Lady Vols new track coach - unbelievable

#1
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callingallvols

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#1
Sitting down with a cup of coffee this morning to read the paper and start reading about the 6 freshman track athletes that had their scholarships removed before they ever set foot on the track. This new track coach has some big balls to kick these athletes off the team because they don't fit her vision - even though one was recruited by her at Penn State. Why didn't she do this before school started so these girls could go elsewhere without penalty??? Now, if they want to go to an SEC school they have to sit out a year. This is really a sad day in Tennessee to have a coach do this to these young ladies. I understand that she did not want these athletes on the squad, but at least do the honorable thing and release them before school starts so they have options. Dave Hart must really be a piece of work to condone this type of attitude from his coaches. Unfortunately, he had to know about this before it was done. Shame on Donna Thomas, Associate Athletic Director, to stand up at a Lady Vols function and talk about Title IX, and then condone this behavior from one of her coaches. This is disturbing behavior from a school I love to put these girls and their families through this situation. This is a sad day to be a Tennessee Vol.
 
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#4
#4
The best thing that the parents could have done they actually did. Contact the ncaa and sec. The ncaa will tell you the truth and provide guidance, the sec will ensure UT did nothing illegal....but that's about it. IF....the parents would not have contacted the NCAA I doubt you'd be reading about this at all. Most players recruited at UT contact the coaches and accept what they're told and move on...sit out a year etc, or give up D1 athletics altogether. It's good these kids parents handled this the right way. Because legally UT doesn't even have to release them to play/run anywhere. If you receive as little as an official visit or make a roster, by NCAA regulations the school doesn't have to release you. UT's normal policy in women's athletics is .....they don't release (several girls would have left over years for various reasons in one particular program that I know of). But they found out there would be no release. So they basically had to stay. Never let UT officials state that they can't or won't decrease or eliminate scholarships ....especially in the women's programs. It happens more than we know. The men's teams are under much more focus than the women's teams, and rarely will you hear of a player leaving, and if you do more than likely UT will release their men to play somewhere else. No UT women's programs have broken any ncaa or SEc regulations......but, the average fan would not approve of the things that do happen to these kids.

callingallvols said:
Sitting down with a cup of coffee this morning to read the paper and start reading about the 6 freshman track athletes that had their scholarships removed before they ever set foot on the track. This new track coach has some big balls to kick these athletes off the team because they don't fit her vision - even though one was recruited by her at Penn State. Why didn't she do this before school started so these girls could go elsewhere without penalty??? Now, if they want to go to an SEC school they have to sit out a year. This is really a sad day in Tennessee to have a coach do this to these young ladies. I understand that she did not want these athletes on the squad, but at least do the honorable thing and release them before school starts so they have options. Dave Hart must really be a piece of work to condone this type of attitude from his coaches. Unfortunately, he had to know about this before it was done. Shame on Donna Thomas, Associate Athletic Director, to stand up at a Lady Vols function and talk about Title IX, and then condone this behavior from one of her coaches. This is disturbing behavior from a school I love to put these girls and their families through this situation. This is a sad day to be a Tennessee Vol.
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#5
#5
callingallvols said:
Sitting down with a cup of coffee this morning to read the paper and start reading about the 6 freshman track athletes that had their scholarships removed before they ever set foot on the track. This new track coach has some big balls to kick these athletes off the team because they don't fit her vision - even though one was recruited by her at Penn State. Why didn't she do this before school started so these girls could go elsewhere without penalty??? Now, if they want to go to an SEC school they have to sit out a year. This is really a sad day in Tennessee to have a coach do this to these young ladies. I understand that she did not want these athletes on the squad, but at least do the honorable thing and release them before school starts so they have options. Dave Hart must really be a piece of work to condone this type of attitude from his coaches. Unfortunately, he had to know about this before it was done. Shame on Donna Thomas, Associate Athletic Director, to stand up at a Lady Vols function and talk about Title IX, and then condone this behavior from one of her coaches. This is disturbing behavior from a school I love to put these girls and their families through this situation. This is a sad day to be a Tennessee Vol.
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Only two post & a member since 2009? :hi: Looks like you need to post more often with your common sense applied.
 
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#6
#6
callingallvols said:
Sitting down with a cup of coffee this morning to read the paper and start reading about the 6 freshman track athletes that had their scholarships removed before they ever set foot on the track. This new track coach has some big balls to kick these athletes off the team because they don't fit her vision - even though one was recruited by her at Penn State. Why didn't she do this before school started so these girls could go elsewhere without penalty??? Now, if they want to go to an SEC school they have to sit out a year. This is really a sad day in Tennessee to have a coach do this to these young ladies. I understand that she did not want these athletes on the squad, but at least do the honorable thing and release them before school starts so they have options. Dave Hart must really be a piece of work to condone this type of attitude from his coaches. Unfortunately, he had to know about this before it was done. Shame on Donna Thomas, Associate Athletic Director, to stand up at a Lady Vols function and talk about Title IX, and then condone this behavior from one of her coaches. This is disturbing behavior from a school I love to put these girls and their families through this situation. This is a sad day to be a Tennessee Vol.
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This lady is a piece of work, that is for sure. I bet eventually Hart will regret the day he hired her.

She is the type of person, who when the program gets off to a slow start or doesn't improve at all and others point fingers at her. She will claim discrimination and bring more of a negative light to the university. She will be more of a headache than she is worth.

Watch and see!!!!!!!!
 
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#8
#8
This all but guarantees the demise of the program. What track athlete with multiple offers would give UT's program a second look now? If your daughter had offers from UT and other comparable schools, what would you advise her to do? Coaches at other schools will absolutely use this to convince recruits not to sign at UT.

This story will be used against the program and future recruiting is going to suffer. Nice move, dummy! Anyone that stupid needs to go.

Save the program and cut her loose.
 
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#10
#10
First off I have no dog in the hunt, but are we currently winning the SEC and national championship in women's track? If these girls are winning championships for us then yes it is strange. If not, she was hired to win not to keep the status quo. If she wants to kick the whole team off and start over from scratch that is fine. She is the coach. That is basically what Butch Jones is having to do over on the men's football side. Go Lady Vols track. Win us some championships like the Bball program.
 
#11
#11
You're correct, she can do that. Butch Jones didn't do that actually. He's been careful to do the right thing even if it would be more expeditious to do the other. In reality the women's prgrams are harder to manage with limits on scholarships etc. But Serrano is in the same boat, but he does his best and coaches the kids up. An earlier post actually hit the nail on the head. Who would want to come to Tennesse now? And what parent would feel comfortable advising your daughter to come here?? My guess is not many.

ALLVOL24/7/365 said:
First off I have no dog in the hunt, but are we currently winning the SEC and national championship in women's track? If these girls are winning championships for us then yes it is strange. If not, she was hired to win not to keep the status quo. If she wants to kick the whole team off and start over from scratch that is fine. She is the coach. That is basically what Butch Jones is having to do over on the men's football side. Go Lady Vols track. Win us some championships like the Bball program.
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#12
#12
One minor correction. Beth Alford-Sullivan is the Director of Track & Field and Cross Country, not the coach of the Lady Vols track program. That is, she is the head coach of the combined men's and women's track & field program.

Having said that, I find it interesting that we have a news report about six young ladies being told that they were no longer on the team and that there was no movement on the men's side. Could J. J. Clark have done such a good job recruiting on the men's side and such a poor job on the women's side?

Jim
 
#17
#17
CannonVol80 said:
One minor correction. Beth Alford-Sullivan is the Director of Track & Field and Cross Country, not the coach of the Lady Vols track program. That is, she is the head coach of the combined men's and women's track & field program.

Having said that, I find it interesting that we have a news report about six young ladies being told that they were no longer on the team and that there was no movement on the men's side. Could J. J. Clark have done such a good job recruiting on the men's side and such a poor job on the women's side?

Jim
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You are correct. Same position she held at PSU.
 
#18
#18
She has every right to get rid of players if she wants too! Tennessee doesn't have 4 year scholarships they year to year basis! She was brought here to win obviously she felt those young ladies would not help the program win
 
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#19
#19
Vols4life said:
She has every right to get rid of players if she wants too! Tennessee doesn't have 4 year scholarships they year to year basis! She was brought here to win obviously she felt those young ladies would not help the program win
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A HUGE part of winning is recruiting. How can she possibly recruit competitively now? No track superstar with multiple offers and half a brain will come here now.
 
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#20
#20
Vols4life, did you even read the article? At least one of the young ladies involved had been recruited by Coach Alford-Sullivan when she was in the same position at Penn State. Dismissing her from the Lady Vols after recruiting her for Penn State without even allowing her to practice and without an explanation raises significant questions about motivation.

Also, most of the posters responding here don't deny that it is within the coach's power to make the decisions that she has. The manner in which she has gone about it, however, raises concerns, and, in my mind, questions about her thought process. As I understand the report, six student-athletes have been told that they would not be allowed to practice with the squad or to compete in competition. Their scholarships for this academic year, however, are being honored with the understanding that they will not be renewed next year. In what universe does it make sense to eliminate six athletes from your squad under circumstances where you cannot replace them? It seems to me that the better course of action would have been to call everyone in and put them on notice that this season will determine if scholarships will be renewed and, if anyone is uncomfortable with that, they can be given their release immediately. And, it would be better to do this under circumstances where the student-athlete could look for another program immediately without having to sit out. Just my opinion.

This matter was poorly handled and reflects poorly on the coach's management skills. I, like a number of other posters, think that the Tennessee track program (at least on the women's side) has suffered a major, self inflicted setback that will take considerable time to overcome.

Jim
 
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#21
#21
CannonVol80 said:
Vols4life, did you even read the article? At least one of the young ladies involved had been recruited by Coach Alford-Sullivan when she was in the same position at Penn State. Dismissing her from the Lady Vols after recruiting her for Penn State without even allowing her to practice and without an explanation raises significant questions about motivation.

Also, most of the posters responding here don't deny that it is within the coach's power to make the decisions that she has. The manner in which she has gone about it, however, raises concerns, and, in my mind, questions about her thought process. As I understand the report, six student-athletes have been told that they would not be allowed to practice with the squad or to compete in competition. Their scholarships for this academic year, however, are being honored with the understanding that they will not be renewed next year. In what universe does it make sense to eliminate six athletes from your squad, under circumstances where you cannot replace them? It seems to me that the better course of action would have been to call everyone in and put them on notice that this season will determine if scholarships will be renewed and, if anyone is uncomfortable with that, they can be given their release immediately. And, it would be better to do this under circumstances where the student-athlete could look for another program immediately without having to sit out. VJust my opinion.

This matter was poorly handled and reflects poorly on the coach's management skills. I, like a number of other posters, think that the Tennessee track program (at least on the women's side) has suffered a major, self inflicted setback that will take considerable time to overcome.

Jim

Jim
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Good points, Jim. I would add, as both an alumna and a donor, I apparently have higher expectations of what constitutes acceptable behavior towards students and athletes than some of the current coaches and administrators at UT. It's a sad day.
 
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#23
#23
callingallvols said:
Sitting down with a cup of coffee this morning to read the paper and start reading about the 6 freshman track athletes that had their scholarships removed before they ever set foot on the track. This new track coach has some big balls to kick these athletes off the team because they don't fit her vision - even though one was recruited by her at Penn State. Why didn't she do this before school started so these girls could go elsewhere without penalty??? Now, if they want to go to an SEC school they have to sit out a year. This is really a sad day in Tennessee to have a coach do this to these young ladies. I understand that she did not want these athletes on the squad, but at least do the honorable thing and release them before school starts so they have options. Dave Hart must really be a piece of work to condone this type of attitude from his coaches. Unfortunately, he had to know about this before it was done. Shame on Donna Thomas, Associate Athletic Director, to stand up at a Lady Vols function and talk about Title IX, and then condone this behavior from one of her coaches. This is disturbing behavior from a school I love to put these girls and their families through this situation. This is a sad day to be a Tennessee Vol.
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Thanks for the post, call. A good example of quality being better than quantity.
 
#24
#24
The way I understand the situation is that all the players are still on scholarship for this year. What she is saying is that none of those scholarships will be renewed so no reason to practice or be on the team. This is in effect the same thing that they do in every sport these days. She did it in a very bad way but in the end every sport does not renew scholarships. Once a scholarship is signed you can't pull it but it is only for one year and you don't have to renew it. They have the right if they wish to stay in school on full scholarship and after this season they can sign with any other school without having to sit out any time at all.
I think she should have done what they do in football wait until about two weeks before the scholarship expires and then tell the player. This way the press doesn't get their hands on it and make it the huge factor that has been made about this situation. Basically all that is happening is that the scholarships are not being renewed and this person basically told them no reason to practice with the team because you want be here after the scholarship expires.
 
#25
#25
Vols4life said:
She has every right to get rid of players if she wants too! Tennessee doesn't have 4 year scholarships they year to year basis! She was brought here to win obviously she felt those young ladies would not help the program win
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Yes, but in this case the girls who were offered scholarships were not able to actually benefit from the one year scholarship they were promised.

As Dave Hart mentions in the article, that's not how things are normally done at Tennessee.
 
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