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Pete Garcia puts FIU on the map, wants program to go the distance
Pete Garcia puts FIU on the map, wants program to go the distance
Quote: FIU Stadium stands as metaphor for the Pete Garcia Era of FIU athletics.
In 2006, the stadium existed as concept and dirt, much as FIU’s athletic department lay in the dirt academically and in image as Garcia took the athletic director position. The stadium opened in 2008 as the department got to its feet.
Now, the final enclosing of the north side creates a compact, flawed stadium with room to grow — there are moorings for second-deck support columns — as FIU is a compact, flawed program with room to grow. This academic year is not just the last for FIU in the Sun Belt Conference before moving into Conference USA, but it is the first after serving the NCAA punishments for problems that prompted Garcia’s hiring.
Now, FIU makes a quantum chomp into the lead of more established athletic programs or plateaus under its sometimes Machiavellian director.
“We don’t have the resources of the other state schools, Florida, Florida State. But I expect, at some point, to compete with them,” Garcia said. “I probably can’t do it with 10cents on the dollar, but I can do it with 30 cents on the dollar. If we hire the right coaches with the support we have here, we can do it.
“It’s all about recruiting, whether you’re recruiting a spouse, a coach or a kid. To bridge the gap, you’ve got to have relentless recruiting as coaches.”
Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/2012/08/19/29...rylink=cpy
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08-19-2012 12:47 PM |
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