Assessing the Impact of GT Presidents on GT Athletics

[LibertyTurns]

These are all outside-looking-in comments. I get where you're coming from, but you have no idea what was actually happening (or not happening) inside the Tower.

You could be right. I have no way of really knowing, just speculation on my part.

 

[White_Gold]

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


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I've also heard otherwise from numerous people around the AA. Did Peterson ever actually meet with any of the teams or players?

 

[White_Gold]

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.

I think a lot of the angst is due to his tacitness in support of Athletics, if what you say is true. I don't buy it though. I believe it was a giant failure to not utilize GT's sports to market our exceptional schooling and research. Not having outstanding programs in football and basketeball at the beginning of the social media boom has hurt Georgia Tech, I don't doubt that at all. You can keep saying your source, how about you name drop it?

 

[alagold]

To me it is the job of the President to make sure we have a GOOD fit at the AD job.It is obvious that that was a total failure WAY too much.When your programs record the worse total in Directors Cup points it gives a great correlation to what was going on.Also if Athletics is going deeply in debt ,things are not being handled well there either.

 

[forensicbuzz]

I think a lot of the angst is due to his tacitness in support of Athletics, if what you say is true. I don't buy it though. I believe it was a giant failure to not utilize GT's sports to market our exceptional schooling and research. Not having outstanding programs in football and basketeball at the beginning of the social media boom has hurt Georgia Tech, I don't doubt that at all. You can keep saying your source, how about you name drop it?

I did

 

[TheSilasSonRising]

Seem to be going in circles. Claims are made the Peterson was bad for athletics and that he actively disliked athletics. When @forensicbuzz made a statement that he acted appropriately toward athletics for a university president, a statement was made that the: "Least he can do is not make it harder to be a student athlete than a regular student". When I ask about that statement what Peterson did to make is harder to be a student athlete, you respond that that question is not appropriate, we should ask what he did to make it easier.

If you have specific allegations about what Peterson failed to do for athletics, that is a normal activity for university presidents I am all ears. So far it is all ambiguous statements that he hated athletics. I haven't seen any actual action items that he should have acted on. With MBob, it is easy to list failures as an athletic director: He avoided fans, He avoided large donors, He avoided GTAA staff, He turned down donations with specific purposes, etc: If you have actual items for Peterson similar to those for MBob, please list them instead of continuing with non-specific emotional based statements.

He hired MBob. That is one issue.

 

[TheSilasSonRising]

Let’s see here’s a few:
A. We got volleyball players, starting QBs, etc missing practice to attend classes because we don’t demand alternative time slots
B. Athletes attending prestigious grad schools elsewhere because of GT fails to adequately consider participation in intercollegiate athletics in the same light it would for academic endeavors
C. We’ve got botched contract negotiations, multiple sports over multiple years
D. How many coaches has GT fired for misconduct & nothing in the way of oversight from Mr Ethics himself?
E. Geez, how did we end up with some of the worst facilities and a massive debt load in GTAA?
F. Did he ever see Sasquatch? If so, did he ever ask him what he was doing or even care?
No doubt he did many good things promoting research & academics. Other areas Peterson ranged from below average to completely inept. Unfortunately as President he’s responsible for everything- campus safety, to employee relations, to fiscal governance, to athletics, to research, to academics, etc. He sucked when it came to GT athletics and it’s apparent to damn near everybody.

And, of course, presidents at larger universities with more employees, more faculty, more students, etc. seem to handle it much better.

 

[TheSilasSonRising]

It's the President's job to come in and set the culture, absolutely. They need to establish their vision and then put the people in place to execute that vision. At Georgia Tech, I don't believe it's the President's job to ensure that the athletic programs are successful. It's his/her job to put the right people in place to make that happen. I believe Peterson did just that in recognizing his mistake with Bobinski and shuffling him off to Purdue in 3 years. A 3 year stint as an AD at a P5 school is a sign of failure. He was a bad fit and I believe Peterson recognized that and moved him along.

And he got Purdue to take MBob how?

 

[iceeater1969]

2017 knight study ncaa rev.
Prudue 32 million in ticket sales and donations. Pay coaches, support staff and athletic admin 35 million.

Ga tech 24 million in ticket sales and donations - u can guess we dont have the same $$ staff .

 

[684Bee]

2017 knight study ncaa rev.
Prudue 32 million in ticket sales and donations. Pay coaches, support staff and athletic admin 35 million.

Ga tech 24 million in ticket sales and donations - u can guess we dont have the same $$ staff .

Purdue is MUCH bigger than GT, especially undergrad, which is really what matters.

 

[forensicbuzz]

And he got Purdue to take MBob how?

I think Peterson let it be known that it was time for Bobinski to move on. That probably happened after Year 2. Bobinski probably found his next spot on his own.

 

[gtstinger776]

I’m pretty sure Peterson wouldn’t have shed tears when an American sports icon like Kobe Bryant tragically passed away. This shows u how much he cares about sports and the athletes.

 

[forensicbuzz]

I’m pretty sure Peterson wouldn’t have shed tears when an American sports icon like Kobe Bryant tragically passed away. This shows u how much he cares about sports and the athletes.

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Why even bring Peterson into the comment? Get over it. He's gone.