NC State Athletic Director Debbie Yow (photo by N&O)
Debbie Yow was introduced as the new NC State Athletic Director yesterday at a press conference (video link) held at Carter-Finley Stadium. She comes with a ton of experience in collegiate athletic administration, has a history of success, is a straightforward no-nonsense kind of person, is über competitive, and from the legendary Yow family that has always been so very good to Wolfpack Athletics. I am excited by this hire and I expect a lot of good things are finally on the horizon for Wolfpack Nation. As I’ve stated on here numerous times, I avoid the NC State message boards like the plague because they are quite frankly embarrassing, but apparently there has been quite a bit of upheaval over this hire. Some people think they know everything, huh? [as my readers mumble under their breath … look who’s talking] Me, I do know everything. Would I have started this blog for any other reason?
Here’s some of the best quotes from the presser:
‘My family has been part of the Wolfpack Family for many years. I am glad to be home.’
‘I am greatly honored to be the athletic director at North Carolina State and look forward to working with Chancellor Woodson.’
‘We need to build on the strengths of this athletics program and this university and move forward.’
‘We will strive to improve our graduation rates. The single most important national academic metric, it is after all, the goal, to graduate.’
‘What fans need will always matter. It’s just one specific way (new email address) we can show respect to individuals that support Wolfpack teams.’
‘We will expect a national top 25 program, moving toward top 10 status and competing for national championships.’
‘We have to make sure our coaches have everything they need. We should always match resources to expectations.’
‘The only limitations we have are the ones placed on ourselves. There will be bumps along the way that we don’t expect. We need to stay focused, and we need to be persistent. Absolutely refusing the status quo.’
‘There is a difference in talking the talk and walking the walk. It isn’t enough to talk about it. This is about doing and achieving. It will be challenging if we are committed to achieving at higher levels.’
‘The No. 1 thing to bring them (the fans) together is winning. The foundation has to be laid, and part of that is already here.”
‘We can become what we believe we can become. If we rally the Wolfpack family, and lock arms as a collective force, and move forward. Only way we can reach these challenging goals … Wolfpack Unlimited’
“I do not have a great need to be popular. I’d rather win than be popular.”
“When you are in a leadership role, there are times where you have to have a tough discussion. You have to lay out what level of accountability you want. If I were not willing to do that, I’d be doing a disservice to NC State.”
“I’m not Mary Poppins. I’m not naive. I know what it takes and we will do that.”
Join me in welcoming Debbie Yow to the Wolfpack Family. Make us all (definitely including Kay and Susan) proud. Go Pack!
Chancellor Randy Woodson has picked his guy … er, gal. There is a press conference set for Friday afternoon where he will name current Maryland AD Debbie Yow, sister of Hall of Famer and NC State legend Kay Yow, as the new NC State Athletic Director. The Washington Post and WRAL Sports are just two of the many sources that are confirming this news. I don’t know why I would expect anything different, but most of Wolfpack Nation, at least the idiots that litter the message boards, are up in arms over this news.
I know all college fan bases are like this, but damn, it seems like NC State fans are the worse. I’ll admit I don’t know much about Yow and she wasn’t my first choice (that would be former FSU AD Dave Hart), but to say this is a terrible hire before she even works Day 1 is laughable. She could very well be a terrible AD or she could be an outstanding AD, only time will give us that answer. It’s time for all of Wolfpack Nation to quit whining/complaining and come together and support this hire. If she doesn’t get the job done I’ll be one of the quickest and loudest to point it out, but we need to give her a fair chance to succeed.
In Yow’s 16 year tenure at Maryland (btw, second longest in the ACC) they have won 20 national championships. Being that my mom is a math teacher (well, now a ‘retired’ math teacher … congrats mom!) I know that averages to more than 1 national championship a year and that includes a men’s basketball championship in the past decade. That’s definitely something I could be on board with happening here at NC State. On top of all that Maryland has an ACC football championship in the past decade too. Sometimes it feels like NC State is never going to experience any of this in my lifetime so if Debbie Yow can help lead NC State to this kind of success then I’m all in.
Welcome to NC State, Debbie! Our last ACC football championship was 1979 so can I make a simple request that you make ending that drought your #1 goal. After three losing seasons TOB doesn’t think this is a ‘make or break’ season. Sad thing is he’s being dead serious. I don’t know, maybe treating every season like it’s ‘make or break’ will help ensure that we’re not ever sitting at home during Bowl Season again. Just a thought. But then again if you’re just coasting down the road to retirement why would you care?
We all watch sports to experience moments like yesterday … Landon Donovan’s goal in stoppage time to propel the USA into the round of 16 at the 2010 World Cup. I can’t really put the joy, excitement, and jubilation into words so just watch these videos.
I wish I could come here and tell you to sit back and relax because Russell Wilson will be our starting QB in the fall. I still can’t say that though. I know that all the media reports are about him playing both professional baseball and one more season of college football. Just yesterday the NC State compliance office released the criteria of what it would take for Russell to maintain his NCAA football eligibility. Even Russell came out Tuesday, the day he was drafted, and stated that his wish is to play both. The one party we still haven’t heard from is the Colorado Rockies and they are the ones that hold all the cards. If they don’t want Russell playing football then guess what … he won’t be playing football, no matter how much Russell, TOB, or Wolfpack Nation wants him to.
Then on Wednesday night Russell’s dad passed away. So the day after getting drafted and experiencing one of life’s biggest highs was followed by a sucker punch to the gut and one of life’s biggest lows. Please join me in sending your thoughts and prayers to Russell and his family right now in their time of need. I know Russell’s dad, who was himself a college football and baseball standout for Dartmouth University, was extremely proud of his son. I’m glad that one of father and son’s last moments together was that of celebrating the son realizing his dream of being drafted in the 4th round (140th overall) of the MLB Draft. I don’t want to speculate how this will affect Russell’s decision, but I have to think that it will affect it one way or another. Russell had a lot of love and respect for his father so if his father had given him some advice I would think that would weigh a little heavier on him than anything else right now.
I’ve actually tried to do some research on what the slot money is for 4th round selections in the MLB Draft. MLB doesn’t make that info easy to find, but the best I can tell is the slot money is in the $250k – $400k range. I know that’s a huge range, but I feel pretty confident that the actual slot money is somewhere in that range. I told you I did my research, right? I can tell you that several 4th round selections over the past few drafts have received signing bonuses in the $1 million – $1.5 million range. All those players were either high schoolers or college underclassmen so they had the leverage in the contract negotiations.
Then there’s the huge outlier that is called Jeff Smardzija. The former Notre Dame RHP and WR that was drafted by the Chicago Cubs in the 5th round (149th overall) of the 2006 MLB Draft signed a $10 million, five-year contract that included a $2.5 million signing bonus to give up football. That was a special exception because Smardzija was projected as a 1st round pick in the next NFL Draft and was a top baseball prospect that only fell to the 5th round because of uncertainties regarding his future so I’m not suggesting that Russell could be in for that kind of payday. The reason I bring that up is to just point out the fact that the Colorado Rockies have the power to pay Russell enough money to keep him from playing football if that is the direction they wish to go.
If I was a betting man … I don’t know why I always say that, who am I kidding. Let me start over, since I’m a betting man I’m going to predict that Russell signs with the Rockies for $1.15 million with the stipulation that he gives up football. Actually I just modified a dartboard by placing a bunch of different contract figures on it and that’s the one I hit. I’ve never been the best dart player so we shall see if my method for predicting the future is worth anything. I said this back in January and I think it still applies. Stay tuned.
Nebraska has officially accepted an invitation to join the Big Ten today. The Big Ten is looking to make a much bigger splash than this so expect them to continue adding schools. Eventually Notre Dame will get off their high horse because they won’t have a choice and join the Big Ten as well. With the Big Ten growing bigger and the Pac-10 wanting to do the same for all intents and purposes the Big 12 is now dead.
The next conference on the chopping block is the Big East and then the ACC. Everyone knows that the SEC is going to want to answer the Big Ten so the ACC needs to be very worried. Instead of being the conference that’s scrambling to survive the ACC needs to be proactive and beat everybody else to the punch. I said yesterday that I didn’t like the super conferences, but now it is very evident that’s the way things are going. The quicker John Swofford and his cronies figure that out and start doing something about it the better off the ACC will be.
My proposal:
Add Pittsburgh and UConn tomorrow. This will expand the conference’s footprint to the North, strengthen the basketball side of things (let’s face it basketball is the ACC), put us in the state where ESPN is located which can never be a bad thing, add two very good academic institutions (I don’t care about that stuff, but it’ll give the ACC presidents something to brag about), and give BC (UConn) and Maryland (Pitt) a natural rival. Most importantly it will tell the current members that the ACC is not going anywhere and we plan to be a major power in the land of college athletics which would hopefully convince everybody else to stay put.
Of course a team or two could still leave, but even then the ACC would be much better prepared to handle the defections than if they were to take place the way it stands now. I want Pitt and UConn because I think those are the two schools that bring the most to the table. If other schools need to be added in the future my list would look like this in order of who I like the most: 1. Syracuse 2. Louisville 3. Rutgers 4. West Virginia 5. South Florida 6. Central Florida 7. Cincinnati 8. Kansas 9. Memphis 10. Temple [Sorry ECU you don't make the top 10.]
In other non important news, Boise State has joined the Mountain West Conference. What you say? Boise State is going to have to play an actual college football schedule now? Oh well. Those undefeated seasons were nice while they lasted I guess.
The news today that Colorado has officially accepted an invitation to join the Pac-10 is just the beginning of what will be a very interesting weekend. Thinking about what could happen this weekend is confusing and scary, but whatever does transpire it will shape the future of college athletics for the next decade(s). This is only the first domino. There’s already been reports that Nebraska will join the Big Ten with it being officially announced on Friday. That’s the only two things that look certain. From here it starts getting blurry.
Some reports have Texas, Texas A&M, Oklahoma, and Oklahoma State joining Colorado in the Pac-10. Then there are other reports that have Oklahoma State to the Pac-10, Texas and Texas A&M to the Big Ten, and Oklahoma to the SEC. All this is great if you live in the midwest … well except for those living in the state of Kansas … but how does it affect us over here in ACC land? Who knows, but it sure seems that the SEC is ready to counter all this conference expansion and nobody knows just what schools they are looking at. I’ve seen Florida State and Virginia Tech listed as realistic possibilities. And of course everybody under the sun expects Georgia Tech, Clemson, and Miami to be in consideration as well, but I’m not so sure about any of those. There’s no doubt that the SEC will want to make a statement. I just hope it’s not at the expense of the ACC.
That’s not the end of the end of conference expansion talk involving the ACC. There have been numerous reports that Maryland could be a target for the Big Ten. Is your head spinning yet? I’m so confused by all this that I just want it to be over with and, by all accounts, I should get my wish. I have a sneaky suspicion that somehow Notre Dame will be a big player in all of this. I don’t know what to think and I’m not even going to try to predict what the college landscape looks like at the end of all this. I will say that I’m not a fan of the ‘mega’, ‘super’, [insert your favorite adjective here] 16 team conferences. Call me old fashion, but it just has a professional sports feel to it that I don’t like. Give me the down home college feel that has made college sports what they are. I just hope all this expansion doesn’t ruin college sports that the ACC is still standing when all the dust settles. Strap your seat belts and get ready for a roller coaster ride.
Update: I just wanted to add this quote from Oklahoma AD Joe Castiglione, “I’m still trying to get my mind around why that’s (jumping to the Pac-16) better than what we already have. I’ve never understood why people don’t see that if super teams come together to make a super conference, they don’t all stay super every year.” This is exactly why I don’t like the super conferences. Bravo Mr. Castiglione!
So the big news of the day was the Colorado Rockies selecting NC State’s Russell Wilson with the 140th overall pick (4th round) of the 2010 MLB Draft. Russell talked with the media this afternoon and said he planned on playing for the Wolfpack football team in the fall. I, for one, won’t believe this until he signs his contract and the details of his deal say that he is allowed to play football. The two quotes he gave today that I found most interesting were:
What’s the timeline? When do you want to get back here and play football?
“I’m going to go out to Colorado, get out there and meet everybody… as this summer season goes on, I know fall camp starts August 3rd. I haven’t talked to the Rockies and I haven’t got into deep conversations with Coach O’Brien about that either, but we’ll figure it out.”
Do you think they are going to let you play football?
“That’s all between me and the Colorado Rockies but yeah, it’s all going to work out fine. I’m not really worried about it. I can’t wait to get out there.”
From those two quotes it sounds like Wilson and the Rockies did not have a firm deal in place beforehand in regards to him continuing his football career. I’m sure they’ve talked about it, but until it’s in writing it doesn’t really matter how much they’ve talked about it. I could be way wrong, but I have this feeling this is Russell posturing for more money. It will be very interesting watching how this unfolds over the next few days/weeks. That’s all I have for now, but check back throughout the remainder of this week as I will delve a little deeper into this topic.
The ACC officially announced the 2010 football early season game times and TV schedule. The Wolfpack’s season opener against Western Carolina will begin at 6:00pm on Saturday, September 4 and will be televised on ESPN3.com. With that news the official countdown to the 2010 Wolfpack Football season can begin. Bookmark this page so when you’re bored you can come back and watch the clock slowly tick down. Go Pack!
Wolfpack Football Countdown:
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Sunday the Wolfpack played in the 2010 ACC Baseball Tournament Championship Game against Florida State. Being a former NC State baseball player and with the game being just a couple hours up the road at NewBridge Bank Park in Greensboro, I canceled my tee time and made the trek up to root on the Pack. As I waited for the game to get underway I remembered back to the run my last NC State team made in the 2001 ACC Baseball Tournament. We survived the play-in game and then fought our way through the loser’s bracket to make the Championship Game against Wake Forest.
The night before and morning of the game all I could think about was becoming ACC champs and jumping on top of the celebration pile. I could taste my place in NC State sports history and could feel the championship ring on my finger. I wasn’t overconfident or taking Wake Forest for granted, but truly felt that it was our destiny and I wanted it oh so badly. Wake Forest, however, had other plans and we never really had a chance (boxscore). I didn’t play in the game, but it was still the toughest loss of my athletic career and it still hurts to this day.
Bring me to Sunday. The stage was set for the Pack baseball program to finally end its ACC championship drought that dates back to 1992. With the Pack clinging to a 3-2 lead going into the 7th inning I started believing that it could actually happen. Florida State scored two in the 7th to take a 4-3 lead, but I still had faith in our potent offense pulling us through. Tournament MVP Harold Riggins led off the 8th inning with a ‘hand of god double’ and I just knew it was finally our year, but we left him stranded. Then in the bottom of the 8th this happened:
As a former catcher, a throw coming in from right field where you are blind to the runner coming down the third base line is exactly the play you fear. That is where you rely on the rule book/umpires to protect you. Or at least that’s what I thought before this ACC umpiring crew total blundered the call.
“MLB rule 7.06(b) : If no play is being made on the obstructed runner, the play shall proceed until no further action is possible. NOTE: The catcher, without the ball in his possession, has no right to block the pathway of the runner attempting to score. The base line belongs to the runner and the catcher should be there only when he is fielding the ball or when he already has the ball in his hand.
While Pack catcher Chris Schaeffer didn’t yet have the ball, he was in the act of ‘fielding the ball’ and thus had a right to be in the base line. The ball was less than 10 feet away from him when FSU’s James Ramsey maliciously ran over him resulting in a grade 3 concussion for Schaeffer and a 25+ minute delay of the game while he was being attended to by medical personnel. There was no obstruction because Schaeffer was trying to make a play. If this was MLB then the play would have been perfectly legal, but the college rules differ from MLB in that “there is an automatic ejection for maliciously running into a defender who is trying to tag a runner or a force out” and thus Ramsey should have been ejected from the game because he clearly broke that rule. There is even a college provision that allows instant replay to be used in tournament games to determine if a slide was malicious which, but somehow this umpiring crew blundered that as well. Why am I not surprised?
FSU's James Ramsey delivers malicious hit to Pack's Chris Schaeffer
The Seminoles went on to win the game and the ACC championship. The loss was another tough one for me and the baseball program, but there was some good news for the Pack. Schaeffer was treated and released from the hospital late Sunday night, but he will not be able to play in this weekend’s NCAA Regional in Myrtle Beach. For a preview of the regional check out StateFansNation. As for Ramsey, I’m not buying the bullshit response he gave to the media yesterday. Bad news for him is he’s just a Sophomore so my advice for his trip up to Doak Field next year is to bring some extra tubes of Icy Hot and a newhelmet. How’s the saying go? Oh yeah … payback’s a bitch!
