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KU Athletic director let go
- hoshi
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hoshi
“The difference between stupidity and genius is that genius has its limits”. Albert Einstein
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- hoshi
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"A leadership change in Kansas Athletics
Colleagues,
I am writing to inform you of a leadership change in Kansas Athletics.
This morning I met with Director of Athletics Sheahon Zenger and informed him that I am relieving him of his duties, effective immediately.
Sheahon has been a loyal Jayhawk, and our athletics department has improved in many areas under his leadership. But Athletics continues to face a number of challenges, and progress in key areas has been elusive. To achieve the level of success we need and expect, I have determined a change in leadership is necessary.
Sean Lester, our deputy athletics director, will serve as interim director. I have spoken with Sean about my expectations for the coming months, and I am confident he will provide sound leadership and stability during this transition.
I have begun the process of identifying a permanent athletics director. To lead this process, I have enlisted Drue Jennings, one of our most respected and accomplished alumni. Many of you know Drue as our interim athletics director in 2003 and for his role in leading the search processes that brought Chancellor Gray-Little and Coach Self to KU. Jed Hughes, a consultant with the Korn Ferry executive search firm, will assist Drue.
In addition, earlier today I spoke with Coach Beaty and shared my expectation that he will continue recruiting hard and getting his team ready for the season.
Since becoming chancellor, I have spent countless hours with higher education peers and Jayhawks to hear their perspective on KU. A common thread in these conversations is that, as a major public university with national aspirations, we must continue to strive for excellence in all areas — including athletics. As I have said many times, a successful athletics department is inextricably linked to our broader mission as a flagship research university.
The other common thread in these conversations is optimism for Kansas Athletics. Across the country, we are recognized as having elite programs, a proud tradition, and a loyal fan base. These assets will serve us well as we identify a new leader for Kansas Athletics.
I want to thank Sheahon for his service during the past seven years. Under his leadership, student-athlete GPAs reached an all-time high. Rock Chalk Park, McCarthy Hall, and the DeBruce Center are lasting tributes to his efforts. Most importantly, he prioritized our student-athletes and represented KU with integrity and class.
Thank you for your support in moving KU forward.
Respectfully,
Doug
Douglas A. Girod
Chancellor
University of Kansas"
“The difference between stupidity and genius is that genius has its limits”. Albert Einstein
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- CorpusJayhawk
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Don't worry about the mules, just load the wagon!!
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- NotOstertag
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"When I was a freshman, I remember Coach Naismith telling us how important it was to play good defense." - Mitch Lightfoot
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- HawkErrant
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NotOstertag wrote: Apparently the only thing that saved him after football season was that he was planning a big fundraising push for new football facilities. Outside of the Booth family, however, those efforts didn't produce anything, and that was the last nail in the coffin.
Possibly. The surfacing of the cheerleading scandal might have been the last straw as well. The old “institutional control” bugaboo might just have been too much on top of everything else.
One thing seems certain. No single thing would be enough in and of itself. But two failed FB coaching hires — and no real success yet with any of the other coaches he has hired to indicate that he has the ability to pick coaches with the right stuff (see women’s basketball for example) — would lead me to believe the new chancellor would be pretty foolish to give him a third shot at picking a new FB coach after Beaty comes up short again this fall (I hope it doesn’t happen, but we will see). So get the new AD in place now so he — or she — is ready to rumble when the FB season is over.
As others have said, I like Zenger, and do appreciate what he *has* accomplished, but KU has to position itself for both the near and distant future. The firing of SZ is just the first step in achieving that objective.
"Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry and narrow-mindedness, and many of our people need it sorely on these accounts. Broad, wholesome, charitable views of men and things cannot be acquired by vegetating in one little corner of the earth all one's lifetime." - Mark Twain "Innocents Abroad"
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- Bayhawk
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RC
The end is nothing; the road is all.
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- HawkErrant
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"Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry and narrow-mindedness, and many of our people need it sorely on these accounts. Broad, wholesome, charitable views of men and things cannot be acquired by vegetating in one little corner of the earth all one's lifetime." - Mark Twain "Innocents Abroad"
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- Wheatstate Gal
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Maybe after their brains fully develop, they’ll recognize stupid stunts usually get discovered. Too late now, but ......
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- HawkErrant
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"Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry and narrow-mindedness, and many of our people need it sorely on these accounts. Broad, wholesome, charitable views of men and things cannot be acquired by vegetating in one little corner of the earth all one's lifetime." - Mark Twain "Innocents Abroad"
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