Eric Hyman's Not So Subtle Message
posted by Scott Hood, Wednesday, January 02, 2008
But it’s less of a salutation and more of a call to arms.
Hyman, like many Gamecock fans, is tired of losing. So, he's thrown down the gauntlet.
Always optimistic, as a Division I athletics director should be, Hyman said he eagerly looks forward to 2008.
He should, because, quite frankly, 2007 was a mediocre year for the USC athletics program.
There were pockets of success to be sure – the excellent football recruiting class, the men’s golf team winning the NCAA West Regional, the softball team advancing to the Sweet 16 and the equestrian team capturing another national championship.
But let’s face it, the level of success of an athletics program in the SEC is judged by four sports – football, men’s basketball, women’s basketball and baseball.
All four of those highly visible sports fell short of their goals in 2007.
The football team, as I’m sure you’re quite aware, jumped out to a great since (6-1, No. 6 in the BCS) before collapsing down the stretch. The Gamecocks were left at home when bowl selections were announced in early December.
Neither basketball team earned a berth to the NCAA Tournament last March, while both teams have struggled against quality competition thus far in 2007-2008.
The men’s team has already lost five games during the non–conference portion of it schedule, meaning it will likely have to win nine or 10 games in conference play to make it to the Big Dance.
The women’s hoop team is 9-4, but the Lady Gamecocks have been pulverized by high quality competition. They lost to Illinois, 91-58, on Nov. 23, by 58 points to UConn (97-39) and, last Sunday, by a 95-63 margin at Oklahoma.
Granted, two of those three games (UConn, Oklahoma) came on the road, while the other (Illinois) was on a neutral court. But, at this level you have to step up when the competition requires it, and USC failed those tests.
In his New Years message, Hyman talks about finally changing the culture and the “destiny” of the USC athletic program, and settling “for nothing less than battling for championships in all sports.”
That’s heartwarming, but we’ve heard all of that rhetoric before.
Hyman also applauds the fact that 51 USC athletes (I prefer the term ‘revenue generators’, especially when it comes to the major sports) made the SEC Honor Roll and that over 200 USC athletes participated in the school’s community services program.
Quite honestly, the public-at-large, i.e. most USC fans, don’t give a hoot about a particular athletic team’s graduation rate when they don’t win.
As Al Davis would say, just win baby.
College head coaches are judged strictly by W’s and L’s. Period. A coach with a poor record and high graduation rate will receive a pink slip much quicker than a coach with a winning record and less than stellar graduation rate.
But, we knew all of that before. That’s nothing new; no matter the lengths the NCAA will go to convince you otherwise.
But here is where Hyman’s message gets interesting. He wrote the following:
We can and will expect to contend for SEC championships and top bowl games in football each year. We will expect both our men's and women's basketball programs to be in the NCAA tournament every year. And we will expect to send our baseball team to the NCAA tournament.
Are you paying attention Dave Odom and Susan Walvius? I hope so.
When we spoke with Odom Tuesday, he asserted Hyman had never told him directly that he expected USC to make the NCAA Tournament every year.
Well, if he didn’t know then, Odom knows now.
Odom had led USC to just one NCAA appearance (2004) in his first six seasons as head coach. Sure, USC won consecutive NIT titles in 2005 and 2006, but there’s a reason cynics call it the Nobody’s Interested Tournament.
It’s evident whatever success Odom has enjoyed at USC, Hyman believes it’s not good enough.
Walvius’ record at USC is similar to Odom’s. She has directed USC to two NCAA appearances in her 10 seasons, the last time being in 2003.
The message has been sent loud and clear – win or else.
Stated another way, the bar has been raised. And, in my opinion, not a moment too soon.
It’s high time the USC athletics program moves from hoping to win to expecting to win, especially if it wants to compete in the SEC.
Of course, Hyman was also speaking to football coach Steve Spurrier and baseball coach Ray Tanner when he drafted his message. But neither one of those coaches is in danger of losing his job.
Odom and Walvius, however, are another matter.
In my opinion, Hyman’s message reinforced the perception both coaches are under the gun this season. Unless Odom and Walvius make it into their respective NCAA Tournaments, they’ll be dismissed.
And walk away from USC with expensive parting gifts in the form of lucrative six-figure buyouts.
It pays – literally - to be a Division I head coach.
Link to this entry - Discuss this entry - Return to Blog Home
In case you haven’t seen it, South Carolina athletics director Eric Hyman has delivered a Happy New Year’s message to Gamecock Nation.
But it’s less of a salutation and more of a call to arms.
Hyman, like many Gamecock fans, is tired of losing. So, he's thrown down the gauntlet.
Always optimistic, as a Division I athletics director should be, Hyman said he eagerly looks forward to 2008.
He should, because, quite frankly, 2007 was a mediocre year for the USC athletics program.
There were pockets of success to be sure – the excellent football recruiting class, the men’s golf team winning the NCAA West Regional, the softball team advancing to the Sweet 16 and the equestrian team capturing another national championship.
But let’s face it, the level of success of an athletics program in the SEC is judged by four sports – football, men’s basketball, women’s basketball and baseball.
All four of those highly visible sports fell short of their goals in 2007.
The football team, as I’m sure you’re quite aware, jumped out to a great since (6-1, No. 6 in the BCS) before collapsing down the stretch. The Gamecocks were left at home when bowl selections were announced in early December.
Neither basketball team earned a berth to the NCAA Tournament last March, while both teams have struggled against quality competition thus far in 2007-2008.
The men’s team has already lost five games during the non–conference portion of it schedule, meaning it will likely have to win nine or 10 games in conference play to make it to the Big Dance.
The women’s hoop team is 9-4, but the Lady Gamecocks have been pulverized by high quality competition. They lost to Illinois, 91-58, on Nov. 23, by 58 points to UConn (97-39) and, last Sunday, by a 95-63 margin at Oklahoma.
Granted, two of those three games (UConn, Oklahoma) came on the road, while the other (Illinois) was on a neutral court. But, at this level you have to step up when the competition requires it, and USC failed those tests.
In his New Years message, Hyman talks about finally changing the culture and the “destiny” of the USC athletic program, and settling “for nothing less than battling for championships in all sports.”
That’s heartwarming, but we’ve heard all of that rhetoric before.
Hyman also applauds the fact that 51 USC athletes (I prefer the term ‘revenue generators’, especially when it comes to the major sports) made the SEC Honor Roll and that over 200 USC athletes participated in the school’s community services program.
Quite honestly, the public-at-large, i.e. most USC fans, don’t give a hoot about a particular athletic team’s graduation rate when they don’t win.
As Al Davis would say, just win baby.
College head coaches are judged strictly by W’s and L’s. Period. A coach with a poor record and high graduation rate will receive a pink slip much quicker than a coach with a winning record and less than stellar graduation rate.
But, we knew all of that before. That’s nothing new; no matter the lengths the NCAA will go to convince you otherwise.
But here is where Hyman’s message gets interesting. He wrote the following:
We can and will expect to contend for SEC championships and top bowl games in football each year. We will expect both our men's and women's basketball programs to be in the NCAA tournament every year. And we will expect to send our baseball team to the NCAA tournament.
Are you paying attention Dave Odom and Susan Walvius? I hope so.
When we spoke with Odom Tuesday, he asserted Hyman had never told him directly that he expected USC to make the NCAA Tournament every year.
Well, if he didn’t know then, Odom knows now.
Odom had led USC to just one NCAA appearance (2004) in his first six seasons as head coach. Sure, USC won consecutive NIT titles in 2005 and 2006, but there’s a reason cynics call it the Nobody’s Interested Tournament.
It’s evident whatever success Odom has enjoyed at USC, Hyman believes it’s not good enough.
Walvius’ record at USC is similar to Odom’s. She has directed USC to two NCAA appearances in her 10 seasons, the last time being in 2003.
The message has been sent loud and clear – win or else.
Stated another way, the bar has been raised. And, in my opinion, not a moment too soon.
It’s high time the USC athletics program moves from hoping to win to expecting to win, especially if it wants to compete in the SEC.
Of course, Hyman was also speaking to football coach Steve Spurrier and baseball coach Ray Tanner when he drafted his message. But neither one of those coaches is in danger of losing his job.
Odom and Walvius, however, are another matter.
In my opinion, Hyman’s message reinforced the perception both coaches are under the gun this season. Unless Odom and Walvius make it into their respective NCAA Tournaments, they’ll be dismissed.
And walk away from USC with expensive parting gifts in the form of lucrative six-figure buyouts.
It pays – literally - to be a Division I head coach.
Link to this entry - Discuss this entry - Return to Blog Home
Previous Blog Entries
Scott Hood. Since February of 2005, Scott has covered the South Carolina football, men's basketball and baseball programs for GamecockCentral. He may be reached by email at scottblog(at)gamecockcentral.com. Replace (at) with @.