H*****r
发帖数: 764 | 1 A day after firing football coach Butch Davis, North Carolina also will
start searching for a new athletic director.
Dick Baddour said Thursday he plans to step down after 14 years as soon as
the school can hire a replacement. Entering the final year of a three-year
contract that expires next June, Baddour said it's important for his
successor to name the next football coach instead of inheriting a hire.
"It is my responsibility to do what is in the best interest of the program,
and this is my decision," Baddour said in a news conference to discuss Davis
' firing a day earlier.
Tar Heels Take Step Backward
North Carolina's decision to fire its football coach a week before training
camp will cost the program for years, and in more than just wins, writes
Heather Dinich. Blog
Chancellor Holden Thorp said Baddour will attend the school's hearing before
the NCAA infractions committee in October, then serve out the rest of his
contract in another position. Baddour took over in 1997 after John Swofford
left to become commissioner of the Atlantic Coast Conference.
"It was pretty evident to me as the decision unfolded that that's in the
best interest of the football program," Baddour said. "That's a realization
that if you're in this business, your head football coach needs to know who
the athletic director is going to be. With me knowing this is going to be my
final year, you want the field to be as best as possible and the way to do
that is to do what I'm doing."
"[Thorp] and I have had conversations about staying beyond that date to help
stabilize the program after the NCAA made its ruling," Baddour added. "
However, as someone who has hired coaches for the past 14 years, I know that
it's even more imperative that my successor be able to name the next
permanent head coach."
Baddour's sooner-than-expected departure is the latest development in a
bumpy year for the Tar Heels. NCAA investigators arrived on campus last July
looking into allegations of improper benefits, but that probe later
expanded to include charges of academic misconduct and created a massive
distraction for a program seeking to contend for the ACC championship and a
BCS bowl game.
[+] EnlargeDick Baddour
AP Photo/Gerry BroomeDick Baddour said he is stepping down so North Carolina
's next athletic director can hire the Tar Heels' next football coach.
In all, 14 players missed at least one game and seven were forced to sit out
the entire season. The NCAA sent a notice of allegations last month
outlining nine potential major violations within the program.
Thorp admitted Davis' firing was "terrible" timing considering it comes with
about a week before players begin preseason practice, but said he had been
mulling the move for weeks and decided it couldn't wait any longer.
Thorp and Baddour had been publicly supportive of Davis for the past year,
so much so that Davis said Monday at the ACC's preseason media days that it
had been "reassuring" to have their backing.
"We tried to hold things together and restore confidence in the football
program, and I felt in order for us to have a fair chance for that, I would
have to support Coach Davis," Thorp said. "I've come to the conclusion that
we've given that enough time and now it's time for us to take the actions
that we're taking."
Thorp said the university could owe Davis as much as $2.7 million in
contractual obligations. He said he didn't believe that Davis knew about any
potential violations, but that the investigation was doing too much damage
to the school's reputation.
The school is interviewing internal candidates to serve as interim coach.
Baddour said he hoped to have one in place by Friday. |
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