- My Forums
- Tiger Rant
- LSU Recruiting
- SEC Rant
- Saints Talk
- Pelicans Talk
- More Sports Board
- Fantasy Sports
- Golf Board
- Soccer Board
- O-T Lounge
- Tech Board
- Home/Garden Board
- Outdoor Board
- Health/Fitness Board
- Movie/TV Board
- Book Board
- Music Board
- Political Talk
- Money Talk
- Fark Board
- Gaming Board
- Travel Board
- Food/Drink Board
- Ticket Exchange
- TD Help Board
Customize My Forums- View All Forums
- Show Left Links
- Topic Sort Options
- Trending Topics
- Recent Topics
- Active Topics
Started By
Message
Great Example of LSU Good Ole Boy Network Re: Stovall Firing
Posted on 11/27/16 at 5:56 am
Posted on 11/27/16 at 5:56 am
Might be a good time to revisit what resistance an AD ran into when he tried to fire a local Louisiana hero as LSU coach after he went winless in SEC play.
Considering Orgeron's 0-8 record in his last SEC campaign, the caterwauling by local Baton Rouge media and boosters with "access" is almost eerie following Stovall's 0-6 campaign.
Very interesting view of LSU/Louisiana politics from Brodhead's view, an outsider.
Fast-forward from 1982 to 2018 (?). Just change the names.
When the season ended on November 24, LSU's record was a miserable 4-7. For the first time in history, the Tigers had failed to win a single conference game, finishing 0-6 in the SEC.
I recommended to the Chancellor that Stovall be fired immediately and that the Athletic Department get on with its business. To my surprise, he didn't agree. Seems he'd changed his mind in the five weeks since our meeting after the Kentucky game, when he wanted Stovall's scalp.
The Chancellor's new strategy called for me to wait until December 2, the date of the next regularly scheduled meeting of the Board of Supervisors, where I would be required to make a formal recommendation to fire Stovall.
It was a beautiful maneuver that turned what should have been an open-and-shut matter into a public debate, complete with the shredding of Bob Brodhead by the media and the powerful Stovall backers who were set to lobby the Board on the Coach's behalf.
*****************************************
As the date of the board meeting approached, there was a beehive of activity around town. Tiger Rag, the self-appointed Bible of LSU sports, published a special Pro/Con edition which, rather than presenting both sides of the issue, presented what amounted to a pro-Stovall/anti-Brodhead dissertation. I was later told that Tiger Rag publisher Steve Meyers had attended and participated in sessions held by Stovall backers to mount a "Save Jerry's Job" campaign. So much for journalistic objectivity.
**********************
The Good Old Boy Club, no doubt, had heard of Arnsparger, but its members weren't happy that he was about to become LSU's next football coach. For the first time in 30 years, the Athletic Director would have his man as coach, and that meant the perks would dry up.
***************************
Big John McKeithen, former governor of Louisiana and prominent member of the Board of Supervisors, had already stated his intention to battle my recommendation to fire Stovall. He thought the Coach had the right to finish out the "one little old year left" on his contract. That was, he reasoned, the honorable way all things in this state were done.
I found my seat in this foreign land and could almost see where the lines had been drawn. I suddenly realized that I was scared to death. I felt like little Dorothy who had dared to come in before the Wizard to ask for a new brain for the strawman football program.
I had barely uttered my final syllable when McKeithen,the Wizard, began to bellow, and I stood at the podium in respectful silence, for the duration of his forty-eight-minute rampage. Huey Long would have been proud of Big John's filibuster. He certainly didn't disappoint any of the room's 200-plus occupants who had come looking for fireworks.
He admonished me that firing Stovall could easily cost LSU tax dollars in the Louisiana Legislature at appropriation time. I wondered if he also feared that firing Stovall would cause a drop in the price of oil?
He warned me that firing Stovall could drive a wedge between the university and its alumni, resulting in the cessation of donations and support to the school.
He cautioned me that Warren Rabb, an ex-LSU quarterback standing wild-eyed at the back of the room, wanted to beat me up.
Then out of the clear blue sky, John McKeithen asked me, "Are you wearing a bulletproof vest?" Obviously, he wasn't aware of the police protection my family and I had been under for the past week and a half. Otherwise, he surely wouldn't have uttered perhsaps the most stupid statement ever uttered in a public forum.
from Sacked by Bob Brodhead, pp. 57-63.
All this resistance to firing a coach who went 0-6 in the SEC, because he was a local hero.
Beware. It's going to be that much harder to dislodge Orgeron if and when he fails. Joe Alleva, an outsider, has wildly succeeded in letting the good ole boy network back in the door to run things, after Emmert and Saban showed them the door.
Considering Orgeron's 0-8 record in his last SEC campaign, the caterwauling by local Baton Rouge media and boosters with "access" is almost eerie following Stovall's 0-6 campaign.
Very interesting view of LSU/Louisiana politics from Brodhead's view, an outsider.
Fast-forward from 1982 to 2018 (?). Just change the names.
When the season ended on November 24, LSU's record was a miserable 4-7. For the first time in history, the Tigers had failed to win a single conference game, finishing 0-6 in the SEC.
I recommended to the Chancellor that Stovall be fired immediately and that the Athletic Department get on with its business. To my surprise, he didn't agree. Seems he'd changed his mind in the five weeks since our meeting after the Kentucky game, when he wanted Stovall's scalp.
The Chancellor's new strategy called for me to wait until December 2, the date of the next regularly scheduled meeting of the Board of Supervisors, where I would be required to make a formal recommendation to fire Stovall.
It was a beautiful maneuver that turned what should have been an open-and-shut matter into a public debate, complete with the shredding of Bob Brodhead by the media and the powerful Stovall backers who were set to lobby the Board on the Coach's behalf.
*****************************************
As the date of the board meeting approached, there was a beehive of activity around town. Tiger Rag, the self-appointed Bible of LSU sports, published a special Pro/Con edition which, rather than presenting both sides of the issue, presented what amounted to a pro-Stovall/anti-Brodhead dissertation. I was later told that Tiger Rag publisher Steve Meyers had attended and participated in sessions held by Stovall backers to mount a "Save Jerry's Job" campaign. So much for journalistic objectivity.
**********************
The Good Old Boy Club, no doubt, had heard of Arnsparger, but its members weren't happy that he was about to become LSU's next football coach. For the first time in 30 years, the Athletic Director would have his man as coach, and that meant the perks would dry up.
***************************
Big John McKeithen, former governor of Louisiana and prominent member of the Board of Supervisors, had already stated his intention to battle my recommendation to fire Stovall. He thought the Coach had the right to finish out the "one little old year left" on his contract. That was, he reasoned, the honorable way all things in this state were done.
I found my seat in this foreign land and could almost see where the lines had been drawn. I suddenly realized that I was scared to death. I felt like little Dorothy who had dared to come in before the Wizard to ask for a new brain for the strawman football program.
I had barely uttered my final syllable when McKeithen,the Wizard, began to bellow, and I stood at the podium in respectful silence, for the duration of his forty-eight-minute rampage. Huey Long would have been proud of Big John's filibuster. He certainly didn't disappoint any of the room's 200-plus occupants who had come looking for fireworks.
He admonished me that firing Stovall could easily cost LSU tax dollars in the Louisiana Legislature at appropriation time. I wondered if he also feared that firing Stovall would cause a drop in the price of oil?
He warned me that firing Stovall could drive a wedge between the university and its alumni, resulting in the cessation of donations and support to the school.
He cautioned me that Warren Rabb, an ex-LSU quarterback standing wild-eyed at the back of the room, wanted to beat me up.
Then out of the clear blue sky, John McKeithen asked me, "Are you wearing a bulletproof vest?" Obviously, he wasn't aware of the police protection my family and I had been under for the past week and a half. Otherwise, he surely wouldn't have uttered perhsaps the most stupid statement ever uttered in a public forum.
from Sacked by Bob Brodhead, pp. 57-63.
All this resistance to firing a coach who went 0-6 in the SEC, because he was a local hero.
Beware. It's going to be that much harder to dislodge Orgeron if and when he fails. Joe Alleva, an outsider, has wildly succeeded in letting the good ole boy network back in the door to run things, after Emmert and Saban showed them the door.
This post was edited on 11/27/16 at 6:00 am
Posted on 11/27/16 at 6:11 am to timlan2057
fond memories of losing to tulane and rice. glory days...
i do think ceo can be successful here, but if he's not...
i do think ceo can be successful here, but if he's not...
Posted on 11/27/16 at 6:51 am to timlan2057
Very good parallel. And a good reason why LSU is a representation of all that is wrong with this banana republic state. I remember that whole debacle so vividly, as I had just graduated from LSU and bought my first season tickets. Of course we got Bill, he did a really good job with Stovall's recruits and then left us with Archer and took Spurrier. The worst coaching decision of our lifetimes, although this one might threaten that one.
Posted on 11/27/16 at 7:06 am to timlan2057
quote:
Might be a good time to revisit what resistance an AD ran into when he tried to fire a local Louisiana hero as LSU coach after he went winless in SEC play.
This saga was the first thing that came to mind when the Pro-O sentiment started growing the past few weeks.
This hire was, no-doubt in my mind, facilitated by heavy political pressure. It worked and now O has his "dream job" and the good old boys have their place at the head of the table again.
There's no other reason for the quickness of this hire and the lack of due diligence in the farsical "National Search".
Regardless of wins and losses, these are dark days for the program. Not because of who is coach but for what it represents administratively.
Posted on 11/27/16 at 7:06 am to timlan2057
When Brodhead got here, a student could show up at the game with their ID and walk in. Under his tenure, a lot of the student section was taken, to be sold, for profit.
He claimed in his book that he was not responsible for that, yet he was the AD. It started a downhill roll where students now apply for a lottery to give them the right to buy tickets. This is short sighted for quick profit.
Students should be able to show up and see their team play, building a lifetime thirst to go see their Tigers play ball.
If Brodhead lied about the student thing, I cannot believe anything else he said.
He claimed in his book that he was not responsible for that, yet he was the AD. It started a downhill roll where students now apply for a lottery to give them the right to buy tickets. This is short sighted for quick profit.
Students should be able to show up and see their team play, building a lifetime thirst to go see their Tigers play ball.
If Brodhead lied about the student thing, I cannot believe anything else he said.
Posted on 11/27/16 at 7:36 am to timlan2057
All these ex-players, local sports radio, boosters, unfettered access. It's so obvious it would be funny if it wasn't such a bad thing. History repeats itself.
We worshipped saban for crushing that out and two coaches later they are back lol.
We worshipped saban for crushing that out and two coaches later they are back lol.
Posted on 11/27/16 at 7:47 am to Icansee4miles
quote:
Very good parallel. And a good reason why LSU is a representation of all that is wrong with this banana republic state. I remember that whole debacle so vividly, as I had just graduated from LSU and bought my first season tickets. Of course we got Bill, he did a really good job with Stovall's recruits and then left us with Archer and took Spurrier. The worst coaching decision of our lifetimes, although this one might threaten that one.
I guess it never dawned on me since the first time I read that years ago, that Big John, from Columbia, was going to bat for his fellow northeast Louisianian Stovall, from West Monroe.
We are in for much more buddy-buddy hires and politics--geography over the university.
This post was edited on 11/27/16 at 7:48 am
Posted on 11/27/16 at 7:53 am to Hangit
quote:
When Brodhead got here, a student could show up at the game with their ID and walk in. Under his tenure, a lot of the student section was taken, to be sold, for profit.
BooHoo... I was a freshman in 1984 and saw every LSU game until I graduated with minimal effort. I was even able to get a student ticket for my non-LSU student future wife which she wanted to attend.
Bob Brodhead set the foundation for LSU to be one of the more successful athletic programs in the country. His coaching hires also set the bar for many of the other sports which legacies still stand today.
Posted on 11/27/16 at 8:25 am to timlan2057
Thanks for the memories. Simply disgraceful. Why give another thin dime or otherwise, in any possible way, lend support to such a dispicable, degenerate cabal?
Posted on 11/27/16 at 8:29 am to timlan2057
quote:
Joe Alleva, an outsider, has wildly succeeded in letting the good ole boy network back in the door to run things, after Emmert and Saban showed them the door.
Sad, but true
Posted on 11/27/16 at 8:33 am to timlan2057
Excellent parallel.
Buckle up. This is gonna be a rough arse ride.
Buckle up. This is gonna be a rough arse ride.
Posted on 11/27/16 at 8:44 am to timlan2057
Stovall is from West Monroe...that is not Louisiana!
Posted on 11/27/16 at 8:48 am to Hangit
quote:
When Brodhead got here, a student could show up at the game with their ID and walk in.
That is true, there was a fee assessed to all students to allow for this. I thought it was glorious.
quote:
Under his tenure, a lot of the student section was taken, to be sold, for profit
That is true.
quote:
He claimed in his book that he was not responsible for that, yet he was the AD.
Well, to be fair, there was a growing chorus of people in 1980, before Broadhead arrived, calling for the end of the fee assesment since a large portion (perhaps a majority) of students did not attend the games. Mostly was lead by what would now be the SJW types.
quote:
It started a downhill roll where students now apply for a lottery to give them the right to buy tickets. This is short sighted for quick profit.
I'm pretty sure the lottery was revenue neutral or close to it but adding additional season ticket seats on the north end of the west sideline was probably a definite money maker.
quote:
If Brodhead lied about the student thing, I cannot believe anything else he said.
Not sure he actually lied about anything.
Posted on 11/27/16 at 8:55 am to timlan2057
Bob Brodhead was no outsider. I wouldn't believe a thing this guy said or wrote in a book about the place he resigned from because of pending ethics charges:
LSU Athletic Director Resigns After Ethics Charges
Oct. 22nd 1986 HEADLINES
LSU Athletic Director Resigns After Ethics Charges
Oct. 22nd 1986 HEADLINES
Posted on 11/27/16 at 9:00 am to timlan2057
Brodhead announced he was increasing the seating capacity in Tiger Stadium.
He did it by narrowing the width of each seat in Tiger Stadium. slick. Although he did move the home games from 7:30pm to 7:00pm.
He did it by narrowing the width of each seat in Tiger Stadium. slick. Although he did move the home games from 7:30pm to 7:00pm.
Posted on 11/27/16 at 9:10 am to timlan2057
Jesus, I long for the days we had Brodhead, a real AD.
Hell, i would even take skip back. At least he did a national search when saban left on christmas day.
Miles wasn't fired on christmas day. Joe shite the bed like a monkey fricking a football for two months.
SKip is laughing at this duke lacrosse assclown wannabe AD. disgraceful.
Hell, i would even take skip back. At least he did a national search when saban left on christmas day.
Miles wasn't fired on christmas day. Joe shite the bed like a monkey fricking a football for two months.
SKip is laughing at this duke lacrosse assclown wannabe AD. disgraceful.
Posted on 11/27/16 at 9:10 am to timlan2057
Haha, too bad no internet back then, the only time in my life I had a source, had a very close relative that was good friends with Stovall who also lost his job with the coach.
Posted on 11/27/16 at 9:12 am to km
quote:
Bob Brodhead was no outsider. I wouldn't believe a thing this guy said or wrote in a book about the place he resigned from because of pending ethics charges: LSU Athletic Director Resigns After Ethics Charges Oct. 22nd 1986 HEADLINES
Bob Brodhead was no saint. However, I see credible evidence regarding the bugging scandal to recognize elements of "kangaroo court" and "set-up." That does not excuse Brodhead's carelessness.
However, as others said, his hires-Bertman, Pat Henry, Sue Gunter, Arnsparger--set the tone for LSU's consistent excellence across the board culminating in the Saban-early Miles era.
His vision for athletic facilities is STILL ahead of its time. While the Tiger Stadium expansion is commendable, Brodhead's idea to include nice residential facilities for all athletes in the stadium is STILL ahead of its time, considering we are paying to house the football team in off-campus housing.
I don't have the time or the inclination to go into every detail. Read Brodhead's side of the "ethics charges" in his book very carefully and make your judgement from there.
Posted on 11/27/16 at 9:21 am to timlan2057
I said this as soon as he was made coach. I think this was all the plan. Before mikes was fired
Posted on 11/27/16 at 9:30 am to dagrippa
Really O is a genius. Giving ex players and the like open doors. Miles knew and was weary of that and was ridiculed. Its safe to say..there was a divide with the good ole boys over miles. Doesn't seem to be the case with O
Popular
Back to top
Follow TigerDroppings for LSU Football News