Long Live Father Downer

[BCHerbert]

This story is from a poster on EA.

duda

I have spoken to him in the past and sat next to him on the flight to Ireland. I was convinced that he was committed to the cause of BC Athletics. With the downturn of the on field product over the past few years, I was beginning to lose hope, but I still stuck with him.

I am not off his bandwagon. And I am jumping off of it as if my coat is on fire. I had a horrendous conversation with a BOT member yesterday who I was introduced to in a chance meeting. I didnt know him before, but my friend who introduced me vouched that he is a legit guy.

Anyways, the BOT member is a huge BC guy, so we had an animated conversation. I think he enjoyed finding a rare BC fan who cared so much, and I felt the same way.

To say he detests Leahy would be an understatement. Bottom line is if he is correct then the situation will not be improving ever under Leahy's watch. A few nuggets:

A special group was formed within BOT to make recommendations about how to improve BC athletics. A lot of time, money and energy was spent on this and it lasted over one year.I forgot to ask who authorized this, but again it was a long time process.

The conclusions were brought to Leahy and a meeting ensued. According to the BOT member, Leahy effectively pissed on all of the recommendations. Didnt adopt a single one of them. A few final pieces:

1. Leahy was strongly against the new football facility. Strongly against it. Only way it got through, was through a guarantee that not one dime of school money would go towards it. Privately funded, and even then he had to be strong armed.

2. Contrary to reports he has no intention of retiring anytime soon.

3. Jarmond after receiving his initial offer was told in no uncertain terms to turn the job down and stay far away from BC, by the people he professionally trusts the most. He was advised it was a career death sentence. He went against it all and took the job. I give the guy a lot of credit. Maybe it was the money, who knows, but he is here. BOT guy, said that Jarmond is the real deal. really wants this to work, is a sincere guy, high energy and will be a great AD. He added it might not be at BC, but that he will be a great AD.

[EagleDave]

Sounds pretty much like business as usual.

It goes back to the reality that, no matter who the AD is or who the coaches are at the major programs, nothing is changing without a complete overhaul at the university level with respect to the commitment to athletics.

Nick Saban and John Calipari couldn't save these programs right now.

[BCMurt09]

The 27 spot drop in the Forbes rankings has to have turned some heads on the BOT and the Province, no? I recognize that the Forbes rankings are not the US News rankings (though I think Forbes has a better methodology), but 27 spots in one year is not insignificant.

[HJS]

Hard to take a list seriously that has William Mary 58, Wake Forest 60, Emory 66, UNC 68... but the Coast Guard Academy 46.

That said, Leahy is the worst and any BOT member not actively trying to remove him is part of the problem.

[DavidGordonsFoot]

That Forbes list is trash. I'm certain any university that purchases advertising on Forbes.com gets a generous bump in the rankings.

[Brooklyneagle]

[quote="BCHerbert"]This story is from a poster on EA.

duda

I have spoken to him in the past and sat next to him on the flight to Ireland. I was convinced that he was committed to the cause of BC Athletics. With the downturn of the on field product over the past few years, I was beginning to lose hope, but I still stuck with him.

I am not off his bandwagon. And I am jumping off of it as if my coat is on fire....

I get it that, based on what you heard from the BOT member, you no longer believe that Leahy has the best interests of BC sports close to his heart. So, I'm guessing you meant to say that you are now off his bandwagon, not what you actually wrote. Just curious. Had me confused.

We can always hope that fortune will again bring us something to cheer about (2007 in fb, almost every year in men's and women's hockey, early years of ACC basketball success) despite the lack of support from the top. On the one hand, we might console ourselves that Leahy will have to retire at some point. On the other, every year that passes brings each of us (and specifically me) closer to the year when we will no longer be following BC sports -- or anything else whatsoever.

Leahy's blindspot with regard to athletics and athletic success not only hurts us serious fans, it also undermines the overall mission of the university. One has only to look at the example of Notre Dame. If not for its past, great football success -- and the alumni devotion thereby generated over the generations -- it would likely have been another of those nondescript Catholic colleges that shut their doors back in the 1950's. No one would even have noticed.