It has taken place around the water cooler and the watering hole long before Princeton recorded the first defeated season in college football history back in 1869. The ability to make your frustrations heard by the masses was taken to new heights when Al Gore invented the Internet and hasn't looked back since. Message board meltdowns are now so common that a blog has a weekly article cataloging the best of the best.
Rarely does the frustration escalate beyond the confines of the interwebs, but on the rare occasion that it boils over, a Disgruntled Fan Billboard, is almost certainly going to be involved in the fallout. The Disgruntled Fan Billboard has appeared in the past in
Most recently The Disgruntled Fan billboard was seen in
Personally, I am ambivalent towards the whole idea. I do not support the idea of a billboard, but I am not going to condemn it either. It definitely isn't the way I would go about trying to enact change, but I am not going to criticize anybody for trying to take a stand against the lack of leadership and lack of results in Clemson's Athletic Department.
I do think this design (seen above) if it is ultimately the final design as claimed misses the mark completely and will be largely ineffective and dismissed by both the Administration and the Athletic Department. The website is pretty good overall, but lacks ideas on how to achieve their stated goal. Requesting that visitors send respectful letters/emails/calls to the BOT along with providing their contact information and form letters would help advance their mission.
The billboard has been roundly criticized primarily because of its perceived affect on recruiting. It is a valid concern, but recruiting is effected much more by putting a bad product on the field than it is by a billboard that focuses on the Administration and Athletic Director.
The billboard has also been criticized for airing Clemson's dirty laundry in public. At the end of the day if the Administration and Athletic Department did their job and hired competent leaders then this wouldn't be an issue. Clemson would not have a losing record in all fall sports against ACC competition. By failing to address obvious problems, fans will naturally get frustrated and when convention methods fall on deaf ears and fail to yeild results, eventual it will boil over and manifest itself into public displays of discontent.
Weigh in with your thoughts on the billboard by leaving a comment.
It would be ridiculous to fire a college president because of the performance of the football or any other sports team! Clemson University is a great place to get an education. That is what President Barker should be judged on. The football team and the sorry state of Clemson's athletics is under the guidance of the Athletic Director. Maybe the president has meddled too much in athletics and contributed to their difficulties but, the ultimate responsibility falls with Dr. Terry Don Phillips.
ReplyDeleteAll presidents are (ultimately) responsible for its sports teams successes and failures, especially those of AQ schools. That's especially true if a particular sport generates a lot of revenue.
ReplyDeleteYes, sports failures and successes are the direct responsibility of the athletic director. But when the AD is apathetic or incompetent and all the schools' sports have taken a nosedive under his watch, the president is, theoretically, responsible for making changes to turn things around. It's that simple.
If a president is apathetic, unaware or resentful of sports or one particular, then those are attributes unbecoming of a responsible president.
Unbecoming - yes. A firing offense - no. If the AD is not doing the job, the President should replace the AD.
ReplyDeleteIf you look at Clemson University only through a football or sports lens, you do not see a good picture. If you look at the complete mission of Clemson you will see a wonderful educational institution that is doing well under very difficult circumstances.
Clemson's role is to educate over 15,000 students and prepare them for adult life. Football and sports in general, should not interfere with that mission.
That said, TDP is doing a terrible job with the vast resources he has and should be replaced.
Thought the board recommend that Barker fire TDP. Seems funny to reward poor performance. It took 4 years longer to fire TB than it should have. Why does he keep hiring bargain basement, no experience coaches? Is he still rationing baseballs? He builds the end zone facility and then negotiates for the next two years opening game to be played in Atlanta. That's smart. Why does one need to be identified by three names? Is there another one around? The first to use Dr in his name and he has been the most inept. We will soon become the doormat of the conference with his leadership. Wish he would go back west where he came from. Somebody put a for sale sign in his front yard.
ReplyDeleteI'm not certain Clemson is this "wonderful" academic institution. If you're going on the whole top-20 public institution ranking, you have to remember that Clemson was also skewered by those in the education media and national academics for manipulating metrics to climb those rankings. Manipulating your way up a magazine's rankings isn't prestigious - it's pathetic and desperate. If Clemson wanted true academic prestige it would pursue AAU membership.
ReplyDeleteOn football, it's hypocritical for a university on one hand to say football shouldn't interfere with its academic mission then turn around and use football as the centerpiece in all its marketing propaganda aimed at prospective students and in general. And Clemson does that flagrantly. If you actively use football as a major facet in your university's marketing campaign, then don't bitch when football "interferes".
Matter of fact, to use football to attract students then turn around and kill it is the old bait-and-switch. Clemson is pathetic in many more ways than one.
If Clemson is so pathetic, why don't you cheer for a school where they value football enough for your liking. However, if you want the best education, you would choose Clemson.
ReplyDeletePrinceton Review College Ratings
SAT Admiss Academic
Clemson 1220 91 81
Oregon 1108 83 69
Auburn 1180 86 67
TCU 1165 86 77
Boise 1045 72 n/a
USCar. 1190 87 70
Alabama 1110 87 74
Also, look at how graduates rank their schools at collegeportraits.org. Clemson has the highest satisfaction level you can find.
Another ranking? Is that what you're going on?
ReplyDeleteNo medical school, no law school, no reputable research program, nowhere near $1billion endowment. Only an idiot would say that Clemson is the best university in America, which is exactly what you're saying. You must have never lived anywhere other than South Carolina.
What I said was that Clemson provides a better education than the football factories you seem to prefer and provided evidence to support my claim. Being dedicated to undergraduate education and not having to compete with graduate schools helps to provide a better undergraduate education - in my opinion. I have never lived in SC but have lived in Texas, NC and Massachusetts.
ReplyDelete