Dianne Murphy
Athletic Director Dianne Murphy faced sustained scrutiny for the first time in her career as Columbia's athletic director throughout the 2011 football season.
But she seemed to bounce back a bit after handling the Norries Wilson firing quickly and the powerful alums concerned about sports also seemed to like her choice of Pete Mangurian right away.
Enter the winter, and despite the impressive championship for women's track and field, men's and women's basketball are suffering from very disappointing seasons.
Fair or not, men's basketball and football are the two sports that really matter, and somehow both of those teams are WORSE this year than they were when Murphy took over about a decade ago.
With baseball starting in just a couple of days, there's a chance for a nice spring respite from the losing. But if the baseball team disappoints, the pressure on Murphy will rise to do whatever possible to get the football team out of the basement this fall.
Too often, we've let discussions of personalities dominate the debates over whether our coaches or athletic administrators are worth keeping. And it's getting tiresome as somehow the Lions are getting worse in the key sports that make the biggest impact.
But perhaps the biggest disappointment is that other than this blog and its readers, there seems to be a dwindling number of people even inside the Columbia administration who care whether the Lions win or lose.
I'm not saying Murphy should be fired now, but I am saying there needs to be someone in charge at Columbia who is holding her responsible for results.
6 comments:
I am very disappointed in the collapse of the basketball season. But I think that Smith is a good coach who would have had the team in the mix if Agho hadn't gone down. Next year is make or break time for him. Dianne has become very insular. I have written her a few emails which she has ignored, even though they have all been temperate in tone. As a long time supporter of the athletic program I would have at least expected an acknowledgement.
I happen to think that Dr Murphy has done a good job in trying to turn around the performance and perception of Columbia athletics during her tenure. I see progress not regression. Our teams are much more competitive- for example excluding last years Dartmouth game, we were in every football contest in the 4th quarter. Basketball has had its ups and downs, surely the loss of the squads best player was a major setback, but this team is respectable and feisty. We no longer fear the old blowouts that used to categorize Columbia athletics. The new athletics website is a nice feature as well as the video access to games we wouldnt otherwise see.I know that close doesnt count( except in horseshoes) and we need to see more W's not L's but overall I have been impressed by Dr Murphy's efforts to bring the needed changes to our programs.
Murphy can be unnecessarily prickly, as she was when I diplomatically expressed concerns about the leadership of the football program in the middle of last season. That said, if one looks at where the athletic program is today in comparison to where it was when she arrived, her accomplishments are obvious. She has built/rebuilt the infrastructure. Baker looks and is 100% better than when she took over, and this before the Campbell Center is completed. The idea of a $100 million campaign for the ath dept would have been unthinkable prior to her tenure. Baseball has the right coach. I think Smith and his team will do well. They're smart, hard working and dedicated. They'll get better. Let's not forget that a couple of shots here and there and the Ivy season looks completely different. As for football, I'll let folks better positioned opine on that, but Mangurian certainly seems to have the right stuff.
-Dr.V
I think that we are all BEYOND the "let's just be glad that we are 'competitive'". That, in itself, is a losing mentality! The men's basketball team is a joke! I said it from the beginning of the year (and posted as such) - that we are the 5th rated team in the League, at best! I was WRONG! We are 6th now! I totally agree that Smith is a nice guy, but so was Joe Jones. Jones, however, was indeed more competitive. Where does the responsibility lie? Directly on Smith! However, Diane (and her minions) should be held accountable for the FAILURE of our overall athletics. We have been in the basement of the League for the past decade!
I never stated that I was "glad that we are competitive". The issue was, I believe, is the program better off, have we made strides forward under Murphy's helm? To me the answer is an unequivocal YES. The coaching changes are an example of trying to correct course, to get better. I believe we will continue to do so.
Doc- Thank you for your replay and passion/support of the program, however, the ONLY reason for the coaching changes w/CU football are because of Jake and the BLOG. Thinking otherwise is niave. Her credit is infrastructure and event management, but we've been saying that for a couple of years now and we need to look at records. Unless we see some substantial changes, then she needs to go. I'm not saying fire her, just do not renew her contract.
Post a Comment