Rational Letter to Commissioner Swofford

Commissioner Swofford,

The Atlantic Coast Conference has a deep and rich tradition full of many instances of honor and pride for it’s member institutions.  From it’s foundings as one of the first major, modern conferences in the country, it has represented over a hundred national titles, a total of 15 major institutions and over a half of a century of athletic competition.  The ACC currently represents over a quarter of a million students and millions of friends and alumni across the world.  It goes without saying that representing all that this great conference has to offer is not a responsibility to be taken lightly and expectations for such an esteemed conference should be of the highest level, no exceptions allowed.

NC State is one of the 8 founding members of the ACC and has contributed greatly to it’s formation and sustainment both on the court and by maintaining a positive reputation in the classroom.  This is a claim that not all members of this, or any other, conference can claim.  Because of this contribution, I trust that you will take the concerns of such a loyal contributor towards this conference to heart.  NC State does not expect preferential treatment and does not even want to advocate that the ACC has been committing any sort of acts that have been coordinated to benefit one team or group of teams.  (Even holding such a discussion in the formal sense is meaningless.)  NC State does, however, recognize that in accordance with the high standards the ACC is capable of holding itself to, it’s officiating has become a “black eye” not just for individual teams, but for the conference at large.  Today, during the North Carolina State University versus University of North Carolina – Chapel Hill men’s basketball game, questionable officiating didn’t just become the thing that fan-bases talk about after a tough loss; rather, ACC officiating became a national topic and was viewed by millions of college basketball fans.

Even if the officiating would not have change the outcome of the game, even if the officials made the best call they could at the time, and even if the ACC is concerned and addresses quality concerns regularly, the commissioner of the ACC must, at the very least, admit that there is a problem and that it must be addressed publicly and transparently.  If for no other reason then out of respect for the member institutions of the conference, it is important for the university administrations, coaches, players, and fans who donate their time, money, and hearts to know that the conference is concerned with maintaining the level of quality that we should expect out of the ACC.

For these reasons, we kindly request the following…
(a) An explanation, apology, or acknowledgement that an officiating quality problems exists.
(b) Action taken for both Karl Hess or, at the very least, and acknowledgement that his actions, not just their “procedures”, were wrongful and disrespectful towards not only NC State but towards the legacy of ACC basketball.
(c) A plan for reforming ACC officiating be it a change in procedures, a change in contracted individuals, or a change in scheduling of current officials.

As stated, NC State does not expect preferential treatment and does not expect to regain respect on the court by anything other than it’s own blood, sweat, and tears.  On our journey to earning that respect, we do expect the ACC to continue to provide the quality of officiating and support that should be expected from the ACC.

Thank you for your time, efforts, and for your understanding of our concerns.  We will be patiently awaiting your response to the actions detailed in this letter.

V/R,
A Rational Fan of a Member Institution in the ACC

 

Note From The Author: I know there is a flurry of discussion going on regarding the game today and there will undoubtedly be more in the coming week, but I thought it important to document my feelings on the matter as soon as I cooled down after the game.  I feel that most of what is stated in this letter is generous… perhaps too generous… but at least provides a rational response to John Swofford concerning officiating.  In my humble opinion, the actions suggested in this letter would, at the very least, represent a positive move towards transparency and unbiased reform. Honestly, that’s all I realistically expect.  If we are going to play in a conference where they don’t care about the quality of officiating, then fine… just be upfront about it and let us know what we are accepting by staying the ACC.  Otherwise, at least pay lip-service and pretend like you care.  Not doing either one is just unprofessional and does little more than make the ACC look incompetent on a national stage and makes the ACC administration look dishonest.

About NCStatePride

***ABOUT THE AUTHOR: NCStatePride has been writing for StateFansNation.com since 2010 and is a 2009 graduate of the College of Engineering.

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56 Responses to Rational Letter to Commissioner Swofford

  1. Dogbreath 03/11/2012 at 12:16 AM #

    Straight into Swofford’s cylindrical shitcan.

  2. NCStatePride 03/11/2012 at 12:17 AM #

    I’m giving him the benefit of a doubt.

  3. jwrenn29 03/11/2012 at 12:32 AM #

    The problem is the officials aren’t employees of the ACC and can choose to walk and get another job easily. They’re independent contractors, and the ACC really only has so much control over the officials.

    So I think the ACC Offices are trying to walk a fine line where they don’t fully piss of their fans, and also don’t piss off their subcontractors (game officials) either. And guess what, it can’t be done!

  4. HPWolf 03/11/2012 at 12:34 AM #

    I believe that the only way to remedy this is through the resignation of Swofford. Only after his resignation can we as a conference begin to repair the officiating ,reputation and balance of our ACC. All of our efforts should be directed at making this tarheel asshole step down. It all starts at the top and it is the only way.

  5. NCStatePride 03/11/2012 at 12:47 AM #

    @jwrenn29,

    The ACC manages the contract, IIRC. Just because they are contractors doesn’t mean the ACC doesn’t have action to take. If they can’t take action, then that’s why one of the options in the three actions is to just explain what is going on and apologize or at least acknowledge the problem.`

  6. statered 03/11/2012 at 12:48 AM #

    I could care less if they piss off the officials. Fire them all and replace them with the best high school officials you can find. It might be rough at first but by the end of the season we would have better officiating than we have now. Its not like there is a lack of people willing to do the jon at 1.5k a pop.

  7. tobaccordshow 03/11/2012 at 1:27 AM #

    Lol. No disrespect SFN but nothing will change.

    This game went exactly according to plan.

  8. AppPack14 03/11/2012 at 1:41 AM #

    “Move along people. Nothing to see here.” No matter what we do it will be met with nothing but silence by the ACC’s top brass. Though I admire you for trying to change things.

  9. my_adidas 03/11/2012 at 1:42 AM #

    I just feel violated!

  10. Prowling Woofie 03/11/2012 at 1:53 AM #

    Nice effort, but won’t change a thing. Until Swofford is forced out of office, nothing will change; UNC will continue to reap (rape) the benefits…

  11. packattack13 03/11/2012 at 1:53 AM #

    So everyone feels robbed. Everyone thinks the acc and the officials have screwed them. And your all right. But hey screw it crap ain’t gonna change till we make it change with our play. And in case no ones noticed we have started it. Unc the preseason number one…..oh wait they were missing Henson…..boo hoo my ass….they still had 2 other 1st round nba talent players and a second round in Marshall compared to our 1 nba talent player Leslie and maybe zo one day.

    And we took this team down to the wire with the officials helping them..we are going to be better than them soon…..hell I hope we meet them in the big dance…….they are missing three things we have they’ll never have……heart, class, and coach Gott. With the talent we have now…..and yes I do mean talent…..I know some ppl on here feel like our team lacks some but I don’t……but with the talent we have now the talent we have coming in and the fact they will probably lose 3 of their four starters next year…..I’m predicting a season sweep next year and the officiating to begin heading in the right direction

  12. packattack13 03/11/2012 at 1:55 AM #

    Oh yea and nice letter but I don’t think it’ll help

  13. wolfpack4ever 03/11/2012 at 3:27 AM #

    The only thing that will cause change at the top of the conference is the organized, united efforts of the other 10 chancellors and athletic directors.

    This group has been collectively screwed by the acc and swofford. I will intentionally use lower case letters for the acc and swofford from this day forward. They are jokes and are not deserving of positive recognition.

    As I and others have stated before, it is a clear conflict of interest for a member school alumnus to be conference commissioner.

    Go Pack!

  14. tvopack 03/11/2012 at 3:16 AM #

    I’m frustrated. The entire State fans are frustrated. The media and everyone recognize the issue at hand.

    I’ve thought of writing a letter humbly asking Swafford to try to understand how much it hurts a fan to see your school being disrespected by the referees and their inconsistency in making calls that cost us the games. He, himself, went to NCAA committee to fight for his school for the violations they committed. He should know it hurts even more when you got screwed and it was no fault of your own.

    But then I think to myself, let’s stay tough until we have a good team show up. The point of asking is mostly moot when I know Swofford publicly said he’s a “Tar Heel” in response to his traveling to NCAA committee. The strongest voice we probably have is our AD, Dr. Yow. I hope she’s getting paid enough for everything that she has gone through so far.

  15. ncsu_kappa 03/11/2012 at 3:27 AM #

    As I see it “we” can influence change but we don’t know how nor do we know who “we” needs to be to enact the changes.

    Who is Swofford accountable to?
    Who are they accountable to?

    If we can answer those questions we can begin to devise a strategy to align the masses who feel that the way this conference is managed is unacceptable.

  16. Dreadstone 03/11/2012 at 3:55 AM #

    NC State to the SEC.

  17. Wulfpack 03/11/2012 at 7:29 AM #

    Great letter. You have to at least try.

  18. wilmwolf80 03/11/2012 at 7:33 AM #

    The problem is, as long as it is a person like Swofford at the head of the conference, writing letters and complaining is meaningless. As long as the head of the conference is closely affiliated with the blue teams, nothing will change. The time has come for the other member institutions to demand a change. Some battles can be won with the pen, this is one that requires the sword.

  19. GotNCState 03/11/2012 at 7:39 AM #

    1 thing State could do, as long as we remain in this conference, is to wear the BLACK uniforms instead of the red ones EVERY opportunity. To thumb our nose in their face.

  20. tractor57 03/11/2012 at 7:52 AM #

    The no call rightly should have been either a charge or a block given the way the game had been called. However there is long tradition of refs in the NBA (and in college) to swallow their whistles when there are game ending plays.

    That said the Pack gave UNX all they wanted.

  21. tdouble 03/11/2012 at 7:52 AM #

    “Hey NCSU, how does UNC **** taste?” – Shaq

    I did like Richard Howell wanting a foul with ball on his shoulder. Be sure to ask Swofford about that one too

  22. Avid109 03/11/2012 at 8:11 AM #

    I’m afraid your time has been wasted in writing this letter.

    We know that there’s a problem with the officiating in the ACC and that Swofford goes out of his way to protect his Tar Heels. Swofford says in public that officials like Hess are the best in the business and denies that the ACC favors any one team. Even if Swofford’s public statements WERE true, anyone who watched enough ACC sporting events over the past few years would see the appearance of preferential treatment toward UNC and Duke.

    In the legal world, appearance is reality. If there’s the appearance of a problem, then there IS a problem. This problem must be dealt with.

  23. RegularExpression 03/11/2012 at 8:21 AM #

    You want rational? How about some statistics:

    At the 16:07 mark of the 2nd half we took out largest lead, 46-39. In the next 8 minutes and 4 seconds, we were whistled for 9 fouls, including 3 on Leslie. We went to the line 1 time and made that free throw. In the same period, UNC was called for 4 fouls and went to the line 9 times, making 7. Thy outscored us during that period 19-6 to take a 58-52 lead.

    And the really sad thing is, you knew it was coming. It happened in Cameron earlier this year, almost the same way, though in that game Duke made their run after our players were forced to sit.

    I don’t think it is rational to say there is NOT an agenda among certain referees. In both the Duke and UNC games, the first half was called quite well, but then all the sudden the whistles started coming out for just a short stretch in the 2nd half, both times to our detriment. Then once the damage is done, they go back to calling the game the regular way.

  24. jb52ncsu 03/11/2012 at 8:27 AM #

    here is a nice little tidbit pointing out some obvious discrepancies in yesterdays game… enjoy… and share…

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