Time for Turner to Go

[MV pony]

Thanks for nothing, gerald. You are no John L. Hennessy. Nor are you a Richard H. Brodhead. After 18 years, it's time for you to step down and let a young, energetic administrator with foresight take over. As I've said before, my wallet is closed. My will has been changed. I'm out of here.

[blackoutpony]

I've never liked him, but it's also become clear to me that he doesn't get it.

All you who claim that he's done so much for us academically are clueless, since he haven't hardly moved up in the rankings with him at the helm. But our average SAT score is better you say? Yeah, well so is everyone elses

[ponyinNC]

he turned Ole Miss football into a joke. I mean, that is the only thing that people in Mississippi even care about, and RGT blew it up!

[deucetz]

Thanks for nothing, gerald. You are no John L. Hennessy. Nor are you a Richard H. Brodhead. After 18 years, it's time for you to step down and let a young, energetic administrator with foresight take over. As I've said before, my wallet is closed. My will has been changed. I'm out of here.

RGT is good at fundraising. That is why he has been able to change they dynamics of campus. The two highlights of his administration is the Bush Library and 2 successful fundraising campaigns.

In order for SMU to move from good to a great, RGT needs to put the right administrators and innovative policies in place. In each of these areas he has failed. In no area that matters, is SMU the best in Texas at what it does. If SMU first tries to be the best in Texas, then it can move to be the best in the Nation in that area. SMU is not innovative it is reactionary. Instead of blazing its own path to greatness, we are two steps behind everyone trying to keep up.

Our peers in football aren't who we want to be with. The same goes with our peers in the US News & World Report.

The same foresight he has for SMU's academics, he brings to SMU football. While SMU may have nice facilities the core isn't competitive (is rotten).

[blackoutpony]

Thanks for nothing, gerald. You are no John L. Hennessy. Nor are you a Richard H. Brodhead. After 18 years, it's time for you to step down and let a young, energetic administrator with foresight take over. As I've said before, my wallet is closed. My will has been changed. I'm out of here.

RGT is good at fundraising. That is why he has been able to change they dynamics of campus. The two highlights of his administration is the Bush Library and 2 successful fundraising campaigns.

In order for SMU to move from good to a great, RGT needs to put the right administrators and innovative policies in place. In each of these areas he has failed. In no area that matters, is SMU the best in Texas at what it does. If SMU first tries to be the best in Texas, then it can move to be the best in the Nation in that area. SMU is not innovative it is reactionary. Instead of blazing its own path to greatness, we are two steps behind everyone trying to keep up.

Our peers in football aren't who we want to be with. The same goes with our peers in the US News & World Report.

The same foresight he has for SMU's academics, he brings to SMU football. While SMU may have nice facilities the core isn't competitive (is rotten).

This guy gets it

[RebStang]

he turned Ole Miss football into a joke. I mean, that is the only thing that people in Mississippi even care about, and RGT blew it up!

Not really even close to accurate but I get your point.

Outside of raising a ton of money and raising SAT scores, I'm starting to ask myself what exactly Turner is trying to accomplish at SMU.

In his time on the Hilltop, it seems like Cox has slipped in the rankings, Law is closer to falling out of Tier 1 than breaking into the top 25, football has risen from the ashes and then decided to go back into hiding, the focus of most coaching hires seems to be on older "big name" guys (don't get me wrong, I love Coach Brown in basketball but D'oh did nothing and June seems to be collecting a paycheck and coasting), etc.

Meanwhile, I look about 50 miles to my west and see the University of Alabama. A school most of us really want to mock until we start looking at what they're doing. Football program? Dominant. Law school almost in the top 20. Business school is ranked just below Cox and has been rising while Cox has been falling... I always thought Alabama was sacrificing academics in favor of athletics and, in some ways, they do... but their athletic success is also creating academic success. Heck, their athletic department generates enough excess revenue every year that it transfers quite a bit of money to the University's general operating budget.

The one thing I'll say is that whoever takes over when Turner leaves will have better tools to work with than when Turner arrived. Turner is great at raising money and getting new buildings built... if the next guy can do what Turner can't (setting his ego aside) and hire the right Deans, athletics administrators, etc then SMU could explode... in a good way.

[Fresno Mustang]

Dont forget about his ridiculous on campus policies and greek life regulations that are over the top

[ponyinNC]

he turned Ole Miss football into a joke. I mean, that is the only thing that people in Mississippi even care about, and RGT blew it up!

Not really even close to accurate but I get your point.

Outside of raising a ton of money and raising SAT scores, I'm starting to ask myself what exactly Turner is trying to accomplish at SMU.

In his time on the Hilltop, it seems like Cox has slipped in the rankings, Law is closer to falling out of Tier 1 than breaking into the top 25, football has risen from the ashes and then decided to go back into hiding, the focus of most coaching hires seems to be on older "big name" guys (don't get me wrong, I love Coach Brown in basketball but D'oh did nothing and June seems to be collecting a paycheck and coasting), etc.

Meanwhile, I look about 50 miles to my west and see the University of Alabama. A school most of us really want to mock until we start looking at what they're doing. Football program? Dominant. Law school almost in the top 20. Business school is ranked just below Cox and has been rising while Cox has been falling... I always thought Alabama was sacrificing academics in favor of athletics and, in some ways, they do... but their athletic success is also creating academic success. Heck, their athletic department generates enough excess revenue every year that it transfers quite a bit of money to the University's general operating budget.

The one thing I'll say is that whoever takes over when Turner leaves will have better tools to work with than when Turner arrived. Turner is great at raising money and getting new buildings built... if the next guy can do what Turner can't (setting his ego aside) and hire the right Deans, athletics administrators, etc then SMU could explode... in a good way.

Care to enlighten? Every ole miss alum and lawyer I know said turner had the worst reign as chancellor of the school in history (wrt football). Heck, an ex ole miss player said turner personally!!

He associates winning football with scandal. Plain and simple. Good fundraiser, that's it.

[CalallenStang]

We won't do any better. Don't look to Turner...look to those he answers to. Unfortunately, they have more money than we do and have bought their power.

[RebStang]

he turned Ole Miss football into a joke. I mean, that is the only thing that people in Mississippi even care about, and RGT blew it up!

Not really even close to accurate but I get your point.

Care to enlighten? Every ole miss alum and lawyer I know said turner had the worst reign as chancellor of the school in history (wrt football). Heck, an ex ole miss player said turner personally!!

He associates winning football with scandal. Plain and simple. Good fundraiser, that's it.

It's not accurate because saying Turner turned Ole Miss football into a joke assumes that it wasn't a joke before he got there.

I'm not saying he did a great job... far from it. It is, however, disingenuous to say that HE turned the program into a joke when it basically became a joke around 1972 (14 years before Turner became Chancellor).

The reason he is so reviled among most Ole Miss fans/alumni is the way he handled the NCAA investigation in the early 90s. Rather than fighting it he basically opened the doors and provided full cooperation with the investigation... as most people know, cooperating with the NCAA is the only way they ever actually get enough evidence to hammer you. If you fight them and don't hand them what they want, they don't have the power to dig anything up. What really peeved a lot of people was the fact that the reason he did this was personal - he hated the head coach for a variety of reasons (not the least of which was the fact that Billy Brewer was much more popular than he was) and saw the NCAA investigation as a chance to get rid of him.

[ponyinNC]

Gotcha. Thanks reb

[Rebel10]

Gotcha. Thanks reb

No problem. Anytime. But what are you thanking me for? JK.

[78pony]

Thanks for the insight RebStang.

Very successful at fundraising/building buildings, turner has mastered playing the game with the money folks as he gets himself elected to boards, committees, foundations, etc. He has leveraged his relationships with Hunt, Ford, Sewell, et al to the point he and the Mrs. are indeed now part of the Dallas aristocracy. This happens when you allow one to remain in charge for as long as he has been at SMU.

[Stallion]

This Gerald Turner criticism is just ridiculous nonsense. If June played the Dallas community like Gerald Turner plays the SMU community then SMU would be sitting pretty. June Jones not Gerald Turner is the Head Football Coach of the SMU Mustangs

[NavyCrimson]

You're correct 78'. The key is the SMU board & apparently, without their 'consent', RGT would be making all these questionable decisions.

So perhaps our real problem is - the board?