RT has slowly run our athletic program into the ground...

[Sending an SOS]

Say what you want, but...

1) He didn’t fire Holbrook until it was too late...

2) He still hasn’t fired Muschamp...

3) He won’t fire Martin after this year...

He is slowly imploding our athletic program.

 

[ConKreteCock]

Say what you want, but...

1) He didn’t fire Holbrook until it was too late...

2) He still hasn’t fired Muschamp...

3) He won’t fire Martin after this year...

He is slowly imploding our athletic program.

It's the pumpers fault. *ALWAYS*, "no matter what" - supporting failure. It's pathetic. How they look themselves in the mirror is beyond me. Oblivious. I reckon' I just answered my own question. Oblivious. With deep wallets apparently. Shrugs. Eh......whattya' gonna' do? Me? I'm now pulling for Arizona St. Liken' me some Herm Edwards Sun Devils or whatever they are. Love his attitude. It will spill over to the team. They're going places. You'll see. You'll all see............. hehe.

 

[sclawman77]

Say what you want, but...

1) He didn’t fire Holbrook until it was too late...

2) He still hasn’t fired Muschamp...

3) He won’t fire Martin after this year...

He is slowly imploding our athletic program.

Kingston should be on chopping block but he'll get an extension soon probably. Ray has 4 more years and wont fire any major program coach. Mediocrity=big buyouts and contract extensions from Ray

 

[rodemi]

Kingston should be on chopping block but he'll get an extension soon probably. Ray has 4 more years and wont fire any major program coach. Mediocrity=big buyouts and contract extensions from Ray

I don’t think Ray has 4 years

 

[joemclean]

I've said for years that we need to move on from Ray. The three major sports have no momentum and haven't for a few years now. The problem is that he (and so many fans) are accepting mediocre results as the status quo. I don't have the answer, but I do know that something needs to change instead of the "it is what it is" attitude about athletics that's been around for too long.

 

[GivEmDaSpurs]

Where do I fit into this debate?

1- I believe in cheering on any Gamecock program, going to games as I see fit, and uplifting our players.

2- I believe in accountability! If someone is paid millions to do a job that most of us would cut off a finger for, he better produce. The men’s programs are NOT up to standards. To me that falls on RT. He needs to be moved to a “Spurrier” type role of ambassador.

3- I believe that the money raised by college athletics should support more scholarships and that the coaches are way overpaid. I have loved the purity of college athletics but do not like the direction that it’s headed. I also believe that if you commit to play at a University you should be on the hook until you graduate.

So, am I a sunshine pumper, do I accept mediocrity because I will always “root, root, root for the home team”? Or am I a realist? Because I am a part of the Gamecock FAM and will always be “forever to thee”?

 

[sclawman77]

I don’t think Ray has 4 years

Contract ends in 2024 when he retires at 66. You think new president has gonads to can him?

 

[sclawman77]

I've said for years that we need to move on from Ray. The three major sports have no momentum and haven't for a few years now. The problem is that he (and so many fans) are accepting mediocre results as the status quo. I don't have the answer, but I do know that something needs to change instead of the "it is what it is" attitude about athletics that's been around for too long.

You won't be the first one to feel this way but don't think it changes anything

 

[fowl_mood]

Frankly, we don't care if we win. Some individual coaches do. Dawn does.

I'm not sure any of the fans care.

 

[Jon Snow]

"Slowly?" His first hire, Chad, only took 3 seasons to destroy the program. Football fell down 3 seasons after Ray took over, and completely fell apart the following year. Basketball was on a steady climb culminating in the FF, and has not come close to a tournament return since.
But hey, at least softball, volleyball, and tennis are improving! Right?

 

[ToddFlanders]

The days of hiring an old coach to be the AD were supposed to be long since gone. Seriously, what other Power 5 programs are following USC’s lead here? As an AD, Tanner is a heck of a baseball coach.

 

[jonesz21]

Contract ends in 2024 when he retires at 66. You think new president has gonads to can him?

New president was another political buddy hire. He ain’t making any waves he will do as told

 

[Goose cock]

#notadime. Telling you folks, just like politics, money is the mother’s milk for the athletic department. We can turn things around but it will take no longer throwing money at this problem. We made bad hires. Good leadership can turn all of this around. Tanner is a disaster, i don’t need to wait until 2024 to make a move. In the real world, Tanner would have been gone for botching both the baseball and football hires. Muschamp would have never even been interviewed much less hired. Do not contribute monetarily to this until at the very least, Ray is reassigned or removed. That would be a tell tale sign that we have turned a corner and are willing to try to win. Now? Nothing changes because the money is flowing in.

Sec money is the number 1 income stream to the athletic department. Number 2 is ticket sales and the gamecock club. We can control number 2. It’s time.

 

[GandBinNC]

In 2012, we endured the double whammy of losing the greatest college baseball coach in the country, and hiring a rookie AD. Not a good week for the University.

The thinking was at the time that Tanner had earned this opportunity. He had just taken our baseball program to three straight CWS championship series, winning two of them. He wanted to transition from coaching to administration, and he had generated such good will among fans, our president and the BOT, that in the immediate aftermath of that CWS success, and with the endorsement of outgoing AD Hyman, we handed the keys over to Tanner.

I do think its important to point out that Tanner has done some things well. He has unified this athletic department in a palpable way. There seems to be genuine good will and harmony in the department - something that has often been far from the case at USC. Coaches respect him because he is one of them, and he is a legend in coaching ranks.

However, his hires have been poor. Our most successful coach (Staley) was a Hyman hire. Martin was a Hyman hire. Shelley Smith (W. soccer) was a McGee hire. Beverly Smith (softball) was a Hyman hire. Tanner's hires have been his good friend Holbrook (fired), Muschamp (hot seat), and Kingston (verdict is still out, but looking tenuous).

He has been learning on the job for eight years now, and its impossible to argue that the department is better off now than it was in 2012, aside from finances, which are thriving thanks to big SEC payouts. Certainly for football and baseball, the success of 2010-2012 seems a distant memory. Men's basketball, in all fairness, and regardless of your feelings toward Martin, is in much better shape than it was in 2012.

Tanner is a great guy. A Gamecock legend. We need to never forget that, and must tread carefully with this. I agree that a change is needed, but it has to be done the right way. We need a proven, seasoned AD, in the mold of Hyman, who can steady the ship, and simultaneously manage to maintain harmony within the department. Let's see if our new president can navigate those perilous waters.

 

[AtlasShrugged]

A reboot is good every now and then.