© 2010 NCSU Student Media
If you were the new chancellor at N.C. State, what would be the first thing you’d change?
I asked students this question and to my surprise I heard the same answer — replace Athletics Director Lee Fowler. I would think most students would be frustrated, but students and fans have had just about enough of being at the bottom of the ACC without a national ranking. The recent loss to Carolina had patrons at a local tavern yelling at the television screen and cursing the name of Lee Fowler. When I asked a Wolfpack fan why he was yelling about the athletics director his reply was, “winning is not a priority for Mr. Fowler because he does not hold coaches accountable.”
I had to look at what the flap about Lee Fowler was all about and ask what he has contributed to the University. We have some of the best facilities in the country, but students and fans are complaining because we have no recent ACC or NCAA championships — the cobwebs are starting to show on 1974 and 1983. Years ago, the Wolfpack was known as the “Cardiac Pack.” But it’s been so long since we won a championship in anything that most of those fans have resorted to pessimistic terms such as “Cardiac Arrest” or “Go and Pack.”
Some student athletes I interviewed said the teams have great talent but our coaches are still in a single mind-set, setting repetitive plays and not using player’s full potential. One student athlete mentioned that every ACC soccer team from North Carolina has won an NCAA championship since 1986 except the Wolfpack. The University has never been in a final soccer championship game, but our head coach has been at the helm for more than 23 years. Don’t you find that a bit odd? It was then that I understood the lack of coach accountability.
In recent NCAA rankings from wrestling, baseball, tennis and swimming we do not rank in the top 25. The rankings haven’t looked so good in past years either.
ACC teams lead the NCAA in field hockey, but N.C. State doesn’t even have a program. As for volleyball, we are ranked 273rd in the nation — enough said. The good news is that track & field, soccer and golf achieved national rankings and we captured two collegiate bass fishing titles. I can’t wait to show off our recent bass fishing trophies to my friends at Chapel Hill. I’m sure they will be so green with envy.
Finally to be fair, I did comparisons against our rival. Dick Baddour, the athletics director at UNC, has been at the helm nearly the same amount of time as Lee Fowler. Under Baddour’s leadership, the university has captured championships or appeared in the NCAA final in soccer, lacrosse, field hockey, baseball, basketball and golf; also achieved a brief national ranking in football. A quick comparison in the NCAA rankings for all sports showed that most of the ACC teams listed are in the top 25 in several sporting categories, but not N.C. State, which is dead last. Is that a proud accomplishment for any athletics director?
Typically, athletics directors at other universities have trouble removing coaches if they have endorsement connections or have championship status. We are far from having that problem. But many are wondering why our athletics director is still here holding on to a job with primarily disappointing results? If students had to maintain the same grade point average as our athletics program equivalent, nobody would ever be on academic probation. Chancellors today are not just looking at ticket sales — they want to see tournament wins and national championships. The position of AD is not tenured; it is a business for the University that expects results and performance standards. We may have a loyal fan base but students and fans are expecting an equitable balance between facilities and wins.
With March Madness around the corner many Wolfpack fans are rejecting the name March Madness in favor of Mad in March. Our athletics director is the CEO of sports at N.C. State. If you had stock ownership in a company that was not performing well you would either dump the stock or change the leadership?
I like the company but it’s time for a new leader — or in this case AD. It seems with the arrival of a new chancellor and departing UNC-system president it’s also time to get our house in order. Perhaps it’s time we seek a new athletics director.