The Times They Are A Changin'...

As I passed by a few Utah Valley State distance runners warm up for the world-famous Jack Rose Relays tomorrow, with a background of field athletes going through run-throughs, I knew that Larry Reynolds’ time at Long Beach State was up. It wasn’t because they lost to Tennessee in a 121-86 blowout. It was because of the first three seasons that proved to be his undoing.
Those who have been exposed to how things work in college or professional sports, especially business majors like me, know that a coach is signed to a contract, and the coach, after the contract is completed, is judged by the performance during the the seasons on his contract. If they are very good, i.e. titles (regular season and conference tournament), great wins (i.e. 4 or 5 at the minimum over top 50 RPI), and progress in the Big Dance was satisfactory (at least winning the first round), then you will be offered a contract extension. If you have the last season be your best season (more wins than the other five), as well as win the conference, but get destroyed by 35 in your first appearance in over a decade, WITH senior leadership, and have the first three seasons be losing seasons (10 wins or less), you’re not going to be kept. Add also the looming cloud of the NCAA who will investigate two students who will be graduating from the university this Spring over transcript snafus, and the season could be a bust. Meaning, all the effort I put into the last two seasons may have been in vain.
For some people, it’s a cruel decision. But for many who have followed a team-heck, alumni and boosters who exert just as strong, maybe even stronger, influence over a university’s basketball program than the students, this would be the right decision.
And while this is going to be at the expense of Reynolds, an up-and-coming coach can see this record and capitalize on the success, and make it better.

All that has to happen is for Dr. F. King Alexander and Dr. Vic Cegles to make it official on Monday.

Volleyball captain Teddy Liles asked to give me an update on the game between Arizona and Purdue in the first round. 45-34 Purdue in the second half during first media timeout.

Liles is from Tucson. The Boilermakers would hold on.

This day is not without some good things happening. Our baseball team defeated Wichita State 2-1, winning in the ninth inning, while our men’s volleyball team held off a comeback by IPFW to win 3-2. But perhaps the biggest surprise outside of Winthrop actually winning a game in the Big Dance or Duke getting kicked out by Virginia Commonwealth was that Cal Baptist, an NAIA team, swept the #6-ranked Nittany Lions of Penn State in volleyball. While the Lancers (who we earlier defeated), are the best team in the NAIA, the stigma of being an NAIA team should have made this a cakewalk for Penn State. I didn’t count on it to be the other way around.

They’re going to be hell bent for leather when they take on us on Saturday.