View from the Corner Office
12/3/2008 1:00:00 AM | Athletics
December 2008
I know it has been a while and I'm sure most everyone has forgotten about this feature. The past year has been filled with my regular duties, along with NCAA Certification studies and reports that required quite a bit of writing on my part. Because of those studies, I apologize for not having the desire to continue my literary work on the “View”. I have always enjoyed our time together made possible through this forum and it is good to be back. There is so much to cover, but we will keep this first one short and simple.
Our goal every season is still to win championships and win the Commissioner's Cup. After the success we tasted three straight years, it was not fun seeing someone else take the cup home. To win the cup we have to be good in every phase of our department and get off to a good start with our fall programs.
While we have had some bright spots to start the year overall this fall has been disappointing. Right now we are in the process of evaluating all of our fall sports and this is not any different from what we have done in the past. From day one as Director of Athletics, I have gone through this process, some years present an opportunity for more scrutiny than others and this is one of those years.
We are committed to winning championships and are going to do whatever is in the best interest of each sport and the department to create that environment. I am confident that my track record demonstrates my ability to identify issues and take the appropriate corrective action.
In 1997, I inherited a department that never dreamed of winning Southland Conference Commissioner's Cups and we have made that a reality three times. Also at that time we were struggling in football and men's basketball. We evaluated both situations took corrective actions and that produced two championships in men's basketball and two in football. Men's basketball has been the most consistent part of that process and it something we have strived for in football. In football, we have had winning seasons six out of the last ten years with two championships and two runner-up finishes. But I, along with you, want a more consistent and successful environment.
As a longtime Bearkat I want to assure everyone I want nothing but the best for this department. That is why I am taking a long hard look at every aspect of all of our programs. I am confident that we can make decisions that can get us to where we need to be and I will make it a point to make as much information on those decisions available as possible.
Speaking of getting information out to the public, I want to also announce the creation of Bearkat Bytes, a new blog that was created to keep fans informed about the happenings here in the athletic department.
On Bearkat Bytes we will keep you posted on some other the other things that go on around here that may not necessarily warrant its own story on GoBearkats.com, but we still find it interesting enough to share with our fans.
We hope you enjoy yet another new feature of GoBearkats.com as we continually strive to make this department as accessible to as many people as possible.
