(12-30-2008 10:56 PM)emu steve Wrote: (12-30-2008 07:21 PM)mac_helmets Wrote: In my opinion, the Boury/Gutierrez situation was more troublesome than the Quinn/Ramsey situation. The Boury/Gutierrez was five years of serious tension that could've been even worse. A few talks were held, but nothing was settled. On top of that, the B/G problem might have inspired the current situation.
Curious if we could get more detail.
Who is Boury?
Five years of serious tension?
Brett Boury is an EMU alumnus who, at the time, was VP of Huron Restoration. He had it in for Boone and his staff from the beginning. Things heated up as more and more players left the team that first year, only to end when Boone was let go.
That 'loud guy' I've referred to in the past is that guy. He's the same guy who once booed Swoop's birthday.
This is also the same guy who went to nearly 18 years of consecutive home games. He's traveled as far as Missoula, Syracuse, Tempe, and Fargo to see EMU games. He could prove his travels with his tickets and the postcards that would send to Ben Braun and Milt Barnes.
Anyway, the first blowup happened in 2001 at Ball State. Obviously Boone was in his first year, trying to recruit, and was asking for some slack. Of course, you have to side with first year coach in this situation. Of course, Mr. Vendetta was still mad about Hess, Darling, Gates, and Warner leaving.
Another blowup involved one of the camera operators and Boury. The camera guy felt that Boury was acting childish. In return, Boury went on a rant about how he was on an alumni board and could get the camera guy removed. No action taken.
More "Hey Hey, Ho Ho" chants followed through the years. The chants, from that same person, easily filled the Convo. One would have to be completely deaf not to hear it. Jim Carty blindly referred to it during the '03-'04 season. I wouldn't be surprised if Boury was the reason the loudspeakers are too loud during basketball games.
To make things more uncomfortable, there was occasional access to the President's box during doubleheaders (alumni gatherings). When Boone would visit before his game, he'd be on the receiving end of some verbal digs. Boone tries to take the high road, but 'fans' like Boury can be a tremendous pain in the butt.
Boone's final season is when things boil over. The two that stick out in my mind are both home games. The Miami game was probably the game where it was apparent that EMU wasn't going to win much more in Boone's final contract year. Boury, not wanting to see Boone return, wanted Boone gone with more fervor than ever. This was probably as mad as he would get. This would be a good time to address the situation but nothing happens.
The home game versus Buffalo was when the Gutierrez incident took place. At this point, the coaching staff probably knew they weren't going to be around EMU much longer and, I guess they had enough. Once again Jason Bird lit up EMU and Boury decided to light up Boone with more "Hey Hey, Ho Ho" chants. With the confrontations, the ranting, the frustrations, and the fact that Boury had received a few comp tickets from the staff (Nebraska and Illinois St. games), things came to a boil.
Before the game had ended I noticed two things, Gutierrez wasn't at court side and a student staffer was in Boury's section. Both would seem unusual to any regular who attended Convo games. Especially odd is how Gutierrez made his way over to the opposite corner of the arena.
As soon as the game ended, people were heading out. Now I can only assume that Gutierrez made his way to the nearest corner elevator to make his way toward Boury. I can't say the content changed much over the years, it was the same arguments with only two things different. They were surrounded by a group of undergrads and it was getting very close to becoming a fight.
Fortunately, it never went beyond the argument. Gutierrez stormed off and a Convo staffer stopped by to figure things out and smooth things over. After that, Boury finally decided to not yell anymore and just wish the team to lose the rest of their games. All that became of the final incident was Diles reprimanding Boone, no suspensions, no banishment, and a forgettable blurb in the A2 news.
Steve, that's about the best I can do. In case you've read this far, thanks for your time.