Chancellor Woodson Extended Interview

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We hope that you and and all of the readers in our community took the time to read our Welcoming blog post and the commentary shared by our readers.

You can click here for the thread on our message board regarding Chancellor Woodson’s appointment.

“This is an exceptional University.”

“The reputation of this institution is very strong.”

“I like to win”

Nothing earth shattering here…but it is nice to see how natural and articulate he is. I spoke with a friend who attended Woodson’s formal announcement and cocktail reception last Friday and his first observation was how Woodson was able to make all of his comments without an ounce of prompting from notes; completely opposite from Jim Oblinger who never had enough natural conviction, confidence or ability speak straight from the inside.

Athletics are discussed after the six minute mark in this video if that is your only interest.

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30 Responses to Chancellor Woodson Extended Interview

  1. packplantpath 01/14/2010 at 9:07 AM #

    “I want to win, I want to win”

    “Outstanding academics and pride in outstanding athletics”

  2. Tiew 01/14/2010 at 9:30 AM #

    I really liked that interview. Thanks for posting it.

  3. Rochester 01/14/2010 at 9:42 AM #

    How is it that he gets us immediately while others who have been/were around for years just never got it? I like him a lot already and he makes me optimistic that we will do things right from here forward. If Harrow, Brown, etc., aren’t enough to save Lowe’s job next year, this seems like a guy who will want to see us bring in a coach capable of contending in the ACC.

  4. newt 01/14/2010 at 11:18 AM #

    Concerning athletics, in addition to “I like to win!” my favorite statement was…

    “We want to be about that combination that gets the institution competing with the best in the country.”

    …because it acknowledges that we are not currently at the level of competition that we want. That observation alone is a step forward.

    Combine these two statements and they do not add up to a chancellor’s award for excellence coming from this fellow based on our current performance.

  5. coach13 01/14/2010 at 11:30 AM #

    I hope he and Jed dispise each other from the gitgo, leading ultimately to termination.

  6. bradleyb123 01/14/2010 at 12:05 PM #

    Let’s just hope he has the cajones to stand up to anyone that doesn’t want him to fire Jed.

  7. 61Packer 01/14/2010 at 12:11 PM #

    Why are we talking about saving Lowe’s job NEXT YEAR?

  8. Class of 2009 01/14/2010 at 12:15 PM #

    “capable of contending in the ACC”

    Not just capable of contending in the ACC, but capable of contending and passionate about being a part of this program and out tradition. I’d rather keep Lowe and extra season or two longer than we should if it means we DON’T get another Herb who lacks passion for NC State and what the red and white really means. At least Sidney has a desire to see NC State be great and get’s the pack mentality.

    Woodson seems really smart and like he will assimilate into a true “wolfpacker” quickly and seemlessly. Either he’s going to be a great asset to NC State or he is the greatest deception artist the BoG has ever set infront of us.

  9. bradleyb123 01/14/2010 at 12:42 PM #

    Why are we talking about saving Lowe’s job NEXT YEAR?

    It was just the one post, and I think the context was Sidney saving his own job. If his players aren’t winning enough games, at some point he WILL be on the hotseat if he isn’t already. But if he wins enough this year, and those players win enough NEXT year, then he is effectively saving (or preserving) his job.

    What was wrong with that thought process? Don’t we all want Sidney to be a winner and save his job?

  10. eas 01/14/2010 at 1:02 PM #

    I liked that there was NO pause in his “I like to win” statement. It sounds like he realizes the most important thing is education BUT at the same time realizes the facts…..Successful Athletics generate a lot of money, which in turn generates more for the University.

    I get a lot of emphasis on Athletics from that video. I sure hope this is true. Great athletics at a great academic institution is a tough combination to beat.

  11. Rochester 01/14/2010 at 1:07 PM #

    The “next year” reference is to when we finally get a real back court. I’d like for Harrow and Brown to actually show up, and if that means giving Lowe Year 5, well, we’ve gone this far already.

    Short of a 1-15 finish, which I don’t see happening, I don’t see Lowe getting fired this year, and I don’t think it would be productive to agitate for that to happen. And unless Fowler goes first, there’s no point in firing Lowe unless Woodson wants to run the coaching search himself.

    If we stink next season, there will be no doubt it’s time to clean house, but by doing it then we’ll already have a nice core of players on campus for the next coach to work with. Players are much less likely to transfer once they’ve already spent a year at a school than they are to try to back out of their LOI due to a coaching change. If we lose Harrow and Brown and it takes the next guy 2-3 years to recruit a competent back court, we’re going to suck for a long time.

  12. 61Packer 01/14/2010 at 1:13 PM #

    I want NCSU to be a winner, regardless of whether or not Sidney Lowe’s job is saved.

    I see no tangible evidence that if Lowe’s job is saved that State basketball will be good again, even in another 4 seasons.

    I’ve seen the tooth fairy, the Easter bunny, and Santa. But I haven’t seen real signs of program improvement in the past 3+ seasons. Maybe I’m just stupid or something, but I just don’t get it.

  13. MP 01/14/2010 at 1:36 PM #

    “bradleyb123”, I don’t think Sidney Lowe needs you to rush to his defense anytime someone suggests that our basketball team needs to get around to consistently winning games AND demonstrate the capability to win championships. 4 – 5 years is enough time to get the ball rolling in that direction.

    I totally support Sidney Lowe and hope that this happens with him as our coach, by the way, so no need to try to “convince me of my misguidedness” or anything. I’m sure he understands these expectations, given what happened when he played here.

  14. blackdom 01/14/2010 at 1:59 PM #

    We shall see he seems like a nice change,someone who wants results

  15. Class of 2009 01/14/2010 at 2:10 PM #

    @MP; I don’t think bradley was trying to defend Sid. He just explained what Rochester was saying to 61packer who seemed to be reading Rochester incorrectly. I don’t think anyone was making any commentary at any point in time on Sid and his career. There are about 30 topics in the forums concerning that if you’d like to give involved in the “Sid’s had enough time” debate. For now, this blog is about Woodson…

    …who, by the way, appears to be the sort of person who has high expectations for his work. People don’t ascend to the level Woodson has unless they are real “go getters”.

  16. packplantpath 01/14/2010 at 2:20 PM #

    “People don’t ascend to the level Woodson has unless they are real “go getters”.”

    Or real @$$ kissers. See one chancellor oblinger. I hope woodson is the first one. I like what I’ve seen/heard so far anyway.

  17. ms termeaner 01/14/2010 at 2:38 PM #

    09 This thread is not about Sid ,why bring him into the mix? Things will take their proper course with or without you contantly saying “I think we should give Sid 2 more years”.
    If Woodson is serious and wants results I am sure the first to go will be Fowler.

  18. Rochester 01/14/2010 at 3:48 PM #

    How will Fowler spin it when Woodson cans him? Is Woodson part of the Lunatic Fringe because he cares about winning?

  19. bradleyb123 01/14/2010 at 4:19 PM #

    “bradleyb123″, I don’t think Sidney Lowe needs you to rush to his defense anytime someone suggests that our basketball team needs to get around to consistently winning games AND demonstrate the capability to win championships. 4 – 5 years is enough time to get the ball rolling in that direction.

    I was responding to a question someone asked.

    And at times on this blog, Sidney DOES need someone to defend him.

  20. bradleyb123 01/14/2010 at 4:24 PM #

    I see no tangible evidence that if Lowe’s job is saved that State basketball will be good again, even in another 4 seasons.

    I’m not sure what makes you say that, given the players we have now that are just freshmen. Scott Wood just dropped 7 three pointers and scored 31 points in a road conference game, as a true freshman. He got off to a rough start, but over the last 7 games or so, he’s finding his shot.

    And State is (12-5, 1-2) with a quality win over Florida State.

    You don’t see any improvement?

    And you don’t anticipate any success with the guys we have coming in next year? I mean, you said “even in another 4 seasons”. You’re talking about three years with at least three 4- or 5-star recruits that have not even arrived yet. I’m not sure how you or anyone would anticipate failure with so many players of that calibre.

    I don’t see the basis for that. Maybe I’m stupid, too.

  21. Class of 2009 01/14/2010 at 4:46 PM #

    @ms termeaner;
    ??? You may want to go back and re-read the series of posts and re-calibrate your reading skills: I’m not bringing Sid up and haven’t said anything good or bad about the man here. However, I would love to hear what you have to say about Woodson’s interview above!

    @Rochester; “How will Fowler spin it when Woodson cans him?”

    I’ve mentioned it in the forums, but I don’t think Fowler will have to rationalize anything. If I ventured a guess, I’d say Woodson basically comes in and starts up-ing the standards and expectations on Fowler (not just W’s and L’s, but the quality of his execution and active participation in what Woodson views as AD responsibilities). If Woodson did that, it would expose Fowler’s inability to conduct an athletic program, might sway the ‘power brokers’ that Lee Fowler may not be NC State’s best AD option at this time, and allow Woodson to either dismiss Fowler or convince Fowler to take his leave with minimal reputation damage to Woodson (I’m sure he wants to be seen as an administrator/director of a University, not as a downsizing-consultant).

    Fowler’s days are numbered. From earlier, people in the forums close to the AD office were saying there were mumblings of dissatisfaction in Fowler within the University. Woodson is a smart guy; he’ll pick up on this.

    @packplantpath; Granted, and I guess I was hinting at that with my “deception artist” comment. I really, really want to believe things will pick up for NC State with Woodson and after Oblinger, I actually struggle to see it get too worse without the BoG having to step in again to keep the institution from flopping. (On the bright side, if NCSU showed signs of overall collapse, likely all of the administration campus-wide would get laid off including Fowler.)

  22. packof81 01/14/2010 at 4:56 PM #

    I worked in Indianapolis and have some family up there, several of which attended Purdue. There are many similarities between Purdue and NC State. Woodson seems like a good fit. He’s a straight shooter and NC State needs one. Jed had best walk a chalk line or he’ll be spending lots more time at the lakehouse.

  23. old13 01/14/2010 at 5:13 PM #

    I posted this interview on the Forums last Saturday. From the way Dr. Woodson addressed athletics issues, it gave me the impression that maybe Dr. Woodward had already briefed him about all the letters and emails that Dr. Woodward has gotten complaining about Foulup’s incompetence and the sorry state of NCSU athletics. I certainly hope that is the case, and that Dr. Woodson was reacting to that specific input.

  24. Wolfy__79 01/14/2010 at 10:25 PM #

    coming from Purdue, i really don’t see this guy being an axkisser. its a pretty solid university and if compared would really make us look bad based on appearances alone. ntm much of our dept’s. it’s a breath of fresh air.. thanks for posting it. concerning athletics, i firmly believe we have already turned the corner and perhaps woodson will be the exclamation point. NCSU, for a long time has allowed the good ol boy mentality to play too large a part in the wrong areas of our school. it is part of what makes NCSU better than the rest, but also weakens some of our progress. i see this being a major step in the right direction. Welcome to NCSU Chancellor Woodson!

  25. Class of 2009 01/14/2010 at 10:45 PM #

    Doesn’t sound like he’s going to be walking on eggs too much due to the past. “I think the university’s moved on.”

    Also: “…And that story needs to be told more.” I like how he threw in that qualifier “more” when talking about the reputation of the University. It’s as someone else said, Woodson seems to understand that NC State isn’t where it “should” be.

    (On a side note, I wish the monkey behind the camera could keep still.)

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