Bewildered Society » football

[Leftovers] Three-minute Nike ad rich in pop culture references

Dave Studinski — Fri, 21 May 2010 17:35:35 +0000

Soccer obsession not required to understand this storytelling, but it certainly helps.

Originally Posted to BewilderedSociety.com

[(in)complete coverage] Chris Fowler’s act hasn’t changed

Will O'Hargan — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 09:58:12 +0000

Last year, when everyone had Ball State in the AP poll, Chris Fowler refused until this site (oh, and Jason Whitlock) among other places called Fowler out on his fowl play. Now, back then we compared him to, among other things, a muppet, and we stand by that comparison, even though we prefer the Muppets to Fowler himself. However, aside from being an idiot, he’s also a real douche. You know, when your team comes back from 20 points down only to lose on a last second field goal, it can be a little heartbreaking. Watch Chris Fowler enjoy this poor fans pain.

Originally Posted to BewilderedSociety.com

[And boom goes the dynamite!] College columnist calls out spoiled athletes, gets banned … then unbanned

Dave Studinski — Thu, 23 Apr 2009 21:04:02 +0000

The head coach for University of Wisconsin-Whitewater’s football program is no longer mad at the Royal Purple, the school’s student newspaper, for printing a column blasting a few athletes for their behavior at the gym. The decision to stop his temper tantrum comes just one day after banning the paper from direct access to the coaches and players as a result of the column’s publishing.

Student Michael Daly outlines the gym rats’ attitudes in the piece:

While I was in the Williams Center weight room April 10, three athletes from one of UW-Whitewater’s elite programs attempted to work out, independent of their team, without handing over their student IDs. They had their IDs, they just simply didn’t want to perform the laborious task of handing them over to the Williams Center employees. One athlete was cooperative, a second eventually forked over his ID, but the third refused until the police were called. That’s right; the police were summoned because an athlete wouldn’t take his ID out of his wallet and hand it to the employee. Nothing really happened, and all three were allowed to stay after wasting everyone’s time.

The column angered coach Lance Leipold to the point of a hastly written e-mail with foul language. Something you never, ever want to send a journalist, as the Purple confirms:

“This is [expletive deleted] bullshit,” Leipold said. “It’s going to be a bitch to try to cover football next season.”

Moreover, Leipold made it clear anyone affiliated with the student-run newspaper could not call anyone associated with the football team unless he approves. Furthermore, his athletes and coaches will not be allowed to answer questions from student reporters at games for the 2009 season, Leipold threatened.

“The door is shut,” Leipold said. “Go cover soccer, I have [head coach] Greg Henschel’s number, I’m sure that will be fun.”

Don’t worry, he’s sorry now though. He’s also keeping his job.

Seems the players aren’t the only spoiled ones in athletics.

[via Romenesko]

Originally Posted to BewilderedSociety.com

[And boom goes the dynamite!] Chirp, Chrip. It’s Bird Time.

Will O'Hargan — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 00:48:54 +0000

In less than a half hour Ball State’s Fighting Football Cardinals will take on the Golden Hurricane’s of Tulsa in the ~~Bubba Cunningham~~ GMA…. US Bailout Bowl II this evening on ESPN and ESPNHD.

The Ball State Daily News is talking about how Chris Miller may not see the field much in his last game as the team’s punter (don’t worry, he’ll play plenty in the NFL), how defense will be the difference despite two powerful offenses, how Phil Simms (and everyone else) likes Nate Davis and keeping us up to date on the weather.

The Star Press is offering an article on Nate Davis’ draft situation and a live chat with Greg Fallon! Yay!

Finally, and most importantly, we present conclusive evidence that the words to the fight song are not that hard to learn (and also are adorable):

Originally Posted to BewilderedSociety.com

[Hoosier Daddy?] RCA Dome fall down go boom! (With videos)

Dave Studinski — Sat, 20 Dec 2008 17:22:51 +0000

Obsessive video coverage of today’s RCA Dome implosion in downtown Indianapolis. See more below the fold.

RTV 6 doesn’t like to allow embedding.

Originally Posted to BewilderedSociety.com

[ShitFanWatch] Ball State to name Stan Parrish as new head coach

Will O'Hargan — Thu, 18 Dec 2008 20:52:52 +0000

Since I will be at work when the press conference actually happens and unable to convey my full thoughts once it’s been announced, I’ll go ahead and break the news here:

Stan Parrish will be the next head football coach at Ball State. Which, of course is neither news nor breaking. Tom Collins, Ball State’s athletic director and resident assclown will be there. I’m not sure if hand model/university President Jo Ann Gora or her husband Dick Cheney stand-in Roy Budd will be there, but it seems likely since they masterminded the whole thing.

Tom Collins

Jason Whitlock will be en route to Indiana, if message board chatter is to be believed, to tie himself to a crane and work as a human wrecking ball to the athletic department. There’s construction all over Ball State, so it shouldn’t be too hard to find the equipment, either. I wonder if Greg Fallon at the Star Press will ask if we went after Tommy Tuberville at the press conference later today.

I’m sure the hiring of Stan Parrish will be welcomed at Ball State. His promotion will be a pacifier to those who think that he is the main reason BSU won so many games this season, forgetting that it was outstanding defense and few errors that got Ball State where it was.

I wonder how they will answer the questions about the long term.

Originally Posted to BewilderedSociety.com

[ShitFanWatch] Ball State initiates hiring freeze. In related news: Who wants to be our football coach?

Dave Studinski — Tue, 16 Dec 2008 17:44:15 +0000

Early this afternoon Ball State University faculty and administrators received a letter from President Jo Ann Gora highlighting, above all else, Indiana’s imminent middle finger to higher education funding. What this means to the university who just lost its head football coach?

No more new hires! Gora writes:

In the short term, we are announcing a hiring freeze for vacant and new positions. Exceptions to this policy will be limited and require my approval in consultation with the cabinet.

Well shit. What about that football coach you just lost to the sunny Cali skies?

Some reports indicate a new coach from within is already confirmed. A Muncie Star Press article today, however, further clusters the clusterfuck:

But Collins, who also specifically denied the report that BSU has already offered the job to Parrish, said there is still a process the school must go through to hire a new coach.

“We haven’t even started yet,” Collins said. “I’ve got paperwork I’ve got to do here on campus to get the job posted.”

The AD said he would meet with school human resource officials later today to discuss the administration’s next course of action.

Better drop by the Prez’s office first, TC!

It’s a safe bet that this freeze will not directly affect the coaching position, although certainly money is an issue. It seems logical this announcement would be made the day after Hoke said his farewell in lieu of the Pacific Ocean and a handsome salary increase. With such a cost-cutting measure on the horizon, BSU had no choice but to let Hoke run away for his Benjamins. SDSU is giving Hoke $3.5 million over five years, and that’s a tough pill for Indiana’s third-ranked state school to swallow … especially when it’s now unable to hire any other staff. Imagine the internal doom if Hoke had taken a remotely similar amount from BSU. Try explaining that to overworked secretaries.

Budgets aside, perception is everything. Hardcore sports fans clash with financial officers here. In the end, Hoke is now the poster child for BSU’s financial climate.

Gora’s full letter, below the fold.

Last week — moments after I provided a fairly positive financial outlook to the University Senate — I received a call from Governor Daniels’ office about the economic shortfall facing the state. The next day, many of you may have seen the headlines where Governor Daniels discussed the state’s financial situation. The governor ordered state agencies to immediately cut an additional 3 percent of their spending (on top of 7 percent cuts already in place) and announced that state employees would receive no pay increases next year. Governor Daniels also plans “some marginal reductions” in higher education spending during this fiscal year but has not yet announced specifics. It is highly likely that budget cuts will continue, and may be increased, in the coming year.

As we look at reductions in every sector of the economy, we cannot expect higher education to be spared sacrifice. However, the university has already been working to reduce expenses for some time now, in ways large and small. The cost per-square-foot for building maintenance, custodial services, utilities, landscaping, and administration has been reduced for each of the past seven years. Moving to electronic documentation for capital projects has saved literally hundreds of thousands of dollars. Our recent move to a single-source provider for office supplies has increased productivity and lowered costs. And something as seemingly trivial as switching to foam hand soap has saved $17,000 a year.

While this forethought has mitigated the impact of this latest development, we need to do more. We should anticipate that revenue projections for the state will continue to lag. We need to position the university for several more months of challenging finances. Ball State must emerge from the economic downturn at least as strong, if not stronger, than we were going into it.

In the short term, we are announcing a hiring freeze for vacant and new positions. Exceptions to this policy will be limited and require my approval in consultation with the cabinet. In addition, I have asked cabinet members to identify tangible cuts to their immediate operating budgets for the remaining six months of this fiscal year. These cuts will likely include further reductions or freezes in travel and the purchasing of goods and services.

To prepare for the long term, I have asked each cabinet member to look across their areas for additional ways to reduce expenses and increase external funding. Now is the time to get creative and look at areas where efficiencies can be gained and real-dollar expenses can be reduced. In addition to those initiatives, we anticipate very limited — or even no — salary increases for the coming fiscal year.

Throughout this challenging period, we will remain focused on student success. Our first priority at Ball State is delivering the distinctive educational experience and services our students expect. We will ensure that we do not create obstacles for students in the completion of their degrees. Our students and their parents can be reassured that their educational experiences and degree completion will be unharmed.

While we would all prefer a different situation, in comparison to others, the state and the university are well positioned to weather this storm. Times of crisis provide opportunities for improvement. I am continually impressed with the entrepreneurial spirit, teamwork, and creativity on this campus. I know together we will serve the university well through this challenging time.

Sincerely,

Jo Ann M. Gora
President

Originally Posted to BewilderedSociety.com

[SYSK] BREAKING: Stan is JoGo’s man

Will O'Hargan — Tue, 16 Dec 2008 06:42:15 +0000

ESPN is reporting, already, that Stan Parrish will be named as the new head coach of Ball State. This seems odd on a number of levels. First, when Tracy Roller left Ball State one of the first things we heard from Ball State to diffuse the immediate cry of ‘promote Lisa McDonald’ was that all university positions have to be posted for two weeks before a hire can be made. It smelled fishy then, and now it seems even more fishy.

The second, and perhaps most confounding thought is contract negotiations take time. Look how long it took from when Brady interviewed at San Diego to when he was named there. These things are never done overnight. This is the fastest hire I have seen in the history of hires. That means that talk–on some level–of what to offer Stan and what he would accept took place. Hell, until two days ago the word was Stan was not interested in the position. Now he’s the head coach.

This is the most bizarre thing I’ve seen from an administration that has done an overwhelming number of bizarre things in respect for athletics. Time will tell if it will pay off, but know this: Stan Parrish is not a long term answer for this program. Brady Hoke had that potential. Stan Parrish will be enough of a fix for Gora and TC to save face and move on to places closer to where they actually want to be. But what do we do then?

Originally Posted to BewilderedSociety.com

[EPICS FAIL] FAIL State: The web of lies around Hoke’s departure

Will O'Hargan — Tue, 16 Dec 2008 00:29:25 +0000

BS Photo | Derick Brattain

It can now be considered official. Brady Hoke has left Ball State University for San Diego State University. Jo Ann Gora, via e-mail, confirmed as much earlier today, and The Star Press has Tom Collins on the record saying that Hoke has resigned as head football coach.

Today alumni from across the nation e-mailed Jo Ann Gora to ask her a question that she couldn’t possibly answer: ‘What went wrong?’

OverThePylon, a Ball State sports blog, has a response they received from President Gora. In it, she blames a number of factors in Hoke’s departure.

Recognizing his achievements this season, the university offered him a new deal that would have made Brady Ball State’s highest paid employee. We willingly discussed and resolved issues he raised. Upon learning of his decision, I asked Brady directly if there was any more we could have done to keep him, and he said, simply, “no.” When Brady told me that San Diego State had offered him a guaranteed package of $3.5 million over five years, I knew we had done all we could to keep him, especially in these challenging economic times.

Ball State did offer to make him the highest paid employee, that is true. However, what the response doesn’t address is the fact that many people know: There is plenty Ball State could have done to keep Brady Hoke here. Some are immediate, such as offering his assistants (many of whom already have their résumé prepared weeks ago) more than a 3% cost of living wage raise after a 12-1 season of which they were a key factor, putting offices near the football stadium or improving one of the worst college football stadiums in Division I.

Maybe we don’t have the money for it in the athletic budget. We did pay Ronny Thompson somewhere around $200,000 to go away and stop causing us problems. A reminder that no one was fired for that incident. However, Gora pretending that the difference was the $300,000 between Ball State and San Diego is foolish. Hoke wanted to stay at Ball State and that difference after calculating cost of living is actually closer to $100,000 by most estimates.

In these trying economic times, Brady Hoke has given the University a valueless gift: national exposure. These, of course, are all short term issues, and there are long term issues after the jump.

: Ball State athletic director Tom Collins

Of course, there is the longterm issues that also could have helped Hoke stay. Jo Ann Gora and Tom Collins have never made an effort to develop a relationship with Brady Hoke and could be seen clearly during halftime of Saturday’s basketball game when Hoke was being honored and Gora chose that moment to leave the stadium (as the picture at the start of this article shows, she’s not exactly the most involved spectator anyway).

Jason Whitlock, a national sports columnist and Ball State alum, posted a response from Gora that was not only awful, but also contained several lies which Whitlock took the time on WNDE’s show JMV to dismantle. Whitlock had a meeting with Gora and Collins at the President’s house where they discussed these coming issues. Whitlock knew what we all knew: this season was going to be special.

This is a mistake in a long line of mistakes made by Ball State’s administration in respect to athletics. Whitlock stated in plain words on JMV that this was a longterm plan to get Hoke to leave and promote Stan Parrish. We’ll see if that happens, or of Stan decides he doesn’t want to be replaced after he becomes successful.

Ball State has become a reactive University. Rather than be proactive and thinking about the future, Ball State is caught perpetually in the present and the past, always playing catch up. I have no problem with Ball State being a stepping stone. Any school of our size and stature will be viewed that way. But Brady Hoke didn’t want to leave, he was left with no choice. He could either leave and see his assistant coaches cupboard go completely dry or leave and try and have success elsewhere.

Also, anyone who complains about athletics taking money away from academics: the two are run on totally different budgets and have no effect on one another.

Originally Posted to BewilderedSociety.com

[And boom goes the dynamite!] Ball State administrative fumble leads to coach turnover. First down, San Diego.

Will O'Hargan — Sun, 14 Dec 2008 23:38:56 +0000

UPDATE: Brady is gone.

This, more than anything, will reinforce Ball State’s image as a second class institution that you only go to until you can get someplace better.

The administration has been trying to change this image forever. That has been one of Ball State President Jo Ann Gora’s goals that she’s been working on for five years. And she just flushed it down the toilet.

I don’t think she realizes how big of a mistake this was. For someone who has major concerns about how the University is viewed, she sure doesn’t seem to understand subtext at all.

–

WARNING: THE FOLLOWING IS AN ANGRY RANT

The football banquet was a 2 p.m. today, and Hoke said nothing about leaving, according to sources there.

However, the ESPN ticker has been reporting for over an hour that Hoke is talking with San Diego State to become their next head football coach. This has got to be interperted as a slap in the face to Ball State President Jo Ann Gora and her husband, Roy Budd. This is the same university president who sends messages from her Blackberry while the fight song plays at basketball games and disappeared during half time of the last game while the football team was honored.

This is a joke.

Ball State needs an overhaul. If this is the catalyst for that, so be it. It is time for JoGo to GTFO. And take Tom Collins with her.

Originally Posted to BewilderedSociety.com