Thursday April 12, 2007

Presidential Task Force Review

Presidential Task Force Review
Friday Clemson will release the results of the Presidential Task Force that reviewed the AARC. Wednesday afternoon at 1:30 Clemson athletic director Terry Don Phillips met with about 30 employees and officials to reveal the results. The meeting included the head coaches of all of the sports and assistant coaches in some sports. It also included several members of the AARC and the Athletic Council.

I had a chance to have three conversations with some that attended the meeting and received more of their interpretation and less specifics about the new policy. Here is what I have learned according to the three that were in attendance:

*There have been changes to the process.

*The coaches were “satisfied with most of the new policy.”

*One person who attended the meeting told me, “It wasn’t a slam dunk but it was a pretty good jumper.”

*Another said, “It is not perfect but it is much better than what we had in place. I think it is about all we could ask for.”

*A third person that attended told me, “I thought it was a fair compromise.”

The three were not able to get too much into specifics with me but all three gave the impression that the new policy is in line with the university admission policies and remains in line with the guidelines that were giving to the NCAA during the certification process in 2001.

I was told that the policy refers to the student handbook and the university’s policies of the past. But they added that were more opportunities for a prospect to get in if turned down by the AARC. One source said the policy would place a lot more emphasis on character issues and not just academics. I was told there still may be a chance a prospect gets through the clearinghouse and not allowed to enroll at Clemson but that might be more of a case of character as opposed to academics. The way I took the information is that there are more opportunities now and the AARC is not going to have the power to hamper as much as it did this past season.

It is my understanding that the admission process will somehow be tied to each sports Academic Progress Report (APR) and graduation rates. The new policy will also look at academic data from several ACC and SEC schools and make adjustments to the policy based upon their APR and their academic data.
It is my understanding that the athletic department will have a representative on the AARC in the new policy. Last year this was not the case.

All that I talked to were very surprised that the current members of the AARC will remain in place. They were expecting some personnel changes to the committee.

No one that I talked to had any idea what time Friday this will come out. They were not sure if the university was going to have a press conference or just send out a press release with statements. I am not sure who is scheduled to be in town Friday so I am not sure who would be in attendance at a potential press conference.

My initial reaction was skeptical when I heard the Friday release date because often bad news is released Friday at 4:00 PM so no one is there to answer questions until Monday. But if everything I am hearing is correct then this will not be a factor.

Now please understand that there has to be some company lines here. There will be some spin because they have to appeal to the other sides. I would expect some rhetoric and that should be expected and is acceptable. The real answers are in the issues and policies. It sounds as if the policies are a little better than I expected. However, I think it is only fair to judge the new policies after we hear them Friday and have time to digest them.

I wish I could have gotten more specific details but all who attended the meeting had to hand their releases back in and could not leave the room with the hard copy.

Once the president announced the Presidential Task Force was in place to review the AARC I think I have been pretty fair and waited to judge the end result. I would like to thank the readers for doing the same. If I find out more details before Friday I will post updates on the blog but it appears specifics will have to wait until Friday. Thanks for your patience.

Surprise Visitor
I was at the McFadden Center Wednesday and looked up to see a face I thought I would never see in the building. Georgia head football coach Mark Richt was roaming the hall of the Clemson football office. No, Clemson has not stolen the Bulldogs coach. Richt was with his wife and son as they toured the facilities and met with some staff members. Richt’s son Jon is a junior quarterback that has committed to Clemson. Georgia ended their spring practice Saturday with their annual G-Day game.

I had a brief conversation with Richt and his family and thanked him for coming on the radio show last week. I was impressed by Jon and both of his parents and it appears Clemson is getting a high character prospect from a great family.

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