MBA

[JohnJacob]

Let me be the second person on this board then to ask for Gioia to step down. It is time for a major change at MBA and get things back to it's roots. Trust me, if he left there would be a multitude of coaching candidates who would be deemed "top shelf" coaches who would desire this job. With him there still there will be interest indeed but the word is out on Gioia. This situation stinks from the top down and he needs to resign. It happened on his watch. Period. He has has a long 16 year run. That is about 9 years longer than the average for a private school

[VandyHoosiers]

there really does need to be some deep-cleaning at MBA

 

go out and find the best possible administrators (unlike what happened when the new AD was hired), coaches and teachers...not just the ones with MBA degrees or parents with influence

 

speaking of new coaches...does anyone realize how much talent has gone through the baseball program in recent years? would there be anything to show for it if it weren't for that ridiculously stacked 04 team?

[Add50]

Gentleman, Scholar, Athlete.........The essence of what it means to be a part of the great tradition of Montgomery Bell Academy.

 

These words were chosen carefully many years ago. They apply to the students but must be exemplified by the Board, the Headmaster, and the Coaches. It is so unfortunate that majority of the responses to the circumstances revolving around Coach McGugin are simply not founded in truth. Rules have been broken, promises breached, and unfortunately, to this moment, there has been a false sense of accountability provided by him.

 

The problem began years ago. Unethical decisions prompted yet another unethical decision, then another.............. The "spin" on all of this has been his unsuccessful attempt to cover up what seems to be a pattern of behavior. Putting any blame on any person or any thing, other than Coach McGugin is truly unfortunate and dismaying.

 

It is sad that the actual facts involved in this situation may never come to light. In the meantime, I suggest that everyone remember that the end result of this is that Coach McGugin did something wrong. MBA administration recognized the facts quickly, and acted appropriately. If they did not believe that he had done anything wrong, he would not have been asked to resign. it is my belief that if the leaders of our country would act in a similar way, we would all benefit beyond imagination.

[coachtut]

Another one bites the dust

Other school begin to be nervous.

This will not be the last one to fall in 2011.

Other parents are coming forwarded with info.

[dawbsitw]

Incredible it has gotten to this point....smear campaign by one set of parents. T

 

TSSAA has already said no violation, no punishment, no problem.

 

A group of generous dads and supporters of school wanted to help a new needy family. BACK IN 2008. It has just now surfaced. Go figure. Now coaches are getting smeared. Lets move on to something else....

 

Roll Red

You have no idea what you are talking about. It is better to find out the truth than speak and embarrass yourself.

[MBAFAN08]

You have no idea what you are talking about. It is better to find out the truth than speak and embarrass yourself.

 

If I have no idea what I am talking about then the board member I spoke to is a liar, or the head master who told him the story is a liar.

[jett]

If I have no idea what I am talking about then the board member I spoke to is a liar, or the head master who told him the story is a liar.

 

 

TSSAA set the precedent on the ruling for this exact violation last year with Grace Baptist. Parent's gave $ for a student, whom I believe Parent's passed away in an accident. TSSAA banned them from playoffs for 2 years for that particular sport. Anything less in this situation were be inappropriate and would really make TSSAA hypocrites. Although in both situations, it seems the issue is really minor.

[flashgordon]

The TSSAA can't and won't do anything. The discipline punishments can only come from the headmaster and if you know the bureaucracy at MBA nowadays then you know that won't happen with any severity. MBA is trying to play Ensworth's game. MBA isn't Ensworth and shouldn't try to be. MBA is a place of values and morals, not a rich kid hangout like Ensworth that preaches that it is MBA's equal (statistics don't lie, Ensworth). MBA should try to maintain the status quo and let Ensworth fall, which it will.

 

 

 

 

Graduate of MBA

 

LOL...head in the sand

[flashgordon]

Thank you for speaking for the silent majority. This could only have happened if the above were true. These are the same reasons he lost his job at FRA. Abusing players, parents, not keeping his word (lying), and unethical promises dumped on and cleaned up by the boosters/parents. With the above being his report card as a mentor to these young men, he should not be in a position to cause this type of problem a third time. Thanks again for putting some sanity into these post!!!

well said.

[flashgordon]

If these violations occurred in 2008, without the coach's knowledge, why is he being fired? Perhaps the parties who supplied the tuition should step up and absolve McGugin. The school could admit the violation, pay the fine, and accept the consequences. That's what gentlemen would do!

Obviously there is much more to it than that.....wake up and smell the coffee!

[sarahpalin]

CoachT posters, I have read through this thread and could no longer contain my views on the subject. My name is James Kay. I am a junior at MBA, and have played linebacker for the Big Red since my sophomore year. I rarely visit this website, never have posted or intended to, but I feel the need to inform you on my views on Coach McGugin and the MBA program. Mainly so you all can get a view from a player's perspective.

 

Coach McGugin has been one of the most influential men to me on campus through out my time on the hill. He is a man of loyalty, integrity, and a brilliant football coach. As a coach, he has pushed me to limits beyond what I imagined my capabilities to be. He is intense on the field, and pushes his players to the limits. He is passionate about the game of football, and has a great love for MBA and the community surrounding it. Off the field he is an even better person and mentor. He has encouraged me to become a better student and has helped me become the man I am today. At MBA, we are generally less talented than the team lining up across from us, but somehow find a way to win. Coach McGugin is one of the main reasons why. I am a good example of what Coach McGugin and our coaching staff have done. I am a 5'10, slow, and an average athlete. If you throw me in a basketball gym I can barely get mid-net, but because I listened to Coach McGugin, along with our coaching staff, I became one of 8 underclassmen to be elected all mid state. He makes us work hard, and coaches us hard. Sadly, a few players whom I will not name, can not distinguish between being coached and a coach being mean. I am furious about the situation that has unfolded, and I can assure you that 98% of the players are too.. As you all have probably assumed, this has been a hot topic at MBA this week, and there has been overwhelming support for our Coach from the entire team.

 

I have heard negative remarks on Coach McGugin, and none hold any ground. Some of these have come from parents complaining, and I believe it is because of lack of playing time from his/her son. I realize I am not a father yet, but when I am I can only hope I am not blinded by a false reality. He has always played the best players on the field, and some people can not accept this. TruthHurts posted,

 

"anti teams with their starting lineup filled with players who live 40,50, and 60 miles away from their campus, anti spineless headmasters who have filled the board of trustees with "yes men", anti schools sending vans and buses to Murfreesboro and North Nashville to pick up star athletes each day before school (a privilege that is only offered to the star athletes), anti special tudors who work with star players 4 and 5 days a week just to get them to pass, anti coaches who make their players feel inferior if they play another sport other than theirs"

 

Coach McGugin has always encouraged us to play other sports. I play three, and he was a main person who pushed me to join the wrestling team my sophomore year. Our starting lineup is consisting primarily of players who attended schools that mainly feed into MBA (Oak Hill, Harding Academy, St. Paul, Overbrook, etc.) If you do not believe me, look at the best players in our most recent graduating class (2010). Football: Fitz Lassing (Oak Hill), Basketball; Holden Mobley (Ensworth), swimming; Pat Killian (Overbrook), baseball; Jackson Roberts (Overbrook), teniss; Roger Briggs (Ensworth). Most of our team lives within 15 minutes of MBA. If a player is in academic trouble, there are no tutors that any student couldn't receive. There are no special privileges I have ever received since being on the football team. If I fail a class, get into trouble, or make bad judgement I along with every other football player has to mend it. This should be no news to anyone. This is expected because MBA is an institution where boys are to be molded into gentlemen and scholars first.

 

As far as our headmaster goes, I have nothing but tremendous respect for him. He has been placed in an incredibly difficult situation, and has handled it with class. I do not think many of you realize how truly complicated this situation was. I will not comment on any allegation regarding the program because anything I say would leave out critical detail that is private as of now.

 

MBA alums have been posting the names of board members who allegedly have opposed McGugin, and I ask you to please take their names down. I know three of the men and their families that have been named, and they are examples of extraordinary gentlemen that one day I aspire to be. Any problem that they have should remain PRIVATE and should not be talked about on this board.

 

In conclusion, I ask you all to leave this topic alone. Coach McGugin will go on to bigger and better things because of the coach and man that he is. I hope to remain friends with him for a long time because he is truly a man to be admired.

 

-James Kay

Class of 2012

 

Roll Red

 

 

DEAR MBA,

 

DEAR, headmasters, alum, players , ex players, parents of players , parents of ex players

all of your "airing" of your in-house dirty laundry is making you guys looks really really bad .

 

My advice is too just keep quiet , let others talk , speculate and gossip...

[MBAalum2002]

As a MBA alum, I really do not know what to say honestly. I graduated in 2002, which doesn't feel like too long ago but I am coming up on my 10 year reunion. The things being suggested in this thread are incredibly troubling if true. However, I feel like some of the tangents being developed on this thread, while appearing irrelevant as some of the more colorful members of this site would suggest, are very much germane to what seems to be a confusing and strange situation.

 

I want to preface this whole thing by stating that I went to public schools in Brentwood my whole life up until high school. I honestly did not know that MBA existed until my 8th grade year. I was not a football star in the making, although I excelled at it and other sports and did well in the classroom. I was not "recruited" for anything at MBA. My parents decided that they wanted me to go there, and honestly I fought it kicking and screaming (I mean, honestly, if you had gone to school with girls your whole life, and in the middle of puberty your parents put an end to it, you would have fought too). So I, albeit begrudgingly, took the ISEE, and scored well enough to be interviewed. I went through three separate interviews just to get in. But get in I did, and it still stands as one of the best things that I have ever been blessed with.

 

Just to echo what James Kay said, lets keep confidences here. Irrespective of whether any of the named individuals actually are involved, this is not the arena to air those grievances. It's irresponsible, callous, cowardly, and immature to name names and air dirty laundry under the guise of "truth" all while operating under a quasi-blanket of anonymity.

 

First, lets start out with the basic idea that unless there is proof of something untoward about anything involved here, that mere innuendo and rumor do not suffice as evidence of anything. If anything, innuendo, rumor, and conjecture of the nature being used here (e.g. Declaring Coach McGuigan to be "this" or "that", Declaring Headmaster Gioia to be "this" or "that", MBA to be "this" or "that") does not represent the basis of any indication of truth. I plead with the other members here, please do not paint with a broad brush about MBA or the people connected with it. I may not like "Coach X", and may not like "Y football team", but I don't spit in the face of every "Y football team fan" I meet. If MBA did something wrong, they should be punished. If MBA did not, then they shouldn't. But either way, saying that MBA and those affiliated therein "look down their noses at you" or other similar invective is at best irresponsible, and at worst ignorant. There are, indeed, some elitist type attitudes walking around MBA. But those are a small number compared to those that are humble, grateful, and kind. Just because you, or someone you know, had a "run-in" at some point with someone involved with MBA does not somehow change my attitudes and behaviors towards my fellow man. In short, unless on this board you can present actual evidence beyond your own words to back up anything said about MBA (which you can't), then please stop.

 

I never knew Mr. McGuigan, as he was after I left, but I was coached by Ricky Bowers, and if McGuigan is anything like Bowers, he is probably not very nice. But honestly, I have never wanted a Coach to be my friend. I wanted my Coaches to ride me until I got it right, and not to let me settle for anything less than my best. If McGuigan rode some students too hard, then he should be reprimanded. I imagine that when Ricky Bowers was at MBA, some of the methods he used to motivate us would be frowned upon today.

 

I played football with Barton Simmons, and he is a stand up person. In lieu of what he said, I take him at his word. Why? Because he is in the only position to really give any insight into this situation, unlike anonymous posters on here spouting pure opinion. I do not know James Kay, but he seems to exemplify what I hold to be the way MBA students should represent themselves as, so I trust what he says is true. I have no reason to doubt him otherwise. Unless someone comes out with verifiable proof to the contrary of what these two have said, it will remain the truth for me. That is, of course, my decision, but one I feel is at least well reasoned and logical.

 

Lastly, in regards to whether or not TSSAA rules were broken, this is all I have to say. Rules are written in a way that is up for interpretation. Each potential infractions investigation has its own unique factual circumstances that must be established, without which the rules cannot be applied. If the TSSAA head applies to rules to the established facts of this case and finds no wrongdoing, then he will be torn down by you all who seem to think that MBA should burn or something immature like that. If he hits MBA with sanctions, you will sing his praises to all. But either way, it still leaves you with this: while there are many important things in life, high school football (or even football in general) does not rank even close to the top.