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But the major fall out came amid Turner losing trust in Orsini and his sometimes aggressive style that upset different parties across the Hilltop. SMU has long struggled with accommodating diverging priorities in academics and athletics.

http://collegesportsblog.dallasnews.com ... ed-to.html

Unbelievable! (Not really...)

I have documented an anti-athletics mission with Turner across all his stops. Premature to blame him yet, but it isn't looking good

If it was indeed Turner who pushed for Larry Brown to get hired at SMU, then you can forget the 'anti-athletics' talk. President Turner would have known EXACTLY what it would take to get LB to the Hilltop, including his pay and the reputation that preceded him, and there ain't a damn thing anti-athletics about that.

As far as his stop in Ole Miss is concerned, well......

Let's just say that I have a sister and friends who went there, and, God Bless Them, they wouldn't know what to do with a achool or a athletic program if you handed them an instruction manual.

leopold wrote:If it was indeed Turner who pushed for Larry Brown to get hired at SMU, then you can forget the 'anti-athletics' talk. President Turner would have known EXACTLY what it would take to get LB to the Hilltop, including his pay and the reputation that preceded him, and there ain't a damn thing anti-athletics about that.

As far as his stop in Ole Miss is concerned, well......

Let's just say that I have a sister and friends who went there, and, God Bless Them, they wouldn't know what to do with a achool or a athletic program if you handed them an instruction manual.

Agreed, nobody truly anti athletics would bring.g in brown. If it was Turner I give him credit. I just still don't understand the Copeland uncompetitive years. Perhaps Turner is just the puppet and higher up gets the blame/credit

RGT has made great strides during his tenure as SMU's president. Overall, he's supported athletics quite well. And, it doesn't matter what anyone else (Orsini, us, donors, etc.) think. That's why he's president... and Orsini is unemployed.

Since SMU just extended his contract, did the university have to buy him our, or did he violate his agreement in some way?

they'll be paying him until may 2015 just over 400k a year

there is no reason for SMU to take a backseat to anyone whether it be athletics, academics unless apathy takes over which has been an ongoing problem in some corners for several decades. If the smu faithful and faithless would just realize how wonderful and powerful the university would become if everyone "rowed in the same direction"! Who would have thought Baylor would be "Top Ten in all that they do" or that TCU would renovate their stadium with 162 mill in pledges and be back in the Big 12 and alumni far and wide wearing their purple and green and gold looking down their noses on those poor aggies and teasippers. Why not SMU too? I guess Dallas just doesn't have as many opportunistic and optimistic people as there are in Waco and Fort Worth. Maybe Fort Worth really is where the "WEST begins" and Dallas really is where the "EAST peters out".

Btw just throwing this out because I haven't heard a single logical rationale about what caused Turner to fire Orsini rather than a mutual parting of the ways but I was reading today that the NCAA APR scores have been released to the individual schools but they are forbidden to release school numbers to the public before the NCAA releases their cumulative report. Now a second year of bad scores in FB and BB would really embarrass Turner as a member of the Knight Commission. Still doesn't seem to jive with his termination but....that information was apparently known to Turner at the time he decided to terminate Orsini.

Would that be enough for turner to fire him and withhold his salary? I'm sure the goals expected of orsini were clearly outlined in his contract, this could have been one of them

If RGT thinks he has just cause to can Orsini, couldn't the school decline to pay any buyout at all?

yeah but that's usually buying a lawsuit-unless there is some really damaging cause

Kate Hairopoulos ‏@khairopoulos
SMU prez Turner says new AD will be hired by the end of Aug. at athletic hall of fame dinner.

and

Kate Hairopoulos ‏@khairopoulos
Turner declined comment to me earlier on AD Steve Orsini's firing.
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Hey with those retweets, I could do Laken's job. Maybe I should apply.

There's no way RGT was going to share any details at the banquet. That event was to celebrate SMU's athletic history.

I doubt RGT will ever comment on it. But there was no way he was going to talk tonight. Wrong time and place.