 miles from Raleigh in SC. I learned how to concentrate and focus by listening to the lousy static filled AM signal of WPTF. Stan Fritts’ 50+ yard TD run against Nebraska is the play I associate most with that radio.

    Sidney and Tom O’Brien better work out since Captain Mediocrity is going to be in Raleigh for a long time.

  8. Dr. BadgerPack 04/25/2007 at 6:35 PM #

    Look on the bright side; Fowler shouldn’t have to hire a coach in a revenue sport for a long time, and apparently he has someone intelligent chirping in his ear on a good number of his non-revenue sport hires. If he could get a birdie with some media sense chirping in the other ear, we’d be in respectable shape (don’t know why I’m on the bird analogy today).

  9. kbstokes09 04/25/2007 at 6:35 PM #

    When will Lee Fowler critics realize that he is a great AD? Yes, he had trouble landing a big-name basketball coach, but I got to listen to him talk in class just the other day and there are sooooooooooo many problems NC State could have, like several other universities, that we don’t thanks to him. For example, schools left and right are dropping sports and screwing their budgets up because of compliance issues and laws such as Title IX that hinder the sports. NC State is fortunate for two reasons: 1) The majority of our enrollment is male, so Title IX has less, although major, of an effect than say UNC or UNC-W, but 2) Fowler has placed enough attention on olympic sports and women’s sports so that they are not only properly funded, but receive much more financing than other schools bother to give to these sports, while at the same time maintaining proper finances for our goals in football and men’s basketball. But I know nobody cares about any sports other than men’s basketball and football, so let’s look at that. We have Sidney Lowe, who despite about 7 or 8 (check that) denials, we still landed who we wanted. And for football, we have a coach is considered by many the best hire for the 2007-2008 season, and at WORST we are guaranteed a more disciplined, well-behaved, academically better group of guys. So please tell me, considering where we are right now in NC State athletics, why is it necessary to whine and complain about every one of Lee Fowler’s actions? And as much as us bloggers want to complain about what he said a month or so ago, he was right. People get up here and misconstrue things as much as they get things right, so what made his comments so terrible? The fact is, NC State is wealthy thanks in part to Lee Fowler, NC State is in compliance thanks in part to Lee Fowler, and NC State is headed towards a Golden Age in many areas of athletics thanks…in part… to Lee Fowler.

  10. kbstokes09 04/25/2007 at 6:41 PM #

    Oh and I forgot to mention… nearly everyone who works in the Athletics Department at State absolutely love their job because of him. I see one of the Assistant Athletic Directors (Shannon Yates – Game Operations) every Tuesday and Thursday and she has nothing but praiseworthy things to say about him, and she’s a straight shooter. If the people who see him everyday criticized him as much as we do online, don’t you think the turnover rate would be outrageous? The facts are that he’s a great employer and Director of Athletics.

  11. old13 04/25/2007 at 6:43 PM #

    I do not understand how a guy who, while first supporting mediocrity in the basketball program and then dragging the school’s public image through the mud, LUCKS INTO (not by plan or even his idea!) hiring Sid; takes any credit for hiring a football coach who came to him first through a head hunter that others required him to use (again not Foulup’s plan to pursue); continually insults alumni, fans and contributors to NCSU; and spends much more time promoting himself than NCSU athletics (which is his job!) can be retained. He’s the BIGGEST drag on NCSU athletics. Maybe Oblinger needs to take some courses in management and evaluation of personnel!

  12. Mr O 04/25/2007 at 6:45 PM #

    kbstokes09: I guess it depends on who deserves the credit for creating the revenue streams that are now available to our athletic department.

    Lee Fowler? Bobby Purcell? Members of the WPC? Or the largest donors that have given the large sum of money to renovate almost every facility on campus?

    Probably a combination of everyone but I honestly don’t know how much credit should go to Lee Fowler. Maybe a lot and maybe a little.

  13. kbstokes09 04/25/2007 at 6:50 PM #

    When did he promote himself? As Johnny Sack said last week on The Sopranos, “This is a thankless job.”

  14. kbstokes09 04/25/2007 at 6:53 PM #

    True Mr O, but how many donors specifically ask to send their money to the olympic sports? Nearly all of that money goes to the sports that they’re most interested in, such as football and basketball, but it takes proper delegation to make sure each of the other sports are well-funded. Take a look at ECU… they get very good funding for baseball and do decent in football, but they just dropped their men’s soccer program. Now I’m not sure if it’s because of Title IX compliance or money, but if money was NOT the issue, then they would have been able to add a women’s team to balance the ratio. You still must have proper delegation throughout the athletics department, but I do partly agree with what you’re saying about the donors and the WPC.

  15. WV Wolf 04/25/2007 at 6:54 PM #

    I posted this on the Pack Pride boards and thought I’d share here as well. I have no idea, based on our athletic program’s performance this year, how Uncle Jed rated an extension.

    Let’s take a look at how State’s programs have fared in the ACC this school year.

    Football: 2-6, 10th place
    Basketball(M): 5-11, 10th place
    Basketball(W): 10-4, 3rd place
    Baseball: 11-10, 6th place*
    Cross Country(M): 1st place, ACC champs
    Cross Country(W): 1st place, ACC champs
    Golf(M): 7th place
    Golf(W): 7th place
    Soccer(M): 1-6-1, 9th place
    Soccer(W): 3-7-0, 8th place
    Softball: 13-5, 2nd place*
    Swimming(M): 6th place
    Swimming(W): 11th place
    Tennis(M): 7th place
    Tennis(W): 8th place
    Indoor Track(M): 2nd place
    Indoor Track(W): 11th place
    Outdoor Track(M): 2nd place
    Outdoor Track(W): 10th place
    Volleyball: 0-22, 12th place
    Wrestling: 1st place, ACC champs

    Our ACC record in team sports this school year is 45-71-1 (.385), take out the 0-22 volleyball record and we’re still below .500.

    Our average finish in the ACC in 21 sports is 6.4 with 3 ACC titles. Even if you assume all 12 schools participate in those 21 sports (and not all do), State finished in the top half of the league (6th or higher) in only 9 of those 21 sports.

    Baseball and softball are still playing so these numbers will change.

  16. CarnifeX 04/25/2007 at 6:59 PM #

    I didn’t know we won Wrestling, nice. I hope we didn’t do it with any of those kids from Minnesota.

    Too soon?

    http://sports.espn.go.com/sports/news/story?id=2748372

  17. kbstokes09 04/25/2007 at 7:00 PM #

    Keep in mind the decision was made by him to make a change for the better in football, and both basketball and volleyball were in their first year of rebuilding. So, all the necessary adjustments have been made… now we wait for the results. Statistics can prove whatever point you’d like for them to prove.

  18. kbstokes09 04/25/2007 at 7:01 PM #

    Wow, now that sucks ^^

  19. milkman 04/25/2007 at 7:03 PM #

    Guys I wonder if they will stream the games online…101.5 streams the regular radio online….it would be sweet if we can get the games in places like CA where I am at!!!

  20. PapaJohn 04/25/2007 at 7:29 PM #

    I heard a rumor they are keeping the same coverage guys. Would anyone besides me be happy to find someone new? I’d love to have some wild-eyed homer screaming for the team in a close ACC matchup. I know the current guys try to stay impartial – forget that, I’d love to see an alumnus who lives and dies with the team.

  21. redfred2 04/25/2007 at 8:11 PM #

    I own a business and the people who work for all say I’m great to work for. They don’t get a damn thing done, but I still pay them, and they love working with me. Just like Lee, what else could us good business managers want?

  22. old13 04/25/2007 at 8:16 PM #

    “Keep in mind the decision was made by him to make a change for the better in football . . .” Wrong – Foulup was directed to fire CTC.

  23. VaWolf82 04/25/2007 at 8:58 PM #

    Keep in mind the decision was made by him to make a change for the better in football

    You will never get me to believe this.

  24. packwolf90 04/25/2007 at 9:00 PM #

    There’s a lot of good things about Lee Fowler like…….he has a hot daughter…….and…..can’t think of any more.

  25. RAWFS 04/25/2007 at 10:08 PM #

    Hey guys, pardon me climbing up on my soapbox, but I’m really wired up from all the activity in my wife and my house search…we got a sale contract on our old place yesterday and we’ve got a solid offer in on a dream house off of the golf course at Eagle Ridge. But enough about me, except to say I am quite happy after the uncertainty of marketing a 25 year old home.

    Lee Fowler’s performance is admittedly mixed, but I think a lot of y’all should take a step back and realize that it could be a lot, lot worse. And Lee’s improving his performance, I think anyway.

    Lee is far better than Todd Turner, would you like to have him back?

    Lee is also, in my humble opinion, far better than Chuck Amato would have been had he been “promoted” out of the Murphy Center. Why? The more I learn about Amato’s recruiting tactics, I see that they dovetail with both his game management and personnel management: to be blunt, incompetent.

    We’ve learned for example, that Chuck never really built a solid relationship at Charlotte Independence, only the best football program in all of North Carolina, save possibly for Appalachian. Instead, Chuck was back home in Florida rounding up talented players who played for “I” — not The I or the team but “me myself and I.”

    But I digress. We have to give Fowler some credit for managing his end of the facilities upgrades effectively, for keeping the athletics department in the black, and yes, for not caving in to the whims of the fans every time they got mad and decided someone had to go. We can afford to be emotional and stomp our feet and demand change, but from a business and reputation standpoint, in some cases doing that would have been expensive and would have tarnished the reputation of a great school and its passionate fans.

    In other cases, yes, Lee should have made changes long before he did. Mary Byrne in women’s volleyball, for example. The men’s soccer coach. Some others too. But I have to be honest with you and say that firing Herb Sendek would have been a mistake of monumental proportions. The key boosters supported him. The faculty supported him. The press supported him — and it is the press that manages the perception of a given college athletic program, like it or not.

    By hook or crook, Lee got Sidney Lowe to come home. Serendipity? Absolutely after he bungled much of the first part of the search. Keep in mind, however, he almost got Rick Barnes away from one of the richest programs in college sports that wanted him to stay. Shortly after that, he didn’t run out and pay West Virginia’s John Beilein ransom. He was smart enough to effectively court Tom O’Brien once Chuck Neinas presented him. In short, once he got lucky and the second time he did it right.

    All in all, we could do worse. And Lee could do better, and I bet he would tell you that if he were candid…but the simple fact is that things ’round NC State revenue sports are better now than when he came. He deserves some credit and benefit of the doubt for it.

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