A glaring show of disrespect and an overall...

bigger and continually burgeoning problem with LSU...

Pat Henry and his departure for the "greener pastures" of the Texas A&M track program.

Was it because he wanted a challenge in the twilight of his coaching career?

Was it because he wanted the money that College Station's AD could provide?

Or was it something else?

I've heard that it took 4 days for any AD official to contact Henry to congratulate his teams recently on their performance. In years past, official University Celebrations were held in recognition of both championships and close seconds...and this year, it takes 96 hours?

I've also heard that Henry left for $260,000, and LSU-knowing what price College Station was placing on Henry's talent-still came in at the 11th hour with an offer sub-standard in comparison.

$240,000 when you know they're getting $20,000 is ridiculous. The 27 national titles, much less the Olympians and records this man's teams have brought to this University, Baton Rouge, the state, and the nation (Even the world), are worth much more than a measley $20,000, and even $260,000 if you ask me.

If we can find a reason to increase ticket prices to Save the Oaks on campus by asking football season ticket holders to subsidize their care for perhaps walking on them for 7 days out of the year (If that's fair, how much should students who trample them for 365 be on the hook for?), if we can subsidize teams such as women's soccer and the like, which continually lose money and haven't worked towards building or marketing to any type of fanbase in the area in the face of a huge grass roots sub-culture in the same area who follows and participates in the sport, why could we not pay this coach $20,000 more?

Hell, College Station doesn't even HAVE an indoor track facility. They have NO tradition to speak of. Their facilities are nothing compared to LSU's. They don't have the master plan on the table as LSU does, looking to totally revamp the athletic facilities physical plant in the next two decades...Yet, College Station has Pat Henry, and the "scoop" at LSU is that it's over $20,000 and a "challenge" Henry didn't have at LSU...

I call bull****, and I call out Bertman...Another Black eye for this poor steward of a University Athletic Department. From calling out a minority of fans and getting on national television and in local and statewide print to publicize such a minute and isolated problem, to the big "money grab" where they took all the prime parking spots across South Stadium to house "Tiger Tram" busses, which will have failed so miserably in the two or three years since their inception that-upon the cessation of their existence-the LSU Athletic Department will have a beautiful new piece of real estate to "raffle off" to the highest bidders (while curiously giving back the front row to a hardcore-and very juiced in group-of fans who've been there 'for years').

The mastermind behind piggybacking women's basketball and men's basketball season tickets, and the booby behind ignoring the fact that LSU has an Oaks Endowment, a campuswide Save the Oaks organization, and an entire Horticulture department at its disposal-all charged with LSU's perhaps single most signature campus feature-in order to increase season ticket prices on people who might or might not trample on them no more than a maximum of 7 days per year (6 in some years). He has never been the man that Emmert really wanted for the job.

He was a stop-gap measure in order to get a person into the Athletic Department who could be insulated from the corrupt practices and policies of the former BOS members who would manipulate the position and change the LSU AD into their own little fiefdoms, to do with as they please...

His bungling of the TAF Stadium Seat Grab debacle assured that the future of the TAF, a once bright light in the constellation of the future of the LSU AD would fade back into the ignominious woodwork from whence it rose up. The lack of a public face, a well thought out plan, a coordinated media/public relations/political informational effort, as well as alienating key members of LSU's political power base in the Legislature can again be attributed to the head man's lack of knowledge of what's necessary to get the job done in a first class way in terms of running a major Division One Collegiate Athletic Department.

I'm sorry for the tangenting, rambling post...but I'm tired of sub-standard leadership. It's obvious this would not have happened had Emmert not left for the greener pasture of Washington (after a year-and most notably a Governor's Election in which an LSU hater was elected-of the job being open, curiously enough), as well as other key Athletic Department decisions (retaining Brady, for one), and it's obvious this would not have happened had we not had first class, first rate leadership in the Atletic Department.

Respect and leadership are something we aren't finding in great amounts these days on the 6th floor. Giving a women's head basketball coach a $200,000 per year salary when the guy at Bernie Moore is winning TWENTY-SEVEN NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS? Giving her some big sendoff while not contacting the head coach for 96 hours?

Say what you like, & I like Skip Bertman as a baseball coach and as a master motivator of young minds...but Skip Bertman has done more harm than good at the wheel of the LSU Athletic Department. Period.

 

Man, for some reason I thought you were going to say the Gov did it :shock: :shock: :shock: :shock: :shock: :shock: :shock: :shock:

 

Emmert=string puller for the AD.

No one can say that they thought-before Emmert left-that Brady would be retained as coach, for example.

Emmert sees an election go to Blanco, an admitted leader and supporter of the recent Legislative effort to change USL and Northeastern to ULL and ULM, and to start the "University of Louisiana" system. A husband to a man still employed by and referred to as "Coach Blanco" on campus in Lafayette. A woman who immediately cut $30,000,000 from LSU's overall budget in terms of permanently (as in they will always increase) rising insurance premiums and tenured professor raises, etc., as well as funding renovations, improvements in facilities, etc...

A woman who made no attempt whatsoever to keep Emmert in the fold knowing that the most well respected and highest government funded research institution in the NATION was trying to take him away from us...

A woman who will continually make decisions to divert funding away from LSU and attention being paid to the University's flagship institution...

Funny how he left after the cuts were announced...The first to higher education in EIGHT years...

I'm blaming Bertman's hand in the lack of leadership that's currently plaguing the decision making (or lack thereof) on the University's AD level, directly. But, in an indirect way, Emmert's departure is a major part of that leadership, and his leaving is DIRECTLY related to Blanco and her ignorance and her election (Lying to the Catholic Church, sidling up to the Riverboat Pilots, hiring people under grand jury investigation in Mississippi to head Economic Development in Louisiana, calling nephews who play for Ole Miss after hitting home runs to beat us, what a great track record all around so far, right?).

She's to blame too, but Jenkins needs to either step up and do his job, or find someone who can...and the more we sit in neutral spinning our wheels, the more we'll bald our tires...

We have a very small window of opportunity to cement our place in the pantheon of elite level University's and in turn, Athletic Departments. Our leadership has continually shown in the recent past, that they are perfectly fine to stand idly by while that window slides increasingly closer to shut...

 

Damn nice post man.

 

Sorry but I don't see the sky falling...yet. I don't know why Henry left other than the money. Emmert went 'home' to his alma mater so that isn't so much of a stretch. Now, if the rumor that Laval isn't happy at LSU and if we begin to hear rumblings in other areas of the AD then I would start to worry. I also fail to see where the governor would forsake one of the best colleges in the country because she is 'jealous' and wants the U of L system to reign. This smells more like a dislike for our governor more than the crumbling of the LSU atheletic department.

 

The sky is falling (again)...The sky is falling (again)...

 

I stopped reading at "I've also heard that".

 

I'm sure Skip is concerned about TE calling him out ...

 

Good post but while there seems to be some reason for concern, I dont think its widespread or even something to worry about long term. No question this wasnt handled correctly but track in the overall scheme of things is low impact and flies under the radar screen.

One thing thats worthy of note though, regardless of the facilites at EaTmE...good or bad, that place is a flaming zit on the a$$ of the world. If you've ever been there you would know exactly what I mean. I cant imagine have to live in that dust bowl, po-dunk town.