The Dawn(ing) Of A New Era
posted by Scott Hood, 5/08/2008 04:05:00 AM
And possibly changed it forever.
It began, of course, with the solid hiring of Darrin Horn as the new men’s basketball coach. Horn was lured away from his alma mater (Western Kentucky) to take over for Dave Odom just days after leading the Hilltoppers into the Sweet 16.
Less than three weeks later, ground-breaking for the new academic enrichment center (known as the “The Dodie” in honor of the building’s biggest benefactor) was held outside of the Roost in the parking lot that now serves Sarge Frye Field.
Than came the media tour of the $36 million baseball stadium under construction in the Olympia neighborhood. For the first time, USC fans were able to get an up close look at the new state-of-the-art facility.
Finally, the news broke on Wednesday (it was first reported by the Philadelphia media) that Dawn Staley, one of the most recognizable figures in women’s college basketball, will leave her post at Temple and become the new head women’s coach at South Carolina.
That’s a pretty good year crammed into five weeks.
Is this the "dawn" of a new era in Gamecock athletics? Sorry, I couldn't resist.
The hiring of Staley raises this question: has USC ever had a more impressive roster of coaches than they do now? Steve Spurrier, Ray Tanner, Curtis Frye (track and field coach), Horn and Staley are all recognized nationally among the top coaches in their distinct genres.
While some USC fans will hardly raise an eyebrow to the hiring of Staley, I can assure you that in the world of women’s college basketball, it’s huge.
This move has literally put USC on the women’s college basketball map. How Hyman was able to convince Staley to leave her hometown of Philadelphia, where she is a legend, and come to Columbia is beyond me.
I guess that’s why he makes the big bucks.
USC now has two of the best and brightest young basketball coaches in the country. Hopefully, both will remain here for a long time.
Without question, some Gamecock fans will cringe when they find out Staley will earn as much as $650,000 per year as USC’s new women’s hoops coach. Some may even be resistant.
But I view it another way: it’s the cost of doing business in the SEC.
There’s a price to pay for success in the best conference in the country, and USC is footing the bill it right now.
Unfortunately, that price tag will stretch into the hundreds of millions of dollars. Will success be guaranteed, even at that price? No. But the odds just got a little shorter.
Steadily, the pieces are falling into place for the Gamecock athletic department. The aforementioned coaches, as well as the $200 million athletic facilities improvement project now underway, will transform USC over the next decade like nothing we have ever seen before.
As I wrote yesterday, most USC fane are on board when it comes to increased ticket prices, higher donation levels for the Gamecock Club and seat licenses. Some fans, however, are not.
If you’re a Gamecock fan, ask yourself this question: do you want USC to just compete in the SEC, or do you want USC to win in the SEC?
I can assure you Hyman wants to win. Very badly. As a result, mediocrity will no longer be tolerated.
In my view, with all this money Gamecock fans are pledging to the USC athletic department for facilities, coaches’ salaries and other expensive things, they’re gaining something very valuable in return.
And that’s the right to demand excellence.
That’s the way it is at some of the schools in the SEC. Fans at Georgia, Tennessee and Florida are required to pay a lot of money to watch their respective teams play. In return, they expect to win. If their teams don’t, heads roll and new blood is brought in.
It hasn’t always been that way in Columbia. Some administrators and fans were content with the status quo, to keep floating along without any desire for sustained success. In short, there was no sense of urgency.
It’s different now.
The best coaches have been hired. The athletic facilities USC needs to compete against the larger, wealthier schools of the SEC are bring constructed or will soon be.
Time is growing short.
Soon, there will be no more excuses.
Years from now, I'm sure, we’ll reflect back and say the period of time from April 1 to May 10, 2008 was 40 days that rocked Gamecock Nation.
And possibly changed it forever.
It began, of course, with the solid hiring of Darrin Horn as the new men’s basketball coach. Horn was lured away from his alma mater (Western Kentucky) to take over for Dave Odom just days after leading the Hilltoppers into the Sweet 16.
Less than three weeks later, ground-breaking for the new academic enrichment center (known as the “The Dodie” in honor of the building’s biggest benefactor) was held outside of the Roost in the parking lot that now serves Sarge Frye Field.
Than came the media tour of the $36 million baseball stadium under construction in the Olympia neighborhood. For the first time, USC fans were able to get an up close look at the new state-of-the-art facility.
Finally, the news broke on Wednesday (it was first reported by the Philadelphia media) that Dawn Staley, one of the most recognizable figures in women’s college basketball, will leave her post at Temple and become the new head women’s coach at South Carolina.
That’s a pretty good year crammed into five weeks.
Is this the "dawn" of a new era in Gamecock athletics? Sorry, I couldn't resist.
The hiring of Staley raises this question: has USC ever had a more impressive roster of coaches than they do now? Steve Spurrier, Ray Tanner, Curtis Frye (track and field coach), Horn and Staley are all recognized nationally among the top coaches in their distinct genres.
While some USC fans will hardly raise an eyebrow to the hiring of Staley, I can assure you that in the world of women’s college basketball, it’s huge.
This move has literally put USC on the women’s college basketball map. How Hyman was able to convince Staley to leave her hometown of Philadelphia, where she is a legend, and come to Columbia is beyond me.
I guess that’s why he makes the big bucks.
USC now has two of the best and brightest young basketball coaches in the country. Hopefully, both will remain here for a long time.
Without question, some Gamecock fans will cringe when they find out Staley will earn as much as $650,000 per year as USC’s new women’s hoops coach. Some may even be resistant.
But I view it another way: it’s the cost of doing business in the SEC.
There’s a price to pay for success in the best conference in the country, and USC is footing the bill it right now.
Unfortunately, that price tag will stretch into the hundreds of millions of dollars. Will success be guaranteed, even at that price? No. But the odds just got a little shorter.
Steadily, the pieces are falling into place for the Gamecock athletic department. The aforementioned coaches, as well as the $200 million athletic facilities improvement project now underway, will transform USC over the next decade like nothing we have ever seen before.
As I wrote yesterday, most USC fane are on board when it comes to increased ticket prices, higher donation levels for the Gamecock Club and seat licenses. Some fans, however, are not.
If you’re a Gamecock fan, ask yourself this question: do you want USC to just compete in the SEC, or do you want USC to win in the SEC?
I can assure you Hyman wants to win. Very badly. As a result, mediocrity will no longer be tolerated.
In my view, with all this money Gamecock fans are pledging to the USC athletic department for facilities, coaches’ salaries and other expensive things, they’re gaining something very valuable in return.
And that’s the right to demand excellence.
That’s the way it is at some of the schools in the SEC. Fans at Georgia, Tennessee and Florida are required to pay a lot of money to watch their respective teams play. In return, they expect to win. If their teams don’t, heads roll and new blood is brought in.
It hasn’t always been that way in Columbia. Some administrators and fans were content with the status quo, to keep floating along without any desire for sustained success. In short, there was no sense of urgency.
It’s different now.
The best coaches have been hired. The athletic facilities USC needs to compete against the larger, wealthier schools of the SEC are bring constructed or will soon be.
Time is growing short.
Soon, there will be no more excuses.
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