Continued Fallout: Baddour Resigns (Updated 3pm)

General UNC Scandal62

This chaos clearly still isn’t over for the Flagship.

Today, AD Dick Baddour “resigned.”

Dick Baddour announced his resignation on Thursday in order for chancellor Holden Thorp to find a new football coach.

Thorp said he would interview interim candidates today but would not name a successor for football coach Butch Davis, who was fired on Wednesday.

From Chip Patterson at CBSSports.com:

Baddour’s contract is set to run through June 2012, and he informed the media that he has told Thorp to begin the search for his replacement “as soon as possible.” Thorp elaborated that Baddour would join the school in representing the program in Indianapolis before the NCAA Committee on Infractions. Once the school selects a replacement, Baddour will step aside from day-to-day duties but he will remain under contract until it expires in June.

Meanwhile, Holden Thorp offers more nonsense on why Butch Davis was fired (WRAL.com):

Thorp said that he believes that Davis was unaware of any improprieties that were going on that led up to the investigation and the total buyout package could add up to $2.7 million.

“I don’t believe Butch Davis knew about the things that went on,” Thorp said. “This was really about the cumulative effect on the university.”

$2.7 million…well, that makes as much sense as the rest of this, no doubt about that.

Dennis Dodd at CBSSports.com offers his confusing take, albeit one with which most UNC fans probably agree, “North Carolina killed Butch Davis:”

North Carolina football killed Butch Davis. Not the other way around.

Sure, Davis is to blame for allowing the program to go rogue on his watch but that’s part of my logic. A coach successful enough to get to the highest level of the NFL, a man diligent enough to bring Miami back from the brink of scandal in a relatively short amount of time, a man who then basically delivered Miami a national championship, caved.

He caved because he knew North Carolina was not your normal salvage job. Even in the mediocre ACC, North Carolina’s football mediocrity stood out. The last coach to win 10 in Chapel was the first to do it in 16 years. Mack Brown got the hell out 14 years ago because he knew it couldn’t last. Butch Davis took the job because he was the latest in a line to believe he could make a difference.

But knowing the history of North Carolina football Davis was desperate enough to hire John Blake, a guy he had known for 30 years. That’s what makes the events of Wednesday even more tragic. It wouldn’t have taken much because Carolina fans don’t demand much.

That was Davis’ greatest mistake. He should have known better. He didn’t have to hire Blake, the coach by his notorious nickname “Black Santa”. Davis knew Blake’s recruiting coordinator’s rep. Hell, it looks like he hired Blake because of the dark side of that rep.

Davis ultimately concluded that Blake is what Carolina needed because it’s Carolina. There are reasons why the administration failed time after time to get it right, why a school with a glorious athletic tradition elsewhere has averaged 5 1/2 football wins since 1998.

1:45pm Update:
A couple ESPN folks have more to say.

Heather Dinich on the cost to UNC:

“We recognize that $2.7 million may be what this ends up costing us,” chancellor Holden Thorp said, “and I’ve reached the conclusion that even though this is a terrible time, the athletic program will need to pay whatever it is we need to pay to make the separation happen.”

Oh, they’ll pay.

It will cost them fan support.

It will cost them recruits.

It will cost them years.

It will cost them wins.

It will cost them their longtime, loyal athletic director, who announced his resignation effective June, 2012.

And the NCAA hasn’t even begun to levy sanctions for nine major violations.

Dave Hooker talks about its impact on recruiting and has some comments from 2012 commits.

The L.A. Times compiles the response of writers from various news outlets around the nation, who all agree that the timing of this makes no sense whatsoever. It’s hard not to suppose something else is going on that forced the issue rather than waiting until a more opportune time.

If there was any doubt that Carolina garners national attention as one of the premier programs in the NCAA, the sheer magnitude of the response to this by the national media erases it. But let’s see how one of the local folks reacts:

Season Ticket holder Dion Graham was also surprised by the firing.

“They fired him? You’ve got to be kidding,” he said.

This probably isn't Dion

It’s also a good time to once again point out, to all you Carolina faithful out there: it’s Tar Heels (two words), not Tarheels (one word). But don’t fret, Butch probably didn’t know that, either.

3pm Update:
All along, there have been questions about whether the 216 phone records would be turned over, and what they would look like after Butch self-redacted them. With such precarious timing for his firing, it’s certainly plausible that the 216 records at least factored into the decision. Well, Dan Kane of the N&O blogs that we may never know:

Davis told reporters last week that the university reviewed the records in the fall of 2010. That’s true, but the university never made copies.

“He didn’t give us the records,” said Nancy Davis. “We hired outside legal counsel to take a look at them, but he retained the records, and he has them now.”

Nancy Davis said she did not know what the university’s counsel reported back regarding Butch Davis’s personal cell phone records, but it so far has not been tied to any NCAA violation. Thorp said Thursday that there are no new allegations surrounding the cell phone or any other information requested by reporters.

To see what others have been saying, go here.

Since you’re probably dying to talk more about this, in addition to the comments below, you can head on over to the SFN Forums.

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General UNC Scandal

62 Responses to Continued Fallout: Baddour Resigns (Updated 3pm)

  1. hoop 07/28/2011 at 1:36 PM #

    GAWolf wrote:
    “Y’all this thing is about to blow up beyond anyone’s wildest dreams it seems….. When I say movie material….if about two more things being tossed around currently are even close to accurate….this thi is about t seriously be made into a movie. ”

    GA, you are such a tease! I’m ready for that next piece. Ready for that Yahoo article.

  2. packof81 07/28/2011 at 1:37 PM #

    They’re in damage control mode over there, big time. I bet ol’ Roy is living on the commode today.

  3. BJD95 07/28/2011 at 1:42 PM #

    As a State alum (hey, I did go to UNC’s law school!!), I will bite the bullet and take their AD job.

    You guys will really like my proposed football budget. Along with the seven year contract for John Bunting (aka “Football Les”). And unlike Todd Turner, I won’t hesitate as to “whether to wear my red tie or blue tie” on game day. Hell, I will even sit on the Wolfpack side of the stadium!!

  4. ryebread 07/28/2011 at 1:44 PM #

    BJD: I offer my services as well. Heck, I won’t even have NC State gear in my office. One does have to keep things professional. 😉

  5. BJD95 07/28/2011 at 1:45 PM #

    Oh, and “La la la la la la. La la la la la la!!!” Hee hee.

  6. BJD95 07/28/2011 at 1:48 PM #

    And to be honest, for the next decade or so, all of Kenan will likely be the “Wolfpack side of the stadium!!”

    Hope Tom has so much fun the next few years that he can’t bear to retire.

  7. DRW 07/28/2011 at 1:49 PM #

    I don’t understand why people say they are confused about the timing of the dismissal.

    It is very simple. Thorp wanted to fire BMFD months ago, but was thwarted by Bob Winston, who was Chairman of the BOT and a big ‘fan’ of Butch’s. Once Winston was off of board, Thorp saw his chance and jumped.

  8. logarithm 07/28/2011 at 1:50 PM #

    I love it but I’m not gloating. We still have to beat them on the field and there’s no telling how pissed off their remaining players will be. Nobody snatches defeat from the jaws of victory like us.

  9. TruthBKnown Returns 07/28/2011 at 1:59 PM #

    The very fact that UNX’s compliance department was not regularly monitoring Butch’s 216 phone records should be a nail in the LOIC coffin.

    As for those records, I really don’t think Butch has a choice. Those are STATE records. He used that phone as a STATE employee. I thought all this was already settled.

  10. BJD95 07/28/2011 at 1:59 PM #

    My best friend is a Hole grad and fan (but way more into hoops), and even she agreed the pictures on this thread are pretty hilarious.

  11. TeufelWolf 07/28/2011 at 2:01 PM #

    Even Heather Dinich got in on it:
    “For an institution that overfloweth with pride in its academics, North Carolina certainly doesn’t look very smart right now.”

    Then speaking of the recruits: “A word of advice, guys? Run. As in, 40-yard fast.”

  12. TruthBKnown Returns 07/28/2011 at 2:02 PM #

    logarithm, it would be just like State to blow our next game with the holes. Wouldn’t it? Wow, would that ever suck!

  13. highstick 07/28/2011 at 2:13 PM #

    Cowdog to be on the Dave Glenn show? Coming up in a few minutes…This should be interesting!!!

  14. MattN 07/28/2011 at 2:17 PM #

    “Paging Mr. Todd Turner, please pick up a Blue Courtesy phone. Thank you…”

  15. Prowling Woofie 07/28/2011 at 2:33 PM #

    Just spoke with a die-hard Heels fan who asserts that the buyout will be/was necessary because “Butch had to go, but he didn’t do anything wrong.”

    When I insisted it was hush money and that it should burn Heels alums up, especally during such tough economic times, his reply was, “Well any number of Ram’s Club members could stroke a check for $2.7 mill and not feel it…”

    I replied that that wasn’t the point.

  16. choppack1 07/28/2011 at 2:40 PM #

    Yea. This looks more like Blake situation than Matt doherty situation. Will the ncaa be impressed that they have paid another coach who won’t have to cooperate

  17. Par Shooter 07/28/2011 at 2:44 PM #

    Looking forward to Bill Friday’s comments on how ghastly it is that this money ($2.7M) is being spent. Since he’s not a hypocrite or anything I would imagine they will be coming along any time now. Maybe after his nap.

  18. WULF 07/28/2011 at 3:00 PM #

    I’ve heard that Lee Folwer is available to become their AD.

  19. Hungwolf 07/28/2011 at 3:21 PM #

    Scout reported back on signing day that UNC had 22 committs. I know the one kid from texas was released over the defensive line coach fiasco, so does anyone know how many kids they really expecting next week? I thought I saw a number of 12, does anyone know? And waht happened to the rest, did they not qualify?

  20. choppack1 07/28/2011 at 3:24 PM #

    Ok. So we’re supposed to support the same slueths who said mcadoo did his own work.

  21. patientwuf 07/28/2011 at 3:29 PM #

    “I don’t understand why people say they are confused about the timing of the dismissal.

    It is very simple. Thorp wanted to fire BMFD months ago, but was thwarted by Bob Winston, who was Chairman of the BOT and a big ‘fan’ of Butch’s. Once Winston was off of board, Thorp saw his chance and jumped.”

    Terrible timing. This is a ridiculous example of leadership, whether it was Thorpe or the BOT-doesn’t matter. Tar Heel football is ruined for years. Not that I am disappointed- NC STATE should benefit big time from this. THIS IS JOYOUS!!

  22. TruthBKnown Returns 07/28/2011 at 3:32 PM #

    The NCAA should go ahead and notify Carolina’s incoming recruiting class that they can transfer without sitting out a year. Because there WILL be sanctions, and I’m sure they already know that.

  23. ErB 07/28/2011 at 4:06 PM #

    Here’s a petition to get Butch back. Around 828 signed at the time of this post.

    http://www.petitiononline.com/BDUNC/petition.html

  24. LRM 07/28/2011 at 4:07 PM #

    When it comes to sanctions, losing scholarships is more potent than bowl bans. A two-year bowl ban often doesn’t mean a whole lot, especially if the team wasn’t all that great anyway. However, a reduction of 6-8 scholarships can be crippling for several years.

    Think of it this way, the primary structural difference between I-A and I-AA is 22 scholarships (85 vs. 63, respectively). It’s hard enough to build a winner with the full 85, but if you cut out 6-8 of those over two seasons, then you’re closing that talent gap and limiting your ability to build a foundation for the short-term, and in effect, the long term.

    Reduced scholarships will absolutely affect who you can hire as a coach and how difficult it is for you to rebuild.

  25. NCSUPackfan 07/28/2011 at 4:13 PM #

    Players that enrolled for summer classes would not be able to get out of their LOI. They would be considered transfer students.

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