Assessing the Impact of GT Presidents on GT Athletics

forensicbuzz

forensicbuzz

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gtstinger776 said:
Is defending Bud Peterson worth this much discontent? Do you actually think he did a lot of good for GT athletics?


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You're making definitive statements based on uninformed, external observations. I have been told by a highly qualified and unbiased person, and have shared it in this forum, that Peterson was actually a huge supporter of GT Football in specific, and GT Sports in general. Your comment, "you DO realize...he [did] nothing to support them" has no basis in fact, yet you state it definitively as if it did. I'm not defending Bud Peterson. I don't know the man, nor am I an integral part of the GTAA. I found your comment fan-biased, uninformed, and condescending.
 

Bodidley2

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For the record, Bud Peterson played college baseball at Kansas St not football.
He encouraged Todd to aim higher on our 2020 fund raising campaign to $125 million
 
gtstinger776

gtstinger776

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forensicbuzz said:
You're making definitive statements based on uninformed, external observations. I have been told by a highly qualified and unbiased person, and have shared it in this forum, that Peterson was actually a huge supporter of GT Football in specific, and GT Sports in general. Your comment, "you DO realize...he [did] nothing to support them" has no basis in fact, yet you state it definitively as if it did. I'm not defending Bud Peterson. I don't know the man, nor am I an integral part of the GTAA. I found your comment fan-biased, uninformed, and condescending.
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Help me understand what he did. I’ve heard otherwise from former CPJ staffers.


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Vespidae

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gtstinger776 said:
Help me understand what he did. I’ve heard otherwise from former CPJ staffers.


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I met Bud Peterson. Nice enough guy. But he was paid to run GT and bring in research dollars. He talked of sports as the front door of the school but ... also said his only obligation to athletics was to hire the AD. Many of the successful things he did, especially development, were not done at the GTAA.

I don’t think he was destructive, like Petit. But he didn’t do much either.
 
iceeater1969

iceeater1969

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forensicbuzz said:
You're making definitive statements based on uninformed, external observations. I have been told by a highly qualified and unbiased person, and have shared it in this forum, that Peterson was actually a huge supporter of GT Football in specific, and GT Sports in general. Your comment, "you DO realize...he [did] nothing to support them" has no basis in fact, yet you state it definitively as if it did. I'm not defending Bud Peterson. I don't know the man, nor am I an integral part of the GTAA. I found your comment fan-biased, uninformed, and condescending.
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What did Bud do?
Could u be specific?.
 
iceeater1969

iceeater1969

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Vespidae said:
I met Bud Peterson. Nice enough guy. But he was paid to run GT and bring in research dollars. He talked of sports as the front door of the school but ... also said his only obligation to athletics was to hire the AD. Many of the successful things he did, especially development, were not done at the GTAA.

I don’t think he was destructive, like Petit. But he didn’t do much either.
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Gt research = 68% based on defense spending. Lockheed's and others are in ATL.

What did bud do to diversify our research source ofcrev.

I met him at acc champ and orange bowl - nice guy. Wife was a pip - he married well.
 
gtstinger776

gtstinger776

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Bud Peterson is a kind man. Met him several times - really liked him. I just can’t say other presidents wouldn’t have accomplished more.

Much of what he did was an obvious extension of GT - data analytics curriculum, robotics research, etc. I can’t say it takes a lot of imagination to recognize the university’s opportunities there. But what gets me - we sat there and watched uga and other universities build their engineering program and let the legislators in the gold dome dictate what we can and can’t do as GTRI subsidizes the rest of the university system. That should piss off any GT alumni.
 
forensicbuzz

forensicbuzz

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iceeater1969 said:
What did Bud do?
Could u be specific?.
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Nope. Like I said, I have it from a reliable source (to me) that Peterson was very supportive of GT athletics. The AD at Northwestern (actually VP for Athletics and Recreation) served on several committees with Bud. He had nothing by high praise for Bud and his commitment to GT athletics.

I agree with @Vespidae that he believed his job was to hire the right guys and let them do their job. I believe he did that with each of the AD's serving under him. I believe when he saw the misfit between GT and Bobinski, he made it clear it was time to go. I don't necessarily think he was an effective president when it came to athletics (or some other situations), but to say he wasn't supportive of GTAA, is an ignorant statement. His job was to lead Georgia Tech forward as a preeminent research university. It's the AD's job to lead and grow the GTAA.

The most supportive president for athletics at GT since Bobby Dodd was the most maligned. He gave Homer Rice whatever he needed.
 
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