CONCERNED FANS FOR
BASKETBALL
EDITORIAL
PART IV
October 8, 2006
NATIONAL COMPETITIVENESS AND PUBLIC AURA
NATIONAL COMPETITIVENESS
Coach Smith is the highest paid coach in college basketball. However, his results have not been commensurate to his compensation. Coach Smith is responsible for the longest Final Four drought in UK history under a single coach, and he has tied the longest stretch of no Final Four appearances spanning coaching changes. With the 2006-07 season on the horizon, the prospects are excellent that Coach Smith will secure sole possession of this record. Coach Smith's teams have lost ten or more games in four of the last seven seasons.
Many of Coach Smith supporters discount the final four drought and the four 10+ loss seasons that have marked Coach Smith's last 8 years by pointing to increased parity in the game. However, the parity argument does not withstand scrutiny. A relatively small group have continued to enjoy great success on the national stage to the exclusion of the vast majority of schools. During the last eight years, seven teams earned multiple trips to the Final Four taking 17 of the 32 spots and claiming seven of the eight titles. The teams [FF Appearances/Titles] were Mich. St [4/1], Duke [3/1], U Conn. [2/2], UNC [2/1], Florida [2/1], Maryland [2/1], and Kansas [2/0]. These have been the elite teams of the last 8 years. Over many decades, Kentucky basketball routinely appeared in such exclusive lists of NCAA accomplishments.
“PUBLIC AURA”
In our opinion, these facts lead to one compelling conclusion. Coach Smith has not preserved and protected the long-term interests of the program. He has allowed the program to slip from greatness toward mediocrity. Coach Smith has stated that he regards his work at UK as simply another “job.” The swagger is missing, opponents come to Rupp with legitimate expectations of victory, and the program no longer captures the imagination of the up and coming high school players. These circumstances have tarnished UK 's "public aura," an aura that is getting dimmer.
Why is the “public aura” of a major college basketball program important? Let us listen to the 8 th Circuit Court of Appeals. “First, the court pointed to testimony by |Doug Dickey, a former athletic director at the University of Tennessee . The court found his testimony ‘impressive and convincing' concerning the need for a college basketball program to have a particular ‘public aura.' That testimony included assertions that since basketball programs are in the marketing and entertainment business, for a program to be successful, the public needs to know that its coach is … [looking out for the long-term interests of the program] so that fans will buy tickets and support the team.”
This is why concerned fans have concluded that Coach Smith should step aside now for the future interests of the program.
Concerned Fans for UK Basketball
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FOOTNOTES PART IV:
http://www.kykernel.com/media/paper305/news/2003/04/21/News/New-
Contract.May.Keep.Smith.At.Uk-
686076.shtml?norewrite200603240437&sourcedomain=www.kykernel.com
http://www.bigbluehistory.net/bb/Statistics/TeamNCAAFinalFour.html .
See also http://www.bigbluehistory.net/bb/Statistics/seasoncumulativeuk.html ,
http://www.ukathletics.com/index.php?s=&url_channel_id=37&
url_article_id=10276&url_subchannel_id=&change_well_id=2
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_NCAA_Tournament_
Final_Four_Participants
Nolan Richardson, Jr., v. B. Alan Sugg , et al., Nos. 04-
3049/3187 (8th Cir. 2006) at 21. http://www.ca8.uscourts.gov/opndir/06/05/043049P.pdf
Return to Previous Section of Editorial:
Other Editorials:
Can UK Football Be Fixed By Just Replacing Its Coach?
Sadly It Is Not LikelyUK Should Fight The NCAA If Sanctioned Over Bledsoe in Two Parts
ARE TUBBY SMITH CRITICS UNREASONABLE?
MEMBERS OF UK SPORTS PRESS CORPS OWE DUTY TO BIG BLUE NATION, November 12, 2006
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SugarHill Communications of Kentucky
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