OT: College coach cuts entire volleyball team

[AgStatesman]

Some of these responses make me wonder if people even read the article. This was not a decision made by the coach without having practices. It would appear to me that the players did not buy into her system or did not produce in the practices. The coach was brought in to produce a winning team. The decisions that were made (and may in fact only affect up to 5 players) were told to each player individually after a meeting with the coach. To just criticize a coach without context or full knowledge is just plain wrong in my view. The AD apparently has her back and likely has more info than we do. Some of the statements seem a bit harsh however. The group might have felt entitled or were used to not giving their all in practice. Given what we know there is no context.

It was 3 practices! It's an HBCU - they will never contend for national titles. The SWAC and MEAC are consistently among the worst conferences in every sport. There were way better ways to do this. There is no defending this heinous action.

 

[LwrcasefaN]

She was at least smart enough to tell them one at a time. Otherwise, she may have needed security.

 

[LwrcasefaN]

It was 3 practices! It's an HBCU - they will never contend for national titles. The SWAC and MEAC are consistently among the worst conferences in every sport. There were way better ways to do this. There is no defending this heinous action.

Odd thing is....I assumed she was hired to move the program forward because of past performance. She has coached exactly ONE team with a winning record (18-16) in the past 6 years. This AD must know something that no one else does...because I would still be looking for a coach.

 

[cordarone]

The AD has been quoted saying that they think 13 or 14 are coming on board, per the Fox article I saw via Twitter.

College coach cuts entire volleyball team; players left scrambling without scholarships

Grambling State University’s new head volleyball coach Chelsey Lucas has decided to cut the entire team.

www.fox8live.com

@cordarone , I don't think the portion of the quote you included provides enough context as to why this seems tone deaf (or to me it does at least). Per the article he's quoted as saying "I hate to say out with the old, but in with the new a little bit," Howard said. "Obviously we don't want them to be cut or lose their scholarships or whatever that might be or whatever that might look like. At the end of the day, Coach Lucas has a goal, has a vision. We have a goal as an institution and a vision as well to win, and that's first and foremost."

The portion I put in bold text had me cringing. If you don't want it to happen, then what are you doing to help these athletes?????

Well, it was the tone of their replies that just struck me as unusually cold. More like upper management talking about redundant factory workers than supposed educators.
Hey, at least there's no pretense about character building, team spirit and all the rest of that hoo-ha.
It's 'Just win, baybeee!!1!'.

 

[LuvBball]

It was 3 practices! It's an HBCU - they will never contend for national titles. The SWAC and MEAC are consistently among the worst conferences in every sport. There were way better ways to do this. There is no defending this heinous action.

Why, exactly, can't an HBCU contend for a national title?

 

[HCCForever]

In business read about "Chainsaw Al" Dunlap. He was known at the peak of his career as a turnaround management specialist via mass layoffs.

I know I would not want to be compared to "Chainsaw"

Here are some snippets that I found in Wikipedia.

It was later discovered that his reputed turnarounds were elaborate frauds and his career was ended after he engineered a massive accounting scandal at Sunbeam Products, now a division of Newell Brands, that forced the company into bankruptcy.[6] Dunlap is on the lists of "Worst CEOs of All Time" published by several business publications.[7][8] Fast Company noted that Dunlap "might score impressively on the Corporate Psychopathy checklist"[9][10] and in an interview, Dunlap freely admitted to possessing many of the traits of a psychopath, but considered them positive traits such as leadership and decisiveness.

Albert J. Dunlap - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

[Hedge]

From what I understand in 2015 members of the Power 5 conferences plus Notre Dame instituted a rule that prohibits them from taking away an athletic scholarship for athletic performance. However, the scholarship can be cancelled for other reasons; fraud, serious misconduct etc.

The Facts About “Guaranteed” Multi-year NCAA DI Scholarships

NCAA Compliance Expert Rick Allen provides important facts about the new NCAA Division I rule which has the effect of “protecting” Division I student-athletes from having their athletic scholarship cancelled or not renewed for any athletic performance reason.

informedathlete.com

 

[AgStatesman]

Why, exactly, can't an HBCU contend for a national title?

Because top athlete's are not going to those schools. Their facilities and amenities are closer to Division 2 or 3 then high level Div 1's. Their athletic budgets are much much smaller than P5 schools that are competing for national championships. The schools mission statements are not conducive to the win at all costs philosophy it takes.

The average athletic budget in the SWAC/MEAC is $9.7 million. The average P5 athletic budget is around $123 million.

They can't contend because they aren't trying to contend.

 

[CL82]

Wow. I can't recall anything like this happening in college sports, an entire team having their scholarships yanked to make room for incoming players. Lucas will have the attention of the new players coming into the program, that is for certain.

It will be interesting to see if coaches in other sports start going this route. Maybe not an entire team but several players if the coach thinks they underperformed??

I don't object to Grambling AD attitude/comments either.

It’ll be more interesting to see if he gets canned. If your whole organization isn’t getting the job done, it’s not them, it’s you.

 

[cordarone]

Some gossipy stuff from this article, take from it what you will :
Grambling AD attempts to clarify volleyball roster fallout

There was immediate speculation among Grambling players that the first-year coach wanted to purge the roster as payback for alleged disrespect expressed toward Lucas when she coached last season at Arkansas-Pine Bluff, the player said.

“She (Lucas) said, ‘I bet you didn’t think you would see me again,'” the player recounted regarding a comment Lucas was accused of making during an initial team meeting where comparisons were often made between the Grambling roster and the UAPB roster.

A photo taken during a Feb. 26 Grambling State men’s basketball game — which has since circulated online in recent days — showed what appeared to be several ex-UABP players in the stands with Lucas. That image sparked internal team speculation that Lucas wanted to recruit players from her former school.

 

[Bama fan]

In business read about "Chainsaw Al" Dunlap. He was known at the peak of his career as a turnaround management specialist via mass layoffs.

Hardly an exemplar of sound management, and Grambling is an educational institution. There is no legitimate comparison between a state school and a corporation run by a criminal fraudster.

 

[KnightBridgeAZ]

Why, exactly, can't an HBCU contend for a national title?

For the same reason that members of other so called mid-major conferences can't. Lack of budget resulting in a lack of ability to recruit top players and a lack of ability to schedule the competition necessary to become a contender. In the end, it is a vicious circle.

What they compete against is each other in the various conferences, including the ones with HBCU's, the conferences like the NEC and MAAC, the Ivies and the rest.

 

[Zarathustra]

From what I understand in 2015 members of the Power 5 conferences plus Notre Dame instituted a rule that prohibits them from taking away an athletic scholarship for athletic performance. However, the scholarship can be cancelled for other reasons; fraud, serious misconduct etc.

The Facts About “Guaranteed” Multi-year NCAA DI Scholarships

NCAA Compliance Expert Rick Allen provides important facts about the new NCAA Division I rule which has the effect of “protecting” Division I student-athletes from having their athletic scholarship cancelled or not renewed for any athletic performance reason.

informedathlete.com

It almost sounds like all H.S. athletes should have an "agent" or lawyer to review all the rules vs agreements
implied in this link. Of course, H.S. student don't have " agents" but ... who is truly aware of the " context' and
meaning of the " fine print"?. Who would know the " case law" of what has transpired with other athletes after
this Power 5 plus N.D. agreement was initiated?. Of course, this is not the BIG EAST. I read the blog
comment from the Gamecock fan. ( see another part of this link ). Was it Dawn who is loyal to her players or
the U of South Carolina adhering to this 2015 agreement? Is this another reason why South Carolina has
a large roster?? One cannot know the full context of these player and coaching moves. I can only
hope that it " works" for (most) of those involved. Note: I was a "walk on" at a division one school,
I played but did not go to many away games or meets.