An open letter to those in power at my alma mater

[DOOMS]

Please bookmark this:

On October 26, 2006 I witnessed one of the most embarassing sights concerning my alma mater. The unfortunate problem is most of America with cable also had the ability to witness it.

The 70-7 loss on national television we suffered is the direct result of the following:

1. A disconnect between the athletics department and the school that allows us to continually recruit athletes but not retain them.

2. A refusal to increase the athletics budget while throwing keg parties to recruit students.

3. The insistence on hiring a lifelong I-A position coach and promptly saddling him with too many hats to wear in order to be successful and providing him no financial assistance to enable him to bring on experienced coordinators to "prop him up" as he learns on the job.

As a result of Coach Fobbs' hiring I first flatly refused to renew my Aggie Club membership. I then recanted and decided to pay only in arrears based on the performance of the team. As of today I still will not be paying one penny to rejoin the Aggie Club. As a matter of fact, after last night's debacle you owe me about $50.00.

I sent correspondence at the beginning of the season concerning the reinstatement on Larry Harrison to the football team. In that correspondence I stated that if he was allowed back into the school he should also be allowed to play football. The school made its decision, which was fine. But I never received a response from anyone. This is unacceptable.

I have come to the conclusion that the current administration simply does not care about my concerns as an alumnus that donates to the annual fund on a yearly basis. I have also come to the conclusion that I can no longer donate funds to a school that continues to allow the three things I outlined above continue.

As much as it pains me to do, I will contribute exactly one cent to North Carolina A&T State University per year until the athletics budget is increased and our athletes are given the tools they need to be successful on and off the field. And I will openly ask any other alumnus to do the same until these ills are corrected.

If somebody could give me names and addresses of where I can send this via hardcopy I would appreciate it. And anybody who feels like cosigning may do so.

[econgrad71]

From what I've heard from folks in Greensboro, getting rid of Hackney is the first order of business!!! He is absolutely the wrong person for the job... even on an interum bases. Then, hopefully, new leadership will be more in tune with the athletic needs of my school and the humiliations will cease. Let's give Fobbs a chance. He walked into a very bad situation... two do-nothing coaches...i.e., Hayes and small. Give Fobbs a chance to build... I have a good feeling about this guy.

[Bornthrilla]

DeLores S. Todd
Director of Athletics
North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University
Department of Athletics
1601 East Market Street
Greensboro, NC 27411

[DOOMS]

Hell no. Todd can't increase the damn budget. She's just as stuck as we are. Who holds the purse strings?

econ, you don't just end up losing like this because of an interim administrator that ain't even been here long enough to have an impact. This stems from the previous administration, period.

Hayes won. Period. Say what you will, his record speaks for itself. Look at Central. The only blame he has in this is not getting a better lawyer to make sure he remained our coach.

Small is gone. You can blame him all day but he never went winless and if he was still coach we wouldn't be winless. He was promised budget increases when he was hired that he never received.

Our budget has stood still for six years. We have not retained and downright failed students we have recruited. We hired a man that has never been a head coach or college coordinator on the college level and gave him both jobs at the same time.

Those are the issues. They have to be addressed before I send anything more than exactly one red cent to the school.

[Bornthrilla]

I guess that would be the head of the broad of trustees. Whoever that is.

[DOOMS]

To hell with a maybe or I guess. Somebody reading this board knows specifically who the alumni can write to and threaten to pull funding in order to get things changed for the better. I don't care whether they post that info in this thread or create a username and send me a pm; it is past time we corrected the mistakes.

[Bornthrilla]

I think these are the people who you would consider to be the power brokers around A&T:

www.ncat.edu/~srchcomm/members/index.html

[DOOMS]

No I guess.

No I think.

I want "This/these are the people responsible for how much money is allocated to the athletics department." PERIOD.

Just because the school is shooting blanks doesn't mean I'm about to waste my time shooting them too. My correspondence is going straight to the person or persons responsible for how much we spend on athletics and how much we spend on retention of students, including and especially those involved in extracurricular activities.

Again, somebody knows who it is.

[DECKS]

Can someone post the names of the BOT members and their addresses?

[aggierob]

Dooms/Dex
All the BOT members have a mail box in the Chancellors Office. The Chancellor's staff send correspondence received for them to BOT members at least monthly and some BOT come by weekly to pickup mail. Dooms you should also send a copy of the letter to Dee Todd and the National Alumni President (Teresa Davis). Given we have a BOT meeting in 3 weeks a mailing should be going out to BOT members by Nov 4.

I couldn't find the BOT addresses, however their names are posted at:

www.ncat.edu/press_releases/disp_release.php?ID=2456

[DOOMS]

Thanks Rob.

Now, are they the ones that are in charge of how the money is spent?

[aggierob]

Yes, The BOT members approve the budget and student fee allocations and increases. The BOT members can recommend funds be reallocated to athletics(except state funds) and BOT members can pressure the AD to have the football coach hire an experience and proven OC & DC.

The reason UNC fired their HC wasn't because the AD wanted to; it was because the BOT told him he had to. When alumni complain to BOT they make sure the Chancellor and his administration know it. I have worked at 3 universities (2 HBCU) and whenever the BOT members contacted me I had to response and they usually got what they wanted.

[aggiejazz]

econgrad71 said:

... two do-nothing coaches...i.e., Hayes and small. Give Fobbs a chance to build... I have a good feeling about this guy.

This kind of sentiment got the football in the mess they are in today. People who did not appreciate Hayes for the hard work he was doing for the football were delusional about the support that Hayes received to do as well as he did. Hayes was cooking a buffett off of money for two and when that happens, sometimes things are not going to turn out right. Hayes gave and won a hellava lot more than he received and lost. No coach, black or white, knew NC football and 1AA better the Hayes. He was out coached sometimes but he learn to beat those he lost to but in the end when Appalachian State put more money into their program the Aggies fell behind them and teams like Furman again.

A&T last two football headcoaching hires were lessons in cooperate incompetence. The Smalls' hire was a disaster that took damn near two months to complete even though Smalls was the first to be interviewed four or five weeks earlier.

Then the second hire was done by a bumpkin from Louisiana for another Louisiana buddy. Neither one knew much about MEAC football or recruiting in this region with the later who knew little about 1AA football, never been an offensive coordinator, never been a college head coach and somehow convinced someone he can do both job to get more pay. The coaching staff is made up Louisiana/Mississippi buddies from NAIA and community colleges, damn near grad assistants and a high school coach but no strength and conditioning coach until last week. Athletic department did have one last spring semester but he was ignored and not used.

What good is a strength and conditioning coach arriving in the middle of the football season and hiring one that hasn't been employed by a college football program in seven years? You could have at least saved some money and brought him on in January when he can hit the ground running when major weight training begins for football programs. That three months of pay could have been given back to other surviving Aggie athletic programs that had their budget reduced and given to football.

Anyway the university is stuck and it is going to take some smart leaders to get the Aggies out this hole and some luck.

[Bornthrilla]

Good points, Aggie Jazz.

BTW: I just got back from Dowdy and, after hitting a few dead ends, I was told that the person who actually comes up with the athletic budget each year is the Director of Auxiiary Services, Angela Peterson.

Suppossedly, she sits down and does the actual number crunching and then sends her budget proposal to the broad of trsutees for approval.

Her office number is 336-334-7876.

[Bornthrilla]

But then again, I just researched the website and found this guy:

Akua J. Matherson
Assistant Vice Chancellor for Budget and Planning

These are his some of the things he is listed as being responsible for:

- Planning/Forecasting
- Campus Base Tuition Increase
- Tuition and Fees
- Management Flexibility
- Special Assignments
- Enrollment Growth
- Biennial Continuation and Expansion Report
- Annual Expansion Budget Report
- Status of State Funds
- One-Time Funds
- Athletics Administration Budgets
- BD 701 Review
- Student Affairs Budgets
- Close Out