UT Track and Field

[Smallvol#1]

Absolutely ridiculous. She's done a great job with the women's program but the men's program absolutely sucks. They placed 44th with 5 points at the NCAA outdoor championships this year. UT placed 18th.

So is the once proud UT track team, men and women, now on a downward spiral? The way coaches get fired over there I stay confused any more as to who is coaching what...or even how many whats someone is coaching.

 

[steino]

So is the once proud UT track team, men and women, now on a downward spiral? The way coaches get fired over there I stay confused any more as to who is coaching what...or even how many whats someone is coaching.

It's been in a death spiral since JJ took over.

 

[Smallvol#1]

It's been in a death spiral since JJ took over.

Enlighten me. Wasn't JJ very successful as womens' coach? Death spiral started when DH put him over men and women which also upset many lettermen. So....success in womens' does not correlate to success in mens', and this new coach has been successful in womens' so she must be the answer for the men....oops, wait a minute...my reasoning just went haywire...sort of like DH, of course comparatively speaking DH is great!....for verification refer to MH. Is there a sarcasm icon available?

I don't really follow track, so I'm not being sarcastic when I ask for your input. I just know in the past UT's track program was very good and now.... Would like to have some understanding as to what happened.

 

[vol66]

Enlighten me. Wasn't JJ very successful as womens' coach? Death spiral started when DH put him over men and women which also upset many lettermen. So....success in womens' does not correlate to success in mens', and this new coach has been successful in womens' so she must be the answer for the men....oops, wait a minute...my reasoning just went haywire...sort of like DH, of course comparatively speaking DH is great!....for verification refer to MH. Is there a sarcasm icon available?

I don't really follow track, so I'm not being sarcastic when I ask for your input. I just know in the past UT's track program was very good and now.... Would like to have some understanding as to what happened.

Let me preface by saying I don't know very much about the new coach. I heard her on the radio, read the bio, looked at some results...that's about it.

Given that we don't have an indoor facility, I'm a bit surprised we got a head coach with this much experience.

In 2009, Bill Webb resigned and strongly recommended George Watts who would take over in the interim. They decided on JJ Clark to run the program instead. That decision alone caused some friction. I believe Clark wanted to bring in some new coaches, but Mr. Hamilton forced Clark to keep Webb and others. It didn't work out well, members of the track team openly talked about the dysfunctional program, some left. In 2011, Webb's contract was not renewed along with Nobert Elliot. Watts had been here for 25+ years.

The two years of infighting strained the track program and caused a divide in the T&F community. This in turn killed donations and though the plans have been drawn up for a new indoor facility, no donors have stepped up to help. Mr. Clark has had the program, with his hand picked coaches, for the last few years and it hasn't gotten better.

That's the gist of it, best that I can recall.

As for the new coach, hopefully she'll be able to bring people together, that's going to have to be priority #1. I don't know if she'll get us back on the map anytime soon, but some new leadership was desperately needed.

 

[aredfox28]

My buddy who ran track at penn state said, congrats, we got a good one, and was pissed thatbthis happened.. .. so i dont know what to make of it.. cause who the hell wants to run track, up north, when your freezing your ass off. Not me..thats for sure.

 

[vol66]

The Tony Basilio Show

He had Patrick Gildea on yesterday. Gildea has been very outspoken regarding JJ Clark and the track program. This is what he had to say about the hire:

'I think this is a home run hire! I think Coach Sullivan brings tremendous experience to this job. 15 years at Penn State! 8 years as the combined director of Men’s and Women's track and field where she was pretty darn good. Big Ten Championships. National Coach of The Year accolades. At the present time where Tennessee is, I think it's a great hire.

'When the hire was made I know for a fact that the track and field alumni both men and women are all pretty excited about it.'

There's more to it for those interested.

 

[Smallvol#1]

Let me preface by saying I don't know very much about the new coach. I heard her on the radio, read the bio, looked at some results...that's about it.

Given that we don't have an indoor facility, I'm a bit surprised we got a head coach with this much experience.

In 2009, Bill Webb resigned and strongly recommended George Watts who would take over in the interim. They decided on JJ Clark to run the program instead. That decision alone caused some friction. I believe Clark wanted to bring in some new coaches, but Mr. Hamilton forced Clark to keep Webb and others. It didn't work out well, members of the track team openly talked about the dysfunctional program, some left. In 2011, Webb's contract was not renewed along with Nobert Elliot. Watts had been here for 25+ years.

The two years of infighting strained the track program and caused a divide in the T&F community. This in turn killed
donations and though the plans have been drawn up for a new indoor facility, no donors have stepped up to help. Mr. Clark has had the program, with his hand picked coaches, for the last few years and it hasn't gotten better.

That's the gist of it, best that I can recall.

As for the new coach, hopefully she'll be able to bring people together, that's going to have to be priority #1. I don't know if she'll get us back on the map anytime soon, but some new leadership was desperately needed.

Thanks, for the info. I'm a little confused as to how someone (Webb) could resign in 2009 but not have their contract renewed in 2011, or how Clark could be forced to keep someone who resigned. Was Watts' (?) contract not renewed at the same time Webb's was not (2011); is that when his 25 years ended? I hate it since UT has had a proud track tradition for decades. Dysfunctional is probably being nice; sounds more like incompetence and a soap opera. And I feel sorry for Clark; I get the sense he was set up to fail. That is just IMO.

 

[vol66]

Thanks, for the info. I'm a little confused as to how someone (Webb) could resign in 2009 but not have their contract renewed in 2011, or how Clark could be forced to keep someone who resigned. Was Watts' (?) contract not renewed at the same time Webb's was not (2011); is that when his 25 years ended? I hate it since UT has had a proud track tradition for decades. Dysfunctional is probably being nice; sounds more like incompetence and a soap opera. And I feel sorry for Clark; I get the sense he was set up to fail. That is just IMO.

Sorry if I was unclear. Webb retired in 2009. He was the Men's track coach for 14 years and was an assistant for 10 years before that.

Hamilton named Watts the interim Coach.

It is unclear to me if Webb retired because it was time or because of the unification of the men's and women's teams. I didn't put this in my original post, but as one can imagine, combining the two teams wasn't met with open arms.

Webb recommended that Watts get the job, and because Hamilton had named Watts the interim HC, I think most people thought Watts would indeed get the job.

Instead they hired JJ Clark (2009) to be the leader of the combined programs and pointed to his successful work with the women's program.

It's here that the problems started, rather than letting Clark hire a staff of his choosing, Hamilton forced him to keep Watts and some others. This led to a feud inside and outside the program which culminated in 2011 when Dentarious Locke a sophomore(and arguably the most decorated of the T&F team) at the time publicly said:

“The program is changing here, and it’s not the way it was when I signed,” Locke told the paper. “I didn’t come here to be a part of a rebuilding process. And the worst part is, the coaches here just don’t get along.

“I have one coach telling me one workout to do, and another coach will tell me something totally different.”

Locke asked to be released from his scholarship but was denied. He left anyway and went to FSU. Norbert Elliot was his coach(Sprints and Hurdles).

Watts and Elliot were fired, um...contracts were not renewed in 2011...which prompted this and pay attention to who signed the statement (gotta click the link):

Support for our Coaches George Watts and Norbert Elliott

...It goes without saying, then, that the loss of George Watts, as well as Norbert Elliott, is deeply upsetting to us, the UT track alumni. But our concerns, go deeper: we would like to see the men's and women's programs un merged, returning to the days of separate programs, each with its own head coach. Please understand that we are all tremendous supporters of Tennessee women's track & field. The success of the women's program continues to be vitally important to us. But coaching a joint program and building alumni relations for a joint program is possible only if the director enjoys coaching and spending time with both teams equally well. That is not the case at UT, where JJ Clark spends the majority of his time and energy on the women's program, which has seen tremendous success. The men's program, meanwhile, gets few scholarships and little attention, and struggles to reclaim its national prominence.

Emphasis is mine.

Sorry for the confusion. I put the name Webb where I meant Watts.

 

[Smallvol#1]

Sorry if I was unclear. Webb retired in 2009. He was the Men's track coach for 14 years and was an assistant for 10 years before that.

Hamilton named Watts the interim Coach.

It is unclear to me if Webb retired because it was time or because of the unification of the men's and women's teams. I didn't put this in my original post, but as one can imagine, combining the two teams wasn't met with open arms.

Webb recommended that Watts get the job, and because Hamilton had named Watts the interim HC, I think most people thought Watts would indeed get the job.

Instead they hired JJ Clark (2009) to be the leader of the combined programs and pointed to his successful work with the women's program.

It's here that the problems started, rather than letting Clark hire a staff of his choosing, Hamilton forced him to keep Watts and some others. This led to a feud inside and outside the program which culminated in 2011 when Dentarious Locke a sophomore(and arguably the most decorated of the T&F team) at the time publicly said:



Locke asked to be released from his scholarship but was denied. He left anyway and went to FSU. Norbert Elliot was his coach(Sprints and Hurdles).

Watts and Elliot were fired, um...contracts were not renewed in 2011...which prompted this and pay attention to who signed the statement (gotta click the link):

Support for our Coaches George Watts and Norbert Elliott



Emphasis is mine.

Sorry for the confusion. I put the name Webb where I meant Watts.

Thanks for the additional information. I remember the lettermen complaining several years ago and thinking they were probably justified. Not that I knew anything about the program, but when a large group of lettermen, in any sport, unite to make a complaint about the current program, I just felt there must be cause. I am a STRONG supporter of womens' athletics and have always been proud of what the women and Coach Clark accomplished. However, I thought combining the programs and having Clark coach both was downright dumb. Hearing how this change was "administered" confirms my thought. I feel so sorry for all affected by this...except Hamiltion, I'm just very glad he's gone and wish he had never been involved with the athletic programs at UT in any way.

 

[vol66]

Thanks for the additional information. I remember the lettermen complaining several years ago and thinking they were probably justified. Not that I knew anything about the program, but when a large group of lettermen, in any sport, unite to make a complaint about the current program, I just felt there must be cause. I am a STRONG supporter of womens' athletics and have always been proud of what the women and Coach Clark accomplished. However, I thought combining the programs and having Clark coach both was downright dumb. Hearing how this change was "administered" confirms my thought. I feel so sorry for all affected by this...except Hamiltion, I'm just very glad he's gone and wish he had never been involved with the athletic programs at UT in any way.

It's over now. The vast majority of all T&F teams are combined. The real shame in all of it is the students are the ones that lose most of the time when the adults can't get their collective poop together.

As for Dentarius Locke...

http://www.theacc.com/#!/news-detail/ACC-2014-Season-Honors_06-20-14_noyxf5

Florida State sprinter Dentarius Locke was selected the ACC Men’s Outdoor Track Performer of the Year in a vote of the league’s 15 head coaches, while Duke distance runner Juliet Bottorff was voted the ACC Women’s Outdoor Track Performer of the Year. Miami sprinter Shakima Wimbley was voted the ACC Women’s Outdoor Track and Field Freshman of the Year, while Florida State’s Bob Braman received the nod as ACC Men’s Outdoor Coach of the Year.