MBA Head Coaching Search

[BDURHAM]

There is no question that all the coaches at MBA have had many redeeming qualities. The problem in Nashville, as it is around the state and country, is recruiting, which has become an accepted practice. Do the lords of private schools condone this practice? I think we all know the answer.

 

Recruiting, which often manifests into financial aid, presents an inherent conflict with the written TSSAA rules. Let's not waste any more time debating the rules. The rules exist.

 

Any private school coach in the Nashville area is faced with this issue, how will a private football, wrestling, basketball, etc. team compete with teams if the coaches do not recruit athletes?

 

I suggest this issue is very similar to the steroids issue in baseball. Barry Bonds used steroids to compete with Sosa and McGwire. The federal judicial system has spent millions trying to convict Bonds for lying under oath.

 

How do we think the TSSAA can force private school coaches to publicly admit what we all know is happening? I doubt a federal task team could make it happen.

 

No thinking person will question that MBA is a great academic institution. The question has become how much the institution has been corrupted by the pressure to win on the athletic field of competition.

 

It is not about one isolated incident. It is about what has transpired for years.

How do you stop athletes like Clemens and Bonds from taking steroids? How do you force them to admit it publicly?

 

I suggest that MBA starts to appear like Clemens and Bonds when the institution tries to publicly state that recruiting does not exists. One would hope that MBA will choose to lead private schools out of this twisted world of high school recruiting.

 

One of the problems with getting to the root of the issue is that all the coaches who've left are incredibly classy men who've conducted themselves as gentlemen even under difficult and painful circumstances. In my communications with him, Ricky's explanation for leaving revolved around being able to see all of his children at Ensworth, coupled with the opportunity to build something new. If Ensworth is still a successful school and football power 50-75 years from now, he'll be remembered at Ensworth in the same way Howard Allen and Tommy Owen are at MBA. There were rumors of problems between Bowers and Gioia, but nothing really concrete.

 

The issue with Coach Elliott's exit is similarly disturbing. The man had a long and distinguished tenure at MBA, and not just as a coach. He was an excellent teacher who happened also to be a be a top flight defensive coordinator. It seems a litle odd that ay his age, he would leave for the same job at a rival school. He was very gracious in an email I received from him, but in conversation during the season, his mention of Rutledge led me to believe he felt that situation had been badly handled. And then toward the end of that school year, he announced he was leaving for BA. While chronological order doesn't equal cause and effect, it is certainly food for thought. For my money, the loss of Coach Elliott was the most devastating loss of all the men who've departed MBA. He was a gifted coach, and an outstanding teacher in a difficult subject. More importantly, he was a classy gentleman of the very first order. That's a big set of shoes to fill, without any really compelling reason for them to be empty.

[gbo]

There is no question that all the coaches at MBA have had many redeeming qualities. The problem in Nashville, as it is around the state and country, is recruiting, which has become an accepted practice. Do the lords of private schools condone this practice? I think we all know the answer.

 

Recruiting, which often manifests into financial aid, presents an inherent conflict with the written TSSAA rules. Let's not waste any more time debating the rules. The rules exist.

 

Any private school coach in the Nashville area is faced with this issue, how will a private football, wrestling, basketball, etc. team compete with teams if the coaches do not recruit athletes?

 

I suggest this issue is very similar to the steroids issue in baseball. Barry Bonds used steroids to compete with Sosa and McGwire. The federal judicial system has spent millions trying to convict Bonds for lying under oath.

 

How do we think the TSSAA can force private school coaches to publicly admit what we all know is happening? I doubt a federal task team could make it happen.

 

No thinking person will question that MBA is a great academic institution. The question has become how much the institution has been corrupted by the pressure to win on the athletic field of competition.

 

It is not about one isolated incident. It is about what has transpired for years.

How do you stop athletes like Clemens and Bonds from taking steroids? How do you force them to admit it publicly?

 

I suggest that MBA starts to appear like Clemens and Bonds when the institution tries to publicly state that recruiting does not exists. One would hope that MBA will choose to lead private schools out of this twisted world of high school recruiting.

 

I beg to differ...steroids...you are losing sight of the fact that many of these young men and women (let's not be sexist here) at private schools contact the schools because they want the opportunity for a better education and the opportunity to play at the highest level of high school sports in order to get a scholarship to pay for an even bettter education. The Lords of Public and Private schools tend to think it is all about them and it is not. Many have gone over this much more eloquently than me, but let me remind all that every school BA, CPA, MBA, Ensworth, Goodpasture use the same clearing house in New Jersey regardless of whether the student will be able to play a sport or not if the student receives financial aid with parents having to submit tax returns, debt information, etc. This actually helps keep apples to apples. Then although there is a limit set by the clearinghouse the student is able to receive, the school's endowment plays a part in how much each student can receive. In the past, the number of athletes at MBA receiving financial aid was much less than the population as a whole that received financial aid.

 

So how do you define recruiting? In the past there have always been rumors about students at schools where financial aid received meant the student could not play a sport or cheerlead-that some of those students received tuition given to a guardian but paid by a guardian. Is that recruiting? The McFadden boy at Ensworth, a smart great kid went online himself and applied to Goodpasture and Ensworth knowing no one but heard they were good schools and did not know where they were located. He was a finalist for Mr. Basketball in 2010 I believe. When he realized he could not attend Goodpasture and get financial aid (the kids call it scholarships) and that Ensworth was closest to his home on Charlotte, Ensworth lucked out. How much "christian" help did he receive at the school who knows and who cares-good for that kid. Now, I would say that the calls to certain Lipscomb and CPA boys in the last two to three years could be called recruiting but the parents can pay--is that any different than Maryville and Alcoa or Riverdale and Oakland? That did not work out so well for the Bellevue quarterback who some might say the Jefferson boy was "recruited" in over a few years ago at Ensworth. Those parents didn't squeal foul but transferred back to Hume Fogg and played at Hillsboro where the young man still got a scholarship to Navy I believe. This is complicated but it is not about the adults here.

 

Finally, the kwoodruff is much closer to these two programs than me, but the list goes on and on of good men where Gioia's shall we say Napoleon complex has run off the likes of Bowers, Caudill, Hiett, Matthews, Elliott, Rutledge, Whitfield or held at bay such as Ingall Martin or David Pack. If the boys were first at MBA and it was their well-being that was being watched, the day Rutlege was abruptly fired was the day before finals at MBA. Many an upset boy struggled to concentrate when a seemingly oblivious administration was thinking of their ability to hire and fire coaches.

Edited April 17, 2011 by gbo

[BDURHAM]

No one should doubt students at private schools are seeking advantages other than athletics. The real question is why are private institutions pursing them?

 

MBA, stand up and stop the madness. Set an example. Clean up the mess that started to the south of you. MBA speaks of higher standards. Show the world how it should be done.

 

I beg to differ...steroids...you are losing sight of the fact that many of these young men and women (let's not be sexist here) at private schools contact the schools because they want the opportunity for a better education and the opportunity to play at the highest level of high school sports in order to get a scholarship to pay for an even bettter education. The Lords of Public and Private schools tend to think it is all about them and it is not. Many have gone over this much more eloquently than me, but let me remind all that every school BA, CPA, MBA, Ensworth, Goodpasture use the same clearing house in New Jersey regardless of whether the student will be able to play a sport or not if the student receives financial aid with parents having to submit tax returns, debt information, etc. This actually helps keep apples to apples. Then although there is a limit set by the clearinghouse the student is able to receive, the school's endowment plays a part in how much each student can receive. In the past, the number of athletes at MBA receiving financial aid was much less than the population as a whole that received financial aid.

 

So how do you define recruiting? In the past there have always been rumors about students at schools where financial aid received meant the student could not play a sport or cheerlead-that some of those students received tuition given to a guardian but paid by a guardian. Is that recruiting? The McFadden boy at Ensworth, a smart great kid went online himself and applied to Goodpasture and Ensworth knowing no one but heard they were good schools and did not know where they were located. He was a finalist for Mr. Basketball in 2010 I believe. When he realized he could not attend Goodpasture and get financial aid (the kids call it scholarships) and that Ensworth was closest to his home on Charlotte, Ensworth lucked out. How much "christian" help did he receive at the school who knows and who cares-good for that kid. Now, I would say that the calls to certain Lipscomb and CPA boys in the last two to three years could be called recruiting but the parents can pay--is that any different than Maryville and Alcoa or Riverdale and Oakland? That did not work out so well for the Bellevue quarterback who some might say the Jefferson boy was "recruited" in over a few years ago at Ensworth. Those parents didn't squeal foul but transferred back to Hume Fogg and played at Hillsboro where the young man still got a scholarship to Navy I believe. This is complicated but it is not about the adults here.

 

Finally, the kwoodruff is much closer to these two programs than me, but the list goes on and on of good men where Gioia's shall we say Napoleon complex has run off the likes of Bowers, Caudill, Hiett, Matthews, Elliott, Rutledge, Whitfield or held at bay such as Ingall Martin or David Pack. If the boys were first at MBA and it was their well-being that was being watched, the day Rutlege was abruptly fired was the day before finals at MBA. Many an upset boy struggled to concentrate when a seemingly oblivious administration was thinking of their ability to hire and fire coaches.

[drstats]

Absolutely not true. The City Paper was obviously basing their reports on crap from people like you. Find out what happened before you start making accusations.

 

 

Again, I have absolutely no idea what is happening/has happened at MBA. I'm only going by public perception as an outsider. I'm not accusing anyone of anything, only putting my two cents worth in based on published reports.

[dawbsitw]

... it sure sounds like McGugin is being thrown under the bus and being made a scapegoat for something he wasn't involved in. Call it the worst case of "daddy ball" EVER.

 

 

Again, I have absolutely no idea what is happening/has happened at MBA. I'm only going by public perception as an outsider. I'm not accusing anyone of anything, only putting my two cents worth in based on published reports.

 

Are you kidding me?

[CPA4Ever]

Pack and Martin are interesting names, and MBA has taken a chance on some pretty young coaches (i.e., Martin). Depending on what he's doing now, Tom Moore might also be a name to consider.

Tom Moore just took a job as an assistant at Christian Brothers last week.

[KWoodroof]

Tom Moore just took a job as an assistant at Christian Brothers last week.

That's unfortunate (for MBA, not CBHS). He's a very fine man, and would have been good for MBA.

[offtackle]

Paul Wade

[DirectorP]

You need to look at Danny Francescon. He would be an excellent Hire for MBA

[KWoodroof]

You need to look at Danny Francescon. He would be an excellent Hire for MBA

I'm not familiar with him (still in exile in South Florida). A little bit about him, please?

[howdoitknow]

I'm not familiar with him (still in exile in South Florida). A little bit about him, please?

 

Coached at Pearl-Cohn with Fitzgerald when they won back-to-back titles in 1996-1997

[cbg]

Coached at Pearl-Cohn with Fitzgerald when they won back-to-back titles in 1996-1997

Was he not an assistant at both BGA and Father Ryan before taking the job with Maurice @ Peal-Cohn?