The Hill

[LibertyTurns]

Below is a link to GT's strategic plan and the Institute's Goals and Institutional Objectives. For those of you (like myself who has spoken to the man at the top directly about this) that question GT's commitment to athletic excellence, read it and weep. In the strategic plan, there's 2 fleeting references to athletics. There are ZERO, I repeat ZERO goals or objectives.

Any of you guys run a major sized organization? I can tell you that the fastest way to disenfranchise a portion of your workforce is to roll out a set of objectives for the team and intentionally disregard a major area. You might as well post a big "I don't give a crap about you" sign wherever they are.

Well guys this is what we've got. No commitment from the top. The AD hire should make a lot more sense to you all now. It's not about excellence or winning, it's all about academics and what the power broker's perceive GT's place in the world is.

http://www.strategicvision.gatech.edu/

 

[collegeballfan]

In other words, academics are more important than athletics.

Imagine that!

 

[ATL1]

I mean what do u expect it to say.

 

[Animal02]

And people scoff at the notion that CPJ's performance WRT academic progress and graduation is not critical to his job security. As long as he maintains the academic progress, and posts winning seasons, and doesn't get blown out by UGAG too often, I do not see him going anywhere.

 

[ATL1]

And people scoff at the notion that CPJ's performance WRT academic progress and graduation is not critical to his job security. As long as he maintains the academic progress, and posts winning seasons, and doesn't get blown out by UGAG too often, I do not see him going anywhere.

This is probably not true. CPJ is not hired to increase the football teams GPA.

 

[Animal02]

This is probably not true. CPJ is not hired to increase the football teams GPA.

Look at his contract....he gets far more bonus money for academic progress than getting ranked etc. It certainly reflects priorities.

 

[ATL1]

Look at his contract....he gets far more bonus money for academic progress than getting ranked etc. It certainly reflects priorities.

Thats great but that is not his main funtion as a football coach he's hired to win first. People also give CPJ too much credit for the gains the entire athletic dept is focused on academic excellence. That's an AD initiative.

http://www.ajc.com/weblogs/georgia-tech/2013/oct/24/tech-hits-graduation-rate-record/

 

[Animal02]

Thats great but that is not his main funtion as a football coach he's hired to win first. People also give CPJ too much credit for the gains the entire athletic dept is focused on academic excellence. That's an AD initiative.

http://www.ajc.com/weblogs/georgia-tech/2013/oct/24/tech-hits-graduation-rate-record/

It may not be what you believe is his main function, that does not necessarily mean the hill agrees with you
The only gains that matter to CPJ is the once made by the football team.

 

[ATL1]

Come on man they not paying the man 2.5+ Million for improved GPA'S. Field performance has to still be the main priority.

 

[Techster]

It may not be what you believe is his main function, that does not necessarily mean the hill agrees with you
The only gains that matter to CPJ is the once made by the football team.

As pointed out in another thread, ALL coaches have academic incentives in their contracts, and a lot have academic incentives that are larger than their on the field performance. For instance, Mack Brown got paid $100K if he had a 75% graduation rate and $100K bonus for making the national championship game. Which do you think was more important to UTexas? At last check, Texas had a graduation rate less than 60%. Mack Brown wasn't fired because his graduation rate was less than 60%.

If you think the GTAA wouldn't give up 10-15 points in the APR for 2-3 extra wins and 2,000+ more ticket sales every game, then you must really believe NCAA has the athletes' best interest in mind. Football makes the most money for our Athletic Association, and if attendance continues to erode because CPJ is winning 7 games every year, even his record high APR score won't save him. Not saying academic performance of our players isn't important, but people overvalue it's importance versus on the field results, revenue from ticket sales, and support from donors.

 

[ATL1]

You said it better than I could.

 

[Techster]

For the people who keep wanting to say CPJ is safe because his APR/Graduation rate bonus is higher than certain other bonuses, here's Exhibit A of why those assumptions are totally wrong:

Chan Gailey's contract.

http://www.coacheshotseat.com/GeorgiaTechCoachesHotSeat.pdf

$25,000 for Grad rate 70% or higher.

$25,000 for participating in a postseason game. $50,000 if it's a BCS bowl.

$25,000 for being a conference champion or co-champion.

$10,000 for being named ACC or National Coach of the year

$5,000 for beating UGA.

I'm pretty sure most of us are aware of how it ended for Gailey.

 

[xenoabe]

This is a non-story. I love GT Athletics but I went to Tech to get my degree(s). Athletics should take a back seat to academics when it comes down to it.

Now, I certainly agree that there are things the school can and should do to aid an improvement in athletics but the nature of this document doesn't bother me in the least.

 

[33jacket]

The schools primary objective is and should be academics.

But that doesnt mean you de-emphasize athletics to do that.

It doesnt mean that athletics still cant be a goal for the school.

It doesnt mean you have to pick one or the other. It just doesnt.

But gt has. The stodgy view is we cant do more to help our programs without sacrificing the school and that is just BS and i think we would all agree with that.

Now with that said the question we need to ask and answer is, is paul doing as good as he can within our current rules and if yes ok. If no and 7-6, very few nfl players, and a trend that is below .500 to fbs teams is worse than our self imposed restrictions then we need to find a way to maximize what we do or move on.

But either way gt needs to be more serious in the background about sports.

 

[txsting]

Below is a link to GT's strategic plan and the Institute's Goals and Institutional Objectives. For those of you (like myself who has spoken to the man at the top directly about this) that question GT's commitment to athletic excellence, read it and weep. In the strategic plan, there's 2 fleeting references to athletics. There are ZERO, I repeat ZERO goals or objectives.

Any of you guys run a major sized organization? I can tell you that the fastest way to disenfranchise a portion of your workforce is to roll out a set of objectives for the team and intentionally disregard a major area. You might as well post a big "I don't give a crap about you" sign wherever they are.

Well guys this is what we've got. No commitment from the top. The AD hire should make a lot more sense to you all now. It's not about excellence or winning, it's all about academics and what the power broker's perceive GT's place in the world is.

http://www.strategicvision.gatech.edu/

Go read the equivalent document from UGA and tell me if you spot any differences. My guess is you won't, but it would be interesting nonetheless.

 

[Rodney Kent]

The coaches are not paid by the Administration. They are paid from the walllets of the boosters and football income. Guess which one has debt problems! Paul Johnson was hired to win games, not by the Educational Department to advance their studies. Yes, it is imperative for the athletes to pass, but that is not the priority for the Head Coach. He is hired by the boosters, AD, and fan base to win games. When the attendance falls, and the boosters quit helping the school, the coach's win-loss record will become a priority.