Lee Fowler's Tenure Comes To An End (Updating Throughout The Day)

by Akula Wolf on May 4, 2010 12:52 PM EDT

Fowler, 58, will continue to work through June 30 and will be paid through the remainder of his contract, which is worth $280,000 annually until Sept. 2013.

The school is scheduled to make an official announcement this afternoon. Further details of the buyout arrangement were not immediately available.

Sweet deal, Lee. All due kudos to the visionaries who put that extension together back in 2007.

Let's see how he's taking the news.

i get a mill-yun bucks, la la la la la-la, i get a mill-yun bucks, la la la la la-la, i get a mill-yun bucks, la la la la la-la, i get a ..

(I should probably note for those who don't follow it that the Twitter account is fake.)

Update: here's the release from NC State.

North Carolina State Director of Athletics, Lee Fowler, will step down effective June 30, Chancellor Randy Woodson announced today. Woodson will name an interim director prior to Fowler’s departure and a national search will begin immediately for his replacement, he said.

"Lee Fowler and I talked on Monday and we agreed that now is the appropriate time to make a change," said Woodson.

The chancellor expressed his appreciation for Fowler’s accomplishments, which include the successful completion of a seven-year, $120 million capital campaign for the University Athletic Association that resulted in new athletic facilities and additional academic support for all NC State teams and student-athletes.

"I’ve made many friends and worked with terrific coaches, athletes and administrators at NC State," Fowler said. "I am honored to have served this university for 10 years, but this is the right time for me and my family to seek other opportunities."

There's a full statement from Fowler at that link.

Update II with some links/reactions:

-- Jim Young @ ACCSJ.

-- Tudor:

Will Lee Fowler one day be remembered as the athletic director who made two of the best coaching hires in N.C. State history?

No. (Sure hope I'm wrong about that.)

-- TBJ:

NCSU spokesman Keith Nichols said that a search committee will be set up to find a new AD, though he didn’t know the makeup of the committee or its time frame for selecting candidates.

They've got a little under two months until Fowler is out the door for good...can they find a replacement by then?

Update III:

-- Much more from the Triangle Business Journal, which provides some clarifications: (ht: Joe Ovies)

1.) Fowler has known since March that he was finished on 6/30. Woodson: “The ability for him to continue to be successful in this environment is clearly compromised.”

2.) Woodson said a buyout was appropriate because "he deserved it."

3.) "If Fowler gets another job that pays the same as his salary at NCSU or more, NCSU will not have to pay the buyout. If Fowler gets a job that pays less, NCSU will have to make up the difference, Woodson said."

4.) NCSU will look into hiring a search firm.

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Comments

I see the fine folks at SFN are bein’ real humble about this.

by PeeDub on May 4, 2010 1:27 PM EDT reply actions

Mark it down now

I predict that at some point in the near to distant future, a certain figure at NCSU will be fired, retire, find another job, or die. Remember, you heard it here first!

by PACKHOOLIGAN on May 4, 2010 2:25 PM EDT up reply actions

“Finally, I thank my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ for His faithfulness in guiding my decisions ..”

Dude. He’s blamin’ it all on JESUS!!

by PeeDub on May 4, 2010 1:53 PM EDT reply actions

i always suspected Jesus had something to do with it

Backing The Pack

by Akula Wolf on May 4, 2010 2:18 PM EDT up reply actions

And actually, if you read closely, he’s thanking Jesus for having faith … in HIM. You cannot make these gems up, I tell you.

by PeeDub on May 4, 2010 3:01 PM EDT up reply actions

but if jesus was on his side

And we’re all on the other side, does that mean we’re going to hell? Oh well. It’s worth it, I say.

Backing The Pack

by Akula Wolf on May 4, 2010 3:15 PM EDT up reply actions

At least

we still have Jebus

by PACKHOOLIGAN on May 4, 2010 3:18 PM EDT up reply actions

SFN

likes to blow their own horn, but with regard to Fowler they were right. at first i took their dislike for Fowler with a grain of salt, but over the years they have clearly supported their position with facts. facts don’t lie. one has to give Fowler credit for the money he raised during his tenure, but one has to remember that Murphy and Dial gave the large marjority of the money needed for the upgrades. if Fowler got them to do it alone, all credit to him, but i think Amato had much to do with the football upgrades. note that Amato was fired despite this when his teams failed. in a similar vein, Fowler because his teams faired poorly or just above average for the most part, likewise deserved firing.

by sbas2 on May 4, 2010 2:23 PM EDT reply actions

Of course they were right. No one who’s been paying any sort of attention doubts that Fowler and the athletic dept has/had a high degree of dysfunction. But damn. It’s freakin’ ANNOYING to go on and on about it.

If you have to tell people you’re good, … well … fill in your own ending here.

by PeeDub on May 4, 2010 2:28 PM EDT up reply actions

note that Amato was fired despite this when his teams failed.

And despite the fact that Fowler did not want to let him go.

Backing The Pack

by Akula Wolf on May 4, 2010 2:28 PM EDT up reply actions

I give Philip Rivers

the most credit for funds raised for football. Screw Fowler and Amato.

by PACKHOOLIGAN on May 4, 2010 2:30 PM EDT up reply actions

So now all our teams start winning

Right?

by PACKHOOLIGAN on May 4, 2010 2:25 PM EDT reply actions

yes. immediately.

The ACC championships are gonna start rolling in. Even George Tarantini will win one.

Backing The Pack

by Akula Wolf on May 4, 2010 2:27 PM EDT up reply actions

On the bad side, our facilities will all crumble like a vampire in the sun.

by PeeDub on May 4, 2010 2:29 PM EDT reply actions

NOOOOO not the indoor tennis facility!

On the plus side, the rubble from the collapsed facilities will serve to make our cross country teams even better.

Backing The Pack

by Akula Wolf on May 4, 2010 2:36 PM EDT up reply actions

Wow

Tudor is really reaching when he speculates about Sid and TOB ending up as the greatest NCSU hires of all time! The fact that neither one has had a winning ACC record yet makes me feel like the chances of that are infinitesimal.

by PACKHOOLIGAN on May 4, 2010 3:15 PM EDT reply actions

This is still hard for me to fathom

It finally happened. It’s over.

Thank God.

Things may not get better (though they really cannot get worse). But we had no hope as long as that cigar-chomping turd was in charge.

by TVP on May 4, 2010 3:19 PM EDT reply actions

So, does this mean that Lee is no longer in the running for the MSU job? If we can only get him hired somewhere….

Anyway, I’m glad to see that our new chancellor cares about winning. I read Randy Woodson’s interview in the NC State Alumni mag, and based on his comments there, I had a feeling changes were coming. Unlike our administrations over the last 20 years, he actually thinks State can be great in every aspect of a university. His hiring may signal a turning point in our university, including athletics.

For ideas on statistical analyses, email me at wolfpacksteelersfan@gmail.com.

by WolfpackSteelersFan on May 4, 2010 9:31 PM EDT reply actions