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Support
Several times on my radio show and on this blog I have mentioned administrative support of Clemson athletics and have promised more on this subject even as late as Tuesday.

I usually try focus on the positives around the programs but a few times a year I felt moved to call out where I think the university or athletic department have made mistakes. Hopefully it is taken as constructive criticism but I have found out that most don’t take it that way.

Usually when I write such blogs I get bad looks in the halls of Jervey Athletic Department or the McFadden building. I still have a few members of the athletic department that won’t look me in the eye because of the AARC stuff or the Bowden stuff last year.

I still consider many of those people friends but I love Clemson more than I love those people so I feel OK in trying to help with these types of blogs. Creating awareness was the right thing to do in the AARC case and the relationships I lost were worth it in the end. The Bowden thing last year hurt but in the end things worked out for the best. I was comfortable with both of those blogs and am comfortable with this one as well.

First let me be clear that information I have compiled for this blog came mostly from former head coaches and assistant coaches at Clemson. I try not to jeopardize the current relationships with the current staffs.

Also, many of the changes I first mentioned last year have happened. The administrators at Clemson have tried. They are getting more involved and getting more personally invested. One former coach told me last year that he doubted if the athletic director knew all of his assistant coaches names. This has changed because the top administrators are getting more personally invested in some of the Olympic coaches.

There was a time where several of the former assistant coaches for the Olympic sports felt there programs did not matter to the higher ups. Senior administrators did not show interest in their programs according to many. For example, when Chuck Kriese coached his last tennis match last year, Kyle Young was the only athletic director that showed up. The match was against South Carolina and it was the end of a long career and only one senior administrator showed up to support a legend in his last match.

When Bob Pollack won the ACC coach of the year, he found the plaque left on his chair. No ceremony. No handshake. No raise or congratulations. Just a plaque on his chair. I think that is a heck of a way to find out that you won the award.

This is an example of the little things that have driven some of these coaches crazy for several years. The little things make the difference.

In my opinion Clemson has made three major mistakes when it comes to personnel within the athletic department. They should have never fired Danny Ford. They should have never fired Jim Davis and they should have never fired Bob Pollack.

The football program struggled for years because of the bad decision on Ford. The women’s basketball program still has not recovered. I am a Clemson track fan and will support the new coach so I hope the program will not suffer the same fate as the football or women’s basketball program.

Besides those three personnel decisions, my main complaint is support. I have already touched on the support on the little things in the Olympic sports but football and basketball feels the same way. Believe me, Dabo Sweeney and Oliver Purnell are not totally satisfied with the support they receive either.

My major beef is with the big support. Clemson talks the talk but seldom walks the walk. I think the Board of Trustees, the president and the administration wants to win but have not done what it takes to win at the highest level. They think they want to win but are not “All In” and totally committed.

I am almost certain that Oliver Purnell is not going to Alabama but if money were important to him he could make more money in Tuscaloosa. Alabama’s new coach will make more than Purnell is making at Clemson.

I love Dabo and would have hired him too but when faced with the last hire of their current football coach Alabama refused to take no for an answer and ended up giving Nick Saban $32 million dollars.

When Alabama fired their women’s golf coach they targeted my friend Mick Potter at Furman. They came close to doubling his salary and refused to take no for an answer.

When they were looking for a new women’s soccer coach Alabama targeted Clemson’s Todd Bramble. They came close to doubling his salary and refused to take no for an answer.

I am supporting the new track staff but Clemson went out and hired an assistant. I will support the new men’s tennis coach but Clemson hired an assistant. I hope these guys will win championships and this is in no way an indictment against these coaches. I don’t know anything about them and wish them luck. The point is that Alabama is “All In.” Clemson says they are “All In.”

Now those are my opinions and are open for debate. I am not saying my opinion is an absolute truth here. But I do know the facts and the facts are that Clemson won 45 ACC championships in the 1980s. That number declined to 29 in the 1990s. So far this decade Clemson has won 14 ACC titles. Clemson has won three ACC titles in the last five years (baseball in 2006, Volleyball in 2007 and Women’s tennis in 2008).

Maybe most are like some in the administration but I care about Clemson track. I love Clemson golf. I go to soccer games and volleyball matches. It is also a fact my friends and I go to more Clemson sporting events than top Clemson athletic department administrators.

But maybe we should not blame the athletic department. Maybe it is the overall administration that deserves blame. Clemson University has increased its spending by over $300 million dollars over the last five years. The spending has almost doubled at the university over the last six or seven years.

The athletic department is not the most important aspect of the university but it is a revenue producer. Do you think the athletic department’s budget has doubled over the last six or seven years?

Clemson’s office of advancement is about getting Clemson in the top 20 of a magazine ranking public schools and their budget has skyrocketed in recent years. Do you think Clemson’s athletic department would have won more championships with the athletic department’s budget would have increased at this rate? Do you think you football would have been better had the West Zone been built when they told Bowden it was going to be built. By the way, it still is not finished.

Just one example of this came recently in football. Dabo submitted a budget when he was hired. He took less money for himself in order to hire more support personnel. Recently, Dabo was turned down on who he wanted to hire on that support staff. Do you think Alabama would have turned down Saban after they promised him something?

We can say we are “All In” but the facts point out otherwise. I apologize to those who I know will be upset by this. I have put this blog off and have tried to walk on egg shells but if you are going to talk the talk of championships then eventually you have to walk the walk.

The Brad Hughes All-State Insurance Agency

Prayer List
We have started a prayer list on the blog. Here are the guidelines:
*If you are offended by prayer or prayer lists then I apologize in advance. The blog is free and the prayer list will be on the bottom of the page so you don’t have to read it.
*If you would like to add someone to the list please e-mail me at mickeyplyler@hotmail.com
*If you want the reason for the prayer to be added to the name please specify in your e-mails.
*Please let me know when it is appropriate to take the person off of the prayer list

Those who need our prayers include:
Finn Brookover, Mrs. Kathleen Bowers, Larry in Naples, FL, RTG-Pawsitive Tiger, Mary-Louise Pawlowski (John's daughter), Sandy Wright, Jo Ann Bachman, Frank Taylor, Kenneth Bryant, Pruitt Martin, Got igers and his family, David Rowland, Leonard Gillespie and his family, Jim S, Christine Hepfer, Daniel Rosborough, Amy Murphey, Jack Huffman, Nancy Winkler, Dr. Nancy Strom Morgan, Edward Putman, John Reeve, Eileen Woodrum, Ethel Southard, Anna Rawl, Vinnie Brock, Jean-Pierre Bailey, Kaitlyn L, Fariba Kamalabadi, Jamaloddin Khanjani, Afif Naemi, Saeid Rezaie, Mahvash Sabet, Behrouz Tavakkoli, Vahid Tizfahm,Vincent Lee.

Comments:

"Believe me, Dabo Sweeney and Oliver Purnell are not totally satisfied with the support they receive either."

Can you find the error? I can ...Swinney.

Posted by EvenFive on March 26, 2009 at 10:01 AM EDT #

"Believe me, Dabo Sweeney and Oliver Purnell are not totally satisfied with the support they receive either."

Can you find the error? I can ...Swinney.

Posted by EvenFive on March 26, 2009 at 10:05 AM EDT #

I love Clemson. I want to see us be successful in all facets of the university. But it is painful to see a segment of our fan base complain because our president has high academic goals for the university. What's worse is that they assume that the high academic goals somehow compromise athletic success. Since when is it an either-or situation?

Moreover, what has Barker done to suggest that he does not care about Clemson athletics? Last time I checked, his 10-year plan includes multiple athletic goals. Our athletic facility improvements since he has been president are unrivaled by any other era in Clemson history. Oh yeah, and he and his wife attend many athletic events.

Some of you need to get a grip. Clemson isn't perfect, but choosing to accept some sort of conspiracy theory by the administration to undermine athletics because of a "magazine ranking" is beyond stupid.

Posted by Judge Keller on March 26, 2009 at 10:30 AM EDT #

Some people don't care about academic goals, they are only interested in winning games, specifically football. Some people want to let the football staff do ANYTHING necessary in order to win. All student applicants should have to meet the same admission requirements regardless of their athletic ability.

Clemson does not exist to field athletic teams.

Posted by baseball fan on March 26, 2009 at 10:47 AM EDT #

EvenFive - Thanks for digging thru 2000+ words to find that spelling error... I can only hope you grasped the major points.

And by the way, 5 is odd.

Posted by tigerP94 on March 26, 2009 at 10:50 AM EDT #

Judge - you make a great point, it does not have to be an either-or situation. Clemson should be striving to be Top 20 and higher in academics, research, athletics, and everything related!
The good news is (I think) we are trying in all areas and gaining in most.

Posted by tigerP94 on March 26, 2009 at 10:55 AM EDT #

How bad does the Clemson admin want championships in athletics? YOU GET WHAT YOU GO AFTER! They want to be a Top 20 public university and they have that now. Great job there...but...until they have a passion for athletics to excel, it won't happen!

Posted by tigerdawg3 on March 26, 2009 at 11:06 AM EDT #

Your annual rant about this is always amusing. Clemson University is not all about ACC titles. It would be nice to win some more, but we are just in one of those down cycles that happen. Could we do better? Sure, but I would rather my degree mean more nationally than for the Olympic sports to be spending lots of money on new staff. Mickey, you need some perspective on what makes this University great.

Posted by GAtiger2012 on March 26, 2009 at 11:06 AM EDT #

GAtiger2012...can't we have both? Why does one have to be sacrificed for the other? Can't we be great in both? Can't the 2 be married? Or do we simply have to choose one and neglect the other? Academics vs. Athletics...there certainly is more to sports than W's and L's...but there's also more to being a productive citizen/great employee than a piece of paper or GPA. Whether you like it or not, tons of money is generated for the university THROUGH athletics so that you can have a quality education. The both go hand in hand.

Posted by tigerdawg3 on March 26, 2009 at 11:17 AM EDT #

Posted by tigerdawg3 on March 26, 2009 at 11:18 AM EDT #

Mickey,

You are dead on with this article. Hopefully it will have the same reaction that the AARC article elicited. As a proud Clemson Alum, I'm sick of the mediocrity that has infested our athletic department. Either we need to get serious about winning championships, or I will seriously direct my IPTAY giving somewhere else. I love Clemson, but I don't appreciate being lied to.

Posted by Spring91Tiger on March 26, 2009 at 11:50 AM EDT #

According to U.S. News and World Report, Clemson is the #22 ranked public university & there are 7 universities ranked ahead of this report that also finished in the final football top 25 poll...they are Cal, GT, Texas, Penn St., Florida, Ohio St., and Georgia. I'd love to see a comparison of those athletic departments commitment to athletics and our own administration.

Posted by tigerdawg3 on March 26, 2009 at 12:09 PM EDT #

Better yet, we are 63rd after the Spring Sears Trophy standings release for overall athletic excellence...63rd!!!! What's worse is that we are ranked the 10th best ACC athletics program according to the Sears standings, barely ahead of N.C. St....10th!!!! out of 12...THAT'S NOT GOOD ENOUGH!! We would be the 9th best in the SEC... These athletics departments are ranked ahead of us as well...Kansas, Rice, James Madison, Hawaii, Oklahoma, Louisville, Purdue, New Mexico, Villanova, UConn, TCU, Iowa St., Northern Iowa, Harvard, NOrthwestern, Colorado, Arizona, Utah, Boise St., Okla. St., Arizona St., Texas Tech, Indiana, UCLA, BYU, Princeton, Missouri, West Virginia, Iowa, Mich. St., Texas A&M, Ohio St., Nebraska, Illinois, Southern Cal, Notre Dame, Washington, Wisconsin, Michigan, Cal, Texas, Oregon, Penn St., Minnesota, & the top dog...Stanford.

Posted by tigerdawg3 on March 26, 2009 at 12:12 PM EDT #

Looking at the above list, there are plenty of models to look at that are equal or better than us academically that are also better than us as a whole, athletically...we have work to do!

Posted by tigerdawg3 on March 26, 2009 at 12:13 PM EDT #

tigerdawg3 - I agree that we can have success both academically and athletically, and I believe that the administration wants that. My point is that many of the people complaining about the lack of recent ACC titles are assuming that Clemson has sacrificed athletic success in order to increase the academic reputation of the university. When you look at the facts, that simply doesn't hold water.

Posted by Judge Keller on March 26, 2009 at 12:20 PM EDT #

While I like Barker and admit that he has done a lot for Clemson over the years, he has grown comfortable in his position and is not handling things as effectively as before. A lot of things that are not optimal are going on right under his nose (salary issues, real estate deal benefits, disgruntled staff and faculty. Matching that with TDP whose personality is...well, missing, we are not building a balanced university with being #1 as goals in both venues. We change US presidents every 4 or 8 years...here is another place change is needed.

Posted by TigerGrad'93 on March 26, 2009 at 12:23 PM EDT #

Knowing this is a begining. How to change it is the next step. I want Clemson University to be the best of both worlds (academic and sports). I want to be proud for frequent and on-going accomplishments on both fronts. So, the next step is . . .

Posted by AThomas on March 26, 2009 at 12:25 PM EDT #

Judge Keller...what, in your opinion, is the missing piece to the puzzle? How do we achieve the level of athletic success we had during the 806s or even 90's? Are we to believe that athletics trumped academics at that time or did we have both?

Posted by tigerdawg3 on March 26, 2009 at 12:29 PM EDT #

Thanks for having the courage to write this Mickey. We need people that will tell the TRUTH when it comes to this administration. Something has to change NOW!!!

Posted by HistoryBuff on March 26, 2009 at 12:43 PM EDT #

Ya'll are missing the point. Leaving an ACC Coach of the Year Plaque on someone's chair? Not attending someone's last coaching gig? Promising funds for Dabo after he took a HUGE pay cut (I know he hasn't earned anything yet but he could've gotten more than 800K)... These acts are inexcusable and unbelievable. I suspect that they are true but I don't know. Obviously we don't have money to compete with Bama for a soccer coach, but we CAN do the little things. It's truly a shame that Clemson Athletics, as a whole, has fallen so far.

Posted by mjm on March 26, 2009 at 12:58 PM EDT #

What's the matter with Dr. Nancy Strom Morgan, she was my daughter's pedetrician and I never knew what happened to her. Thanks

Posted by lamar on March 26, 2009 at 01:00 PM EDT #

I played three sports basically my whole life. Just football in college at Davidson. You can damn sure bet none of my teams ever lined to just 'play'. We 'played' to win the games. Give the teams the tools to win. Everybody hates losing, and those that don't, their the losers.

Posted by olballplayer on March 26, 2009 at 01:06 PM EDT #

"I am supporting the new track staff but Clemson went out and hired an assistant. I will support the new men’s tennis coach but Clemson hired an assistant."

Your next sentence should have been "I am supporting the new football staff but Clemson went out and hired an assistant." I'm so sick of the pass that Dabo gets from the local media because of the previous relationship you all had with him. He was not the man for the job and it will show in the near future. Just as with Alabama, Clemson should have not taken NO for an answer from a coach with experience in winning championships!

Posted by clemson_tiger29678 on March 26, 2009 at 02:12 PM EDT #

"I am supporting the new track staff but Clemson went out and hired an assistant. I will support the new men’s tennis coach but Clemson hired an assistant."

Posted by clemson_tiger29678 on March 26, 2009 at 02:18 PM EDT #

Comparing ourselves to an institution like Alabama as the way to act is scary. This is a team that just a couple of years ago paid 6 figures and an escalade to get a D-lineman they wanted.

Personally, I would rather not just throw huge sums of money at people in the hopes they work out. TDP has a track record of great hires WITHOUT throwing huge sums of money around.

Must be nice to have a virtually unlimited bankroll like Alabama, Texas, Florida, Southern Cal but we don't. We have a fraction of the alumni they do and we have to make smart fiscal decisions when it comes to hiring coaches.

Now, Mickey, if you want to get off your smug soapbox and pay the millions of dollars required to "not take no for an answer," then, please feel free.

Otherwise, please shut up.

Posted by VegasTigerGrad on March 26, 2009 at 03:19 PM EDT #

Comparing ourselves to an institution like Alabama as the way to act is scary. This is a team that just a couple of years ago paid 6 figures and an escalade to get a D-lineman they wanted.

Personally, I would rather not just throw huge sums of money at people in the hopes they work out. TDP has a track record of great hires WITHOUT throwing huge sums of money around.

Now, Mickey, if you want to get off your smug soapbox and pay the millions of dollars required to "not take no for an answer," then, please feel free.

Otherwise, please shut up.

Posted by VegasTigerGrad on March 26, 2009 at 03:21 PM EDT #

VegasTigerGrad you only focused on a small part of what MP was saying.

Sounds like there is some respect and recognition issues with Pollock and Kriese. How many more? It is a problem that sounds like it goes deeper than hires and salaries.

Posted by AThomas on March 26, 2009 at 03:43 PM EDT #

You are spot on dude. I see no one yet has challenged your point about the athletic department's budget. University spending has doubled over 6 years to $300 million. The Office of Advancement's budget has increased during this time period, but the athletic department's budget has not increased, at least not at the same rate. This clearly demonstrates where are priorities are right now, and despite what people on here are disputing with you, academics is taking top priority. Writing athletic goals on paper and actually walking the walk are two totally different things.

Posted by Paws4Effect on March 26, 2009 at 04:32 PM EDT #

tigerdawg3 - I think the missing piece has been getting the right coaches in place. We can do thorough national searches and pay competitive salaries (we do both), but if we don't hire the best coach then it is all for naught. TDP has made excellent hires as far as I'm concerned.

VegasTigerGrad - your post is spot on! Alabama's history of "athletics first" - to the tune of cheating and scandals - is not something I want at Clemson.

Paws4Effect - do you have a problem with academics taking top priority? I don't, since we are Clemson UNIVERSITY. That doesn't mean that athletics can't be a priority, because they can (and should) be. But the top priority? No thanks.

Posted by Judge Keller on March 26, 2009 at 04:47 PM EDT #

President Barker is clearly a strong proponent that Clemson can be strong in both academics and athletics. He recognizes that is when Clemson is at its best. His performance report to Board of Trustees covers both academics and athletics.He wants continual improvement in both academic and athletics and is trying to be our leader in that regard.

Posted by 3putt on March 26, 2009 at 06:26 PM EDT #

Jim Davis was a good fire. He was losing his team and time after time he couldn't compete verse the best talent. I'm not talking about the solid teams in the ACC, but the elite. He could never in the 4 years while I was at Clemson come within 30 pts of Duke and UNC. NEVER. I went to the Games to support a friend of mine so I watched them play. They were tentative and the offense was anemic. Winning 18-20 games a year in Women’s Basketball isn’t good. That would be winning 12-15 games a year in the Men’s ACC.

Posted by jgreenaw79 on March 26, 2009 at 07:52 PM EDT #

some of you people are idiots with this "Clemson is not about athletics, and winning Championships" crap. An athletic department is there to win championships and make money, President Barker has mentioned his desire for the university to win Championships numerous times. Clemson should strive to win championships and do what is necessary to do that. If that means pay the coaches more, then we need to do that. You are flat out crazy, hard-headed, or misinformed if you believe otherwise. The University's academic side benefits from a positive and successful athletic program. University applications go up when the football team is successful and on TV regularly, with more applications Clemson is able to select higher qualified students.

Posted by BleedsOrange on March 26, 2009 at 08:38 PM EDT #

Mickey - I agree with much of what you say, but you forgot to call out the fan base including yourself. Part of the reason the administration doesn't act like they fully support the non-rev sports is because the fan base doesn't act they fully support non-rev sports. I don't know how many times I've posted on Tigernet and got a response like "who cares, football and basketball is all that matters." The fact is that until the fan base steps up, then the non-rev sports won't get as much admin support. I'll give you an example - you paint a rather daunting picture of the hires of a couple assistant coaches. However, you admit in the article that you know very little about these coaches. Do you think if you supported non-rev sports the way you do Football and Men's BKB then you would know a little more about who we hired for a HEAD COACH?

I hope your post inspires fans to become more involved in non-rev sports. The fans have to take some responsibility too.

Posted by kgpittm on March 26, 2009 at 09:49 PM EDT #

Has anyone tried to park for the olympic sport events? You can't park anywhere. The Clemson Parking Nazi is out in full force.

Posted by jgreenaw79 on March 26, 2009 at 11:31 PM EDT #

Mickey - Thanks for having the guts to put yourself "out there". If indeed the stories about Kriese and Pollack are true, some serious changes should be made in the AD. There is NO EXCUSE for this lack of support.I agree that the problem is also with the administration and BOD. It's great the say you have the stated athletic goals _Final Four, etc), but to actually show the support needed for this is a different story.

Posted by 1983Grad on March 27, 2009 at 03:41 PM EDT #

Mickey,you are right on on your blog.If Barker continues to get his way,we will be a mediocre athletic program at best.For you academic people,is 7-5 or 8-4 good enough for you in football?I can tell you that a lot of fans are not satisfied at all with this kind of record.The only acceptable record ends with us being ACC champions not just in football but in all sports across the board.If changes do not occur under Barker,our overall athletic program will be mediocre to bad in the next few years.If this latest hire in football fails,Barker abnd TDP shpuld be the first fired.

Posted by cubobby80 on March 29, 2009 at 07:06 PM EDT #

Mick great blog post, this needed to be said. You have come a long way from your first recruiting pub. Clemson needs a voice like yours to help focus attention on our deficiencies. It confirmed what I have suspected for sometime, we are not interested in winning BIG or winning Olympic Sports. It is the reason I am critical of tdp's track record of NOT producing conf championships. it is the reason that i have stopped sending in thousands of dollars to iptay.

it is sad when duke and wake seem to want to win more than us.

when it comes to winning you start with great coaches. well maybe, as you say, you start one step removed with great support to insure you get great coaches and the infrastructure to support them.

i like that we are headed to top 20 academic status. i hate that we will not focus the same/equal energy to become top 20 athletic status.

you CAN have both. it is called BALANCE.

Posted by Ga Tyger on March 30, 2009 at 08:42 AM EDT #