In the spirit of Lee Fowler, The Tallahassee Democrat has penned an article titled “Q&A with Dave Hart”. (Link)
We (understandably) like to highlight the incessant media attention that NC State’s Athletics Director seeks (Link to one of many examples). No word yet on the rumors that Fowler is considering making the Tallahassee Democrat pay him residuals on this copyrighted, “Q&A with Lee Fowler”.
A quick search of the TDO’s archive indicates that the only other “Q&A” that Dave Hart has done with the paper was in 2003. So, this one takes on more meaning than if Hart was publicly talking and talking and talking all of the time to the media.
Hart’s comments touch on a lot of topics that are relevant to all college athletics programs. He speaks a lot of “comprehensive excellence” within his program. Florida State finished #17 in this year’s Directors Cup; NC State finished #34.
TDO: When you look at the national scene, there are a lot of situations where athletic directors seem to be quick to make changes.
Hart: What is tough is finding the reasonable balance. In order to do that, you have to be able to see the big picture. I am very competitive and, believe me, there are times after a game where I don’t want to talk to a coach, and he doesn’t want to talk to me. But I have to take the emotion out of it, and look at the big picture.
I’ve never been offended by fans who are passionate. I would rather have that than fans who are indifferent.
TDO: Florida State fans have high expectations for all their sports programs. And they are vocal and not afraid to express their opinions.
Hart: The parallel to the two (athletic director) jobs I have held – at East Carolina and Florida – is that the fans are so passionate. And a lot of the passion is driven by their history where they weren’t getting anything. As matter of fact, quite the opposite. Their sister institutions were treating them like stepchildren. And from that grew a tremendous sense of pride in what they did accomplish.
Q: One of the first goals you mentioned about your arrival was to achieve comprehensive success for all Florida State sports. Has that been a more difficult challenge than you anticipated?
Hart: Undoubtedly it was. I always go back to Godfrey Smith, who I miss to this day. He was a member of our athletic board, and one of the times I spoke to them after arriving at Florida State, I talked to about the goals and future of athletics at Florida State. I was hopeful that we could be a competitive, comprehensive program ideally in five years and no longer than 10 years. A few days later I was having lunch with Godfrey, and he said in his own way, “Dave, that timetable you had was way off. I’m not saying you can’t get there but, as you learn more about where you are today and what you want, it will take substantially longer to get there.â€?
And he was right.
I understand that we had some teams that had a disappointing year in terms of their goals, but collectively we had an outstanding year.
I’m looking at the big picture, a lot of people are focusing on where we finish in the Directors’ Cup. And I am proud of that. We had phenomenal year academically. And then you look at what our student-athletes gave to the community. I was very proud and touched by the Tallahassee Democrataming our student-athletes one of their volunteers of the year.
