Former UGA Letterman Concerned About The State of UGA Athletics (long)

#1

Lawrence Wright

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#1
Here's something we can agree on, and even former UGA athletes know...Georgia SUCKS! :rock:

A letter from a former Georgia letterman concerned about the state of UGA athletics

Seth Emerson
@SethWEmerson
Carroll Minick was a baseball player at Georgia from 1963-63, and is now a retired stockbroker living in Savannah, Ga. He wrote the following letter in an e-mail, with the subject line “UGA Sports and Greg McGarity.” Minick agreed to let it be published. The posting of this letter it not as an endorsement of everything mentioned, or the overall sentiment. The purpose of publishing the letter is to give an on-the-record voice to the concerns that others have expressed behind the scenes.

The letter appears essentially as it was originally written, with minor edits, mainly for format:

Four years ago, I along with a fellow UGA baseball letterman, met with Greg McGarity in his office to discuss his expectations for our baseball coach and program. He said he judged his coaches on: 1. Overall record, 2. SEC record, 3. SEC championships, and 4. College World Series and postseason championships. Since that time, our baseball program has had a losing record, with many statistics near the bottom.

About a month before this baseball season was over, I called Greg McGarity’s office about his having a face-to-face meeting with two former baseball captains and me. He refused and said he’d only do a conference call. The three of us talked to Greg for 48 minutes and told him the lettermen were unhappy with the poor performance of baseball and wanted excellence. David Perno, the former coach, had been to the College World Series three times in his tenure, and this year we hardly made the SEC Tournament, after finishing 12th out of 14 teams. He listened and none of us have heard anything since.

My involvement with UGA baseball goes back for the past 23 years. I lettered in the 1960s and have known every coach since. My duties have ranged from president of the lettermen’s club, to chairman of a large fundraiser at the governor’s mansion, and many other activities. In 2001 Athletic Director Vince Dooley asked me to be on the baseball selection committee, which I did when David Perno was selected as coach. Over many years, I’ve met and known numerous lettermen, both old and young from all sports and am in contact with many of them.

These relationships with lettermen have led to many telephone calls from them about baseball and our entire sports program.

Complaints heard were:
Basketball is underperforming with a coach who could recruit better.
Tennis has lost the NCAA tournament and our tennis facilities are behind the times.
Our football facilities are middle of the road, with the new indoor facility an exception. This includes issues with the weight room, player facilities and a stadium not fan-friendly for this era.
The UGA Athletic Board has limited representation from former Georgia athletes.
Women’s basketball is average.
Women’s softball finished last in the SEC.
Women’s volleyball is bad.
Women’s golf is not good.

And to top it off, Vanderbilt beat us in football, baseball and golf.
It looks like we need a change in our athletic department, and we need professional help. I suggest Billy Payne, or someone else of his stature, head a search committee to name a new athletic director. Look at Clemson and what their athletic department has done with great leadership and a plan for high success.

We’ve had monumental failures, such as tearing down the Nalley Center after six years. ($15 million…whoosh, down the drain. ) The location at Foley Field was the perfect place for the indoor facility and further football expansion. Space will be needed in the future and football is our cash cow. Kirby Smart needs big help, because competition is fierce and will not get any easier.

Why didn’t we build a new baseball stadium like South Carolina? Now Alabama, Mississippi State, and Kentucky are building new stadiums. We spent $13 million plus for a baseball renovation and with that, still lack some essentials.

The state of Georgia is in the top four states in football, basketball and baseball for recruiting. We have no in-state competition other than Georgia Tech. Look at our surrounding states and their in-state competition. A few years ago in the MLB draft we had six Georgia selections in the first round. Basketball has great athletes going everywhere but Athens. The NFL draft had 27 players drafted from the state of Georgia and none played at UGA. None!

The SEC Network is a cash cow now, but in the future with television streaming and technology changes, things might be very different. Our brand must compete and must win to make money to survive. This is reality.

I blame all of us for accepting this mediocrity and just sitting there as things seem to get worse. What if football is 9-3, baseball finishes seventh, and basketball finally makes another top 64. What is accomplished? To me, average… because we need championships and our main rival, Florida, (5-21 in the last 26 games, in the “Gator Bowl”) is winning at the highest level in all sports, and in reality is our biggest rival.

UGASports.com has given Greg McGarity at 94 percent negative rating. This obviously is a very high negative percentage.

We must reach out to President Jere Morehead and let him know the high level of dissatisfaction. The issue is: Do we want to continue to be average or do we want to be at the top and be excellent? I choose excellent and close with a quote by Midge Decter, who is a writer and thinker: “You have to join the side you’re on.”
– Carroll Minick

Note: This letter and a request for a response was sent to McGarity, who did not respond.
 
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#2
#2
Here's something we can agree on, and even former UGA athletes know...Georgia SUCKS! :rock:

Georgia is, without question, the most underachieving football program over the last 30-40 years.

If you look at it in terms of location, proximity to talent, proximity to a regional economic hub/money etc., it should be Georgia, not Alabama, that has the dynasty. There is more talent (both on a nominal and per capita basis) in Georgia and Georgia is the larger/wealthier state.

Georgia really should have won about 3-4 national titles in football since the early 80s. At least.

Why exactly are Georgia's facilities middle of the road? Why was it like pulling teeth to get them to build that indoor facility, which numerous rivals have had for years?
 
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#3
#3
Georgia is, without question, the most underachieving football program over the last 30-40 years.

If you look at it in terms of location, proximity to talent, proximity to a regional economic hub/money etc., it should be Georgia, not Alabama, that has the dynasty. There is more talent (both on a nominal and per capita basis) in Georgia and Georgia is the larger/wealthier state.

Georgia really should have won about 3-4 national titles in football since the early 80s. At least.

Why exactly are Georgia's facilities middle of the road? Why was it like pulling teeth to get them to build that indoor facility, which numerous rivals have had for years?

UGA's original IPF was only 50-60 yards, and it was obsolete not too long after it was built.
 
#4
#4
UGA's original IPF was only 50-60 yards, and it was obsolete not too long after it was built.

Oh, I thought they didn't have one period before the current one was built.

Do you know what was the scuttlebutt as to why it took forever to build the current one? I'm sure it wasn't because of a lack of funds. Wasn't there some tension between Richt and the athletic admin about that, among other things?
 
#5
#5
Oh, I thought they didn't have one period before the current one was built.

Do you know what was the scuttlebutt as to why it took forever to build the current one? I'm sure it wasn't because of a lack of funds. Wasn't there some tension between Richt and the athletic admin about that, among other things?

Not sure what caused the delay, but their new IPF is a huge improvement.

Old IPF:
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New IPF:
2a6qjcg.jpg
 
#6
#6
Let's beat them badly 9/30 and send them on their way to get beat again at FL a month later -- this ought to remind them they can't go north or south without fearing their biggest rival. And let them get beat on West End Oct 7.
 
#7
#7
Is Florida really their biggest rival? I never would have thought that.
 
#9
#9
Georgia is, without question, the most underachieving football program over the last 30-40 years.

If you look at it in terms of location, proximity to talent, proximity to a regional economic hub/money etc., it should be Georgia, not Alabama, that has the dynasty. There is more talent (both on a nominal and per capita basis) in Georgia and Georgia is the larger/wealthier state.

Georgia really should have won about 3-4 national titles in football since the early 80s. At least.

Why exactly are Georgia's facilities middle of the road? Why was it like pulling teeth to get them to build that indoor facility, which numerous rivals have had for years?

I completely agree with this. If they ever get a CSS or CNS type coach, they will be right up there with the Fla St, Miami of the 80's and 90's and CSS Florida Gators.

Talent galore in GA. Helped us win lots of games!
 
#10
#10
I agree that Georgia has underperformed in most everything.

But I also wonder who this guy thinks he is? A letterman from 1963 scheduling meetings with the AD on the state of the program. If I was the AD, I wouldn't have time for that either. Unless I'm missing something.
 
#11
#11
I agree that Georgia has underperformed in most everything.

But I also wonder who this guy thinks he is? A letterman from 1963 scheduling meetings with the AD on the state of the program. If I was the AD, I wouldn't have time for that either. Unless I'm missing something.

You would have time if he was a significant donor, or if he had the ear of other donors.
 
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#12
#12
I agree that Georgia has underperformed in most everything.

But I also wonder who this guy thinks he is? A letterman from 1963 scheduling meetings with the AD on the state of the program. If I was the AD, I wouldn't have time for that either. Unless I'm missing something.

My involvement with UGA baseball goes back for the past 23 years. I lettered in the 1960s and have known every coach since. My duties have ranged from president of the lettermen’s club, to chairman of a large fundraiser at the governor’s mansion, and many other activities. In 2001 Athletic Director Vince Dooley asked me to be on the baseball selection committee, which I did when David Perno was selected as coach. Over many years, I’ve met and known numerous lettermen, both old and young from all sports and am in contact with many of them.

I'd say he is pretty connected
 
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#13
#13
It's not just football, Georgia is the most underachieving athletic program in Power 5, relative to talent. They should easily have championship level programs in the top sports in men's and women's athletics. The athletic talent in Georgia rivals Florida, Texas, and Cali now and they have only an academic school to compete with in-state. There's no excuse.
 
#14
#14
Just a good time to throw in Georgia sucks. Living here, especially close to Athens, you should here people talk. They're the greatest sports program of all time. They think they have a history of national championships in football, you can't even tell them it's been 3 decades since they won.
 
#15
#15
Just a good time to throw in Georgia sucks. Living here, especially close to Athens, you should here people talk. They're the greatest sports program of all time. They think they have a history of national championships in football, you can't even tell them it's been 3 decades since they won.
One of my properties is outside of ATL to the west. I tell dawg fans here all the time the USC Trojans have given back as many NCs as Georgia has won in the last 50 years.
 
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#17
#17
Georgia is, without question, the most underachieving football program over the last 30-40 years.

If you look at it in terms of location, proximity to talent, proximity to a regional economic hub/money etc., it should be Georgia, not Alabama, that has the dynasty. There is more talent (both on a nominal and per capita basis) in Georgia and Georgia is the larger/wealthier state.

Georgia really should have won about 3-4 national titles in football since the early 80s. At least.

Why exactly are Georgia's facilities middle of the road? Why was it like pulling teeth to get them to build that indoor facility, which numerous rivals have had for years?

And at least they had enough sense to fire a mediocre FB coach (Donnan) who finished 8-4 in the SEC in his 4th year in order to hire Mark Richt...who proceeded to accumulate a 145-51 record and win almost 70% of his SEC games...

Hmmmmmmmm.......
 
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#18
#18
I agree that Georgia has underperformed in most everything.

But I also wonder who this guy thinks he is? A letterman from 1963 scheduling meetings with the AD on the state of the program. If I was the AD, I wouldn't have time for that either. Unless I'm missing something.

He was the president of the letterman club and sounds like he has raised a lot of money throughout the years. He has had some pull if he was on the hiring committee for a baseball coach
 

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