Sexton and the Athletic Department, a poll

[shock]

I see him as timid, not wanting to rock the boat an make some waves. The pluses- Marshall is still here and is given whatever he needs. We have great coaches all around. Chris Jans is STILL here. WSU isn't under investigation, and he isn't a crook as far as I can tell. The not so positive- still in the mvc. Seemed scared to be that guy with gene. Parking is going to be a mess. Shockervision sucks. What tv contracts?

[ABC]

What strawman? Simply observations I've seen from watching this whole thing develop over the years on this board.

The obvious strawman about not liking it when people don't worship Sexton. That is simply a silly notion by you that is wholly unsupported by the facts. I've spent my time challenging criticism that I felt was unsubstantiated.

[SubGod22]

But that's how the other side sees it. That's all I was saying. I'm not saying you think they should worship him but that's how you come off to some of them.

[1972Shocker]

I see him as timid, not wanting to rock the boat an make some waves.

I would think that ADES having the balls to replace Gene would have perhaps addressed this issue. I personally do not think that was an easy move nor one that was without controversy. Now whether he handled it as well as he could have is debatable. But timidity does not seem to be part of the equation, at least, in with this action.

[ShockTalk]

First, Sexton didn't hire himself. If you want to criticize his inexperience and communication skills, don't blame him, blame those that hired him. Also, rate him given that starting point.

I didn't like the way he handled the sCUm Valley Tourney snafu, but he was in his first year and learning to deal with other ADs, the Valley Office, and the commissioner. Would he have done it different now, I don't know. What I can do now, that I didn't then, is minimize that incident being in his 1st year as AD and lack of experience.

I believe his handling of Krusty was about as good as one could expect. Several years ago, he stopped the rolling contract. Had the baseball team turned things around to justify the salaries being paid, extensions may have happened. However, dealing with Gene would be difficult for any AD. I don't believe Sexton could have fired Gene any sooner than he did and it be reasonably received by a majority of fans. We will also never know the complete story of what all might have been tried in dealing with Gene.

It would appear that some here criticize the AD because he took over a successful Athletic Department. Would you rather our athletics tanked just to see how ADES would have done in possibly building it back? Not me.

Getting into a new conference? Who's to say what all he's done? Someone has to want you. You have to fit what they might be looking for assuming they want to expand at all.

The parking mess? Better check with ADES's boss about that.

[1972Shocker]

The poll probably should be who was the better AD, Jim Schaus or Eric Sexton. Actually, I don't think we need a poll to know what the answer to that question would be in a landslide.

But Eric had nothing to do with Jim Schaus leaving. Was there another Jim Schaus out there to be had? I don't know, but Don Beggs, for whatever reasons, believed Eric was the right fit based on the needs of the athletic program at that time. And I have to say I have a very high regard for President Beggs and his leadership. Now compared to many other AD's in our history maybe ADES stacks up a little better.

Bottom line is that Eric's legacy is yet to be fully determined and written. To me his hiring seemed like somewhat of a risk at the time due to his inexperience. I do think that Eric has shown he is learning and growing in the job, and at least so far he has done that without any major explosions.

[WuShock16]

Again, I am flabbergasted by the people who say that Gene's firing could have been handled better. That blame falls squarely on #10. Could a more rosy and pleasant outcome occurred? Maybe...but only if Gene also agreed to it. The only way Gene was going to allow that to be handled differently was for him to be given an extension and raise. He tried to call WSU's bluff...and lost badly.

[SubGod22]

Personally, I rate Sexton at a C. He started at a C and hasn't done anything one way or the other to change that from what I've seen.

I don't think anybody is faulting Eric for taking over a successful department. But that may also be what holds him back in the views of others. There's been nothing major that he's had to do so there's not a lot to boost him there. But he hasn't done anything horrible either to knock him down. The department has continued to be successful.

As I've said, the results that Butler gets with the baseball program will move the needle one way or the other. I don't follow the baseball program extremely close but I keep tabs on it. I have friends who love the program. Many felt that Gene should have been let go sooner. A few think this year was the right time. Based off of their thoughts, his removal doesn't move the needle for me as from what I've seen and heard, it should have been done sooner. So I keep him where he is.

I don't think anybody was happy with how he handled the Screw in the Lou. Being new to it all definitely played a part, but also got him off on the wrong foot with some. I understand the need to be diplomatic, but he seemed to just accept and go with everything and that rubbed a lot the wrong way. But you can place some of that blame on Beggs for going with a guy with no experience.

One of the plusses for Eric was supposed to be his connections and fund raising ability. I admit, I have no idea how he's done there as I don't know a lot of people in those circles and have no idea how much he's been able to generate with his abilities. So I can't say much there.

In regards to conference affiliation, I'm not sure much can be laid at his feet. From a few of the quotes he's given in the past, he seems to be open to moving if the opportunity comes along. What we don't know, and probably shouldn't either way, is if he's been active in communicating with other conferences about getting us in or what would be required of us. Some of that goes on the President as well as that's where the decision would have to come from. But if we've been talking to others, it shouldn't be made public. If we aren't talking, there's nothing to be made public. We know that without football, it makes it harder to move and our geography works against us without it. So that is what it is and if anything happens there, it'll most likely be because Marshall and the basketball program continues to make a lot of noise nationally. That's about the only way a door opens for us.

I'm not sure how anyone can blame him for parking. That's just silly.

[ABC]

Sub, your comments don't seem to add up to a C.

Re: the screw in the Lou. I wonder what some folks this Schaus would have done. I don't see him doing much of anything different that Sexton, but am genuinely curious what some of you think. What would Schaus have done and what could Sexton have done differently?

Maybe Sexton's friend ShockRef can weigh in, but I do not believe there was anyway to overturn the decision, but I don't know. I suppose he would have ranted publicly but I don't see how that helps anyone. We don't know what private conversations he's had with Elgin and the MVC about any of this, of course.

[Ricardo del Rio]

Ok, one thing I don't get, why all the hate for Sexton? It seems like ever since he was hired, he's gotten nothing but hate from a core group of posters here, and I really don't get it. Our athletic department isn't doing anything sketchy. We're not losing scads of money. He seems to have a nose for hiring coaches - although the baseball hire will be telling there. We're not getting national press for personality conflicts. What more does he have to do?

I have noticed there is a core group of posters here, who have given nothing, but love to the AD.

As of this post, the "haters" comprise 28% of those, who have voted in the poll. It must be a bunch of libertarians, who are led by Ron Paul or Michelle Malkin.

[Ricardo del Rio]

Maybe Sexton's friend ShockRef can weigh in, but I do not believe there was anyway to overturn the decision, but I don't know.

I agree.

It would take a very improbable review outcome for the call on the floor and clock management to be reversed.

[SubGod22]

Sub, your comments don't seem to add up to a C.

Re: the screw in the Lou. I wonder what some folks this Schaus would have done. I don't see him doing much of anything different that Sexton, but am genuinely curious what some of you think. What would Schaus have done and what could Sexton have done differently?

Maybe Sexton's friend ShockRef can weigh in, but I do not believe there was anyway to overturn the decision, but I don't know. I suppose he would have ranted publicly but I don't see how that helps anyone. We don't know what private conversations he's had with Elgin and the MVC about any of this, of course.

How does it not add up to a C? That's where he started and I haven't really seen anything one way or the other to change that. Because of that, he remains a C.

[Rocky Mountain Shock]

Can't wait for the season to start...

[RoyalShock]

I read an article a couple of weeks ago about the trend in hiring ADs at the D-1 level that have less experience in athletics and more in business and fundraising, some with no athletic department experience.

Sound familiar?

WSU was just on, or at least near, the leading edge of the trend. Schaus was probably the best of both worlds and I think we can all agree how fortunate we were to get him when we did. And I see nothing to indicate that, besides some in-game operational things for a couple of years (most of which were probably due to a change in associate ADs), the department has dropped much, if any.

There will always be things we all wish were better. The quality of ShockerVision is my main gripe. But unless we're getting big-time TV revenue, improvements must be budgeted gradually and done as funds are available.

The improvements going on now, and having the courage to make a change in baseball coaches (plus what appears to be a good hire, but time will tell), would lead me to give Sexton a solid "B" grade.

[MadaboutWu]

I agree that nothing was going to change in St. Louis; I'd put it stronger and add that Sexton's actions were irrelevant. It was a choice between making noise to please the base or playing nice to not tick off people in the league. I might have preferred the former too, but it is a complete non-issue for me.

Retaining Marshall is a major plus. I don't know how active Sexton has been or if it is like a ref in a game where the best one is not noticed at all. In either case, HCGM has had interest from quite a few programs, some close to his geographic roots and some potentially tempting for other reasons. So I score this as a major accomplishment.

I don't know about Lamb's other opportunities but retaining him is also good.

I come down on the side of liking the way the GS situation was handled, and I like what I see from Butler so far. Finally I enjoy winning the all-sports trophy basically every year.