Thank you for all you've done.

[Inhogswetrust]

That whole department was always easy to work with. I especially liked all their media relations people. Still do.

Almost all of my dealings with the UA athletic department have been very good. Even had a class in the business college where we had to do a group case study. Our group chose a part of the Athletic department. We contacted them and was given all the access, time with admins and data we needed.  Only once or twice did I not like what had transpired between myself and the athletic department since then and it wasn't anything really major. Kudo's to them. Going all the way back to Franks time a LOT of people especially the younger ones that weren't around then don't realize how much he did for the University as a whole and not just him in the athletic department either. For the most part the relationship between the athletic department and the academic and administrative sides have been stellar compared to at some schools I've heard.

[Inhogswetrust]

White was dean of Engineering at Ga. Tech as I recall. He was an Arkansas native so Frank (a Ga. Tech alum) thought he would make a good chancellor for the Fay campus. Lobbied for him hard.

After he got the job White turned out to be Frank's worst nightmare (be careful for what you wish for).

You are correct on his prior job. I did not know that Frank lobbied hard for him though. That is truly ironic looking back!

[weresoclose]

You would think Bev would have had some stroke concerning her money sport.  I'm curious as to how White ran Blair off against her wishes.

[Inhogswetrust]

You would think Bev would have had some stroke concerning her money sport.  I'm curious as to how White ran Blair off against her wishes.

Come on man I bet in your working life you have disagreed with your boss and still worked for him/her.

[Big Papa Satan]

After serving the University of Arkansas as a coach and an administrator for more than three decades, Bev Lewis has announced she will retire on June 30, 2014.

Good riddance.  Lewis should've been fired the second she let ASU outbid the UA for the WNIT game. 

[hawgfan4life]

Thanks for the info Mike.  Learned facts I never heard before.  I owe BR an apology for what I said about her.  Too bad we can't know all of the facts about a lot of things up on the hill!  Holtz, Hatfield, Malzahn, Nutt, Richardson, Ford, etc...... 

You really should write a tell all book!  Might only be a best seller in AR, but I would read it.

[rlreev01]

Not a fan. Gary Blair, enough said(and I have discussed what happened with Blair himself). Don't let the door hit her on the way out!

[LZH]

You really should write a tell all book!  Might only be a best seller in AR, but I would read it.

It would be hard to get his foot in the door, what with all of Robert Shields' best sellers clogging up orders.

[seasonhog]

Blair saw early on that White was a pinhead who didn't know squat about college athletics. However he did what most would do in that situation. You go along with the big boss as long as he doesn't get ridiculous.

Bev pretty much did the same thing.

However Blair had national championship ambitions and increasingly he saw White as a roadblock to that goal. Bev cautioned  Blair that the women's department could not afford to make an enemy of White.

Blair aligned himself with Broyles and Nutt over the D rule believing that the three of them could fight the whole appeals issue.

Bev would have never fired Blair on her own but once she knew that White was not going to renew his contract she let it be known that she wanted the next coach to be a woman.
Problem was, White stepped in and decided to consult Pat Summitt. He seriously believed that Summitt would help him find the best coach out there to replace Blair.

The joke was on him. Summitt assured White that Suzie Gardner was his best bet. I've always pictured Summitt laughing her butt off at that one.
[/quo


Not much different on the hill today.

[Sir Oinksalot]

Think again. John White ran off Blair.

Ed Zachary....


While other SEC schools have football people running their athletic depts...

We have the John Whites of the world running ours...


-Sir Oinks

[Mike Irwin]

Good riddance.  Lewis should've been fired the second she let ASU outbid the UA for the WNIT game.

Yeah, she should have cashed in some of her CD's to pay the WNIT more.

[Mike Irwin]

Not a fan. Gary Blair, enough said(and I have discussed what happened with Blair himself). Don't let the door hit her on the way out!

No question, Blair was ticked at her for not backing him up. Bev had a lot more to lose than he did. Gary knew he could get another job and he did. You get fired by your school's chancellor or president as an assistant AD and good luck.

The bottom line, John White ran Blair off for challenging his authority.

This subject came up on Press Row not long ago. Grant and Vernon were talking about what happened to Blair when White himself called in and tried to blame the whole thing on Bev. But when Grant tried to question White he hung up.

What a shock.

[weresoclose]

This doesn't happen in real life Mike.  White called in to a radio show to blame Bev for whathaveyou?  Really? 

[HognitiveDissonance]

Think again. John White ran off Blair.

And he also mucked up the Bill Self possibility(strong one).

The man has done more damage to UA athletics than anyone alive. I'm getting a little angry now as I type this. Why have a stinkin' athletic director if you as the Chancellor are going to run the department?

[Mike Irwin]

This doesn't happen in real life Mike.  White called in to a radio show to blame Bev for whathaveyou?  Really?

That's what Grant Hall told me.

He said he and Vernon were discussing Blair when White called in and said they needed to check their facts. The women's AD at the time made that decision.

When Grant tried to question him White hung up.

I asked Grant if he was sure it was White. 1190 gets a lot of crackpot callers. Grant said it was White's voice. He was sure of it.

[Big Papa Satan]

Yeah, she should have cashed in some of her CD's to pay the WNIT more.

It was an embarrassment.

That was the game where afterwards, ASU students stomped on the state flag.

[hog.goblin]

Isn't White still a paid employee?  Who can we call to rectify that?

[OTTER]

I don't think that was her, Otter.



Add:  Irwin and Wayne confirmed what I thought I read about it....fwiw, they'd know a hell of alot more about it than I would.

I stand fully corrected.  Thanks for all the feedback.  I do still wish her well, as per my original post.  Now, excuse me, but I have a rather large helping of crow to eat!

[tbhogfan]

After serving the University of Arkansas as a coach and an administrator for more than three decades, Bev Lewis has announced she will retire on June 30, 2014.

http://www.arkansasrazorbacks.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=6100&ATCLID=209392990

I now officially feel old.  I first met Bev when she had just started with the women's track/xc program.  Now she's retiring. 

[Mike Irwin]

It was an embarrassment.

That was the game where afterwards, ASU students stomped on the state flag.

Well, anyone that thinks Bev had any control over not submitting a bid for that game doesn't know how the athletic department works.

Bev doesn't control the purse strings. Not now, not then.

[LZH]

I stand fully corrected.  Thanks for all the feedback.  I do still wish her well, as per my original post.  Now, excuse me, but I have a rather large helping of crow to eat!

Hee hee.  We all have our bottle of hot sauce handy, 'cause ya never know when you're gonna need it.  Actually, I'm overdue.

[razorshark]

Isn't White still a paid employee?  Who can we call to rectify that?

Yes he is and still a $ick getting paid big bucks so he can wear his investiture cape and crown.
What a waste of money.

[BorderPatrol]

I called and had a few words for her after the Gary Blair incident...  She defended it on the phone.  My understanding is she want a women to coach the lady backs...

I really hope you made this story up for Hogville.

bp

[yraciv]

I hate that Bev Lewis retirement has to come back to the one mistake people say she made. She has done an admiral job serving the university for years, and this is a time to celebrate that instead of saying good riddance.

I had the good fortune of having Bev Lewis lecture to my class while I was on campus. Yes I was of the narrow mind of some of you that it was all Bev's fault, and she screwed up a good thing in Gary Blair. After the matter, I learned it was one of the hardest decisions she ever had to make and there was much more to the story then meets the eye. She didn't delve into the details too much, but it was pretty evident big money, women's basketball revenue played a factor. I gained a lot more respect for how she controlled the women's athletic department, and how she continued to benefit the program after the merger.  Gary Blair was an unfortunate incident. She admitted things could have gone smoother, and had great respect for the man and coach he is, but as often the case in business, sometimes the two parties can't work things out. I haven't heard Blair's side, but it is unfair for everyone to deem that her legacy.