What was telling on this is during a game in which the Pack were hosting the Tar Holes, Tanner and Hole HC Mike Roberts (Brian's father) ended up meeting one another in the restroom between innings.
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We sold our soul for two baseball championships
- Thread starter Johnnie Cockran
- Start date
As stated numerous times on FGF over the years, RT had taken on roles in the Athletic Department while he was at NCSU, and he continued this when he came to Columbia, i.e., he was/is not the inexperienced AD some erroneously make him out to be.
Had much more in what they saw from him during the planning and building of Founder's Park.....which was left completely up to Tanner.
Riley pulled out after he got back from his interview with Ray and met with Stoops. Riley let Stoops know the interview went well. Within a couple of days, Riley withdrew his name. You're smart enough to figure out why.
Same situation with Herman and Texas and Smart and UGA.
Same reason Napier withdrew his name from the Mississippi State HC position after his interview with Tanner, per the MSU insiders.
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It was reported that Ray had no interest in Riley. I have an appointment to go to now and don't have time to look it up. I will later.
It was reported that Ray had no interest in a coach without SEC experience or HC or coordinator experience....which was true. He never hid what he was looking for in a HC....that is why Herman and Smart were offered, they checked all the boxes. From what I have understood, he was very impressed with Riley. I don't know and, for all I know, neither does anyone, know what Tanner would've done with Riley. He never got the chance to offer him.....so hard to say if he would or would not.
I was well documented it was Ray’s last year coaching. Sucks, but he wanted to move on. But like Holbrook and Caslen, he did not meet even the most basic qualifications for the job which has been argued for/against all 3 for too long. Assistant AD? Fine. Must be the AD for at least a few years (likely a small school).
Suffice to say, our U has a propensity for making such decisions, and they’ve hurt. Seems simple to me to say: Now hiring, Head Ball Coach, MUST MUST MUST have prior HC experience for at least a G5 school…….will be paid in Trident Layers.
Suffice to say, our U has a propensity for making such decisions, and they’ve hurt. Seems simple to me to say: Now hiring, Head Ball Coach, MUST MUST MUST have prior HC experience for at least a G5 school…….will be paid in Trident Layers.
I agree that our facilities have improved substantially in the past decade.
Serious question though, do you (or anyone else on here) know how many projects were actually initiated by Ray Tanner? Founders Park was already built, softball stadium was in planning, Tennis center was under Hyman, and Gamecock Park was already built. I feel like they already had plans for an indoor football practice facility in 2012 (but could be wrong) and then the ops building would have naturally followed.
The facilities projects that I can think of that Ray Tanner has been the leader for are Golf practice greens, indoor track and indoor tennis, and Soccer ops. I will give him the football ops building. That one would have happened anyway but will credit him because it was done well. Somebody else could have always done it worse.
Tanner completely facilitated Founder's Park while he was coaching. Every step was well documented beginning with his trip to Baum.
I believe that. My point is that he wasn't the AD when Founders was planned or built
Founder's Park was solely Tanner's baby.....he had it designed, found the land, got the financing and everything involved while he was our baseball coach. The Dody was under Hyman with a huge assist from Spurrier. The remainder were planned under Hyman but none made it off the planning board until Tanner. Hyman was a good administrator and he had his strengths but relationships with the large donors and the legislature were not among them. That was all Tanner....he took them from the planning board to reality.
Ray Tanner
gamecocksonline.com
I've said this before but when Ray wanted to step down from coaching we should have said thank you for your service and hired a real AD. We should have seen how hiring a baseball coach as AD worked for LSU.
While I disagree with your wording, I do think your assertion that USC should have had as an AD prerequisite someone who had been an athletics director at another institution is a valid one. At least that's above board and not an outright lie regarding RT using "leverage" to get the position, which others have posted.
In other words, while I don't necessarily agree or disagree with your opinion, I do respect it. 👍
However, I also disagree with your "baseball coach as AD" analogy. You could make a "football coach as AD" analogy or a "basketball coach as AD" analogy, and it would be just as (il)legitimate.
Truthfully, I was a bit surprised when I heard the announcement that RT had been named AD, as I figured the school would have hired someone who had served as AD elsewhere, and Ray would accept an AD position at a small school in the region, and then become USC AD when Hyman's replacement left.
I'm not very well versed on all the duties of an AD, but I do know that it does not begin and end with how well the football team does.
Football and -- to a much lesser degree -- men's basketball are the only revenue-producing sports almost all schools have. That includes ours.
While there are always Title IX considerations to be made (and I do love our women's basketball team), without football there be basically be no athletic department. It funds almost every other sport.
As was Rex Enright, Paul Dietzel, and Jim Carlen.
How do schools who do not field a varsity football team fund their athletic programs?
Ray is safe because enough fans are ok treating Gamecock football as if it’s a youth church league where win or lose, it’s all about having fun. And another large % of fan tell themselves, we’ve never won much here? So why expect more?
Then you have the seemingly 1% who want to go against the grain and win some football games.
Then you have the seemingly 1% who want to go against the grain and win some football games.
Ray is safe because he is apparently doing a good enough job of managing the entire athletics program. Again, football is not the be-all and end-all of USC athletics.
I wish that under RT the school had added a women's gymnastics team instead of women's beach volleyball (we already had a women's volleyball team). Or add men's volleyball.
Those 2 baseball championships were worth whatever price was paid for them, including our current struggles in other sports. Don't know where you were that night. I was in a hotel room in SW Florida traveling for work. When Whit hit the line drive to right field, 50 years of frustration, disappointment, despair and heartbreak in all sports melted away for me as I jumped up from my hotel bed fist pumping and silent screaming so as not to disturb any hotel guests. I replay that video often whenever I feel down about gamecock sports. Ray will be our athletic director until the day he chooses to retire, and rightfully so IMO. We could do far worse.
yeah, those long traditions of futility over no national title
i felt a lot of the same after we won that vaunted bowl game over wvu...under scott.......the first bowl win, it was like a monkey jumping from my back
No, a complete waste of money would be spending $3 million a year on a women's basketball coach. Just throwing money away.
Don't forget the 'L' word in all of this ^^^^ . . . LAZY administration. Clock watchers is another appropriate term for the people (mainly one) in charge for the past 7 years or so.
USCBatgirl21
Well-Known Member
The fact we didn't, given the strength of the SEC in women's gymnastics, will never make sense to me. Why add a sport in which your conference does not compete?
The cost of a gymnastics program is probably significantly higher than volleyball.
