(01-24-2022 09:48 AM)EagNBran Wrote: In the first couple years of his tenure, he sat in a room of supporters who told him the improvements that needed to happen to our facilities, our coaches, and our conference. They didn't say we needed to be in the SEC, just said the obvious problems we were facing as an athletic department that they'd witnessed over decades of support. His response?
"I think you guys view Southern Miss way more highly than I do."
The guy thought we belonged at the bottom of CUSA. Heck yeah Saunders supported athletics far more than Bennett. That statement alone shows me you haven't had much interaction with the presidents. She was far from perfect, but she did support athletics.
Hearsay from nearly a decade ago isn’t enough to really sway me. No one in this group was in that room at that time. From what I saw, Bennett was at nearly every home football game, many road games, and many baseball and other sporting events too.
Things done under his tenure and spread among multiple ADs:
- Volleyball facility built
- BVB Facility built
- Multiple Pete Taylor Park upgrades (weight room, locker room, turf, lights)
- Multiple Reed Green enhancements (court, light, etc)
- The Duff Renovation
- Locker Room for football
- New weight room in the Duff
- Bower Academic Center
- Golf Facility upgrade at HCC
Berry, Hall, and Coach Mo all at least have credited Dr. Bennett and The support they’ve gotten from the administration. So it sounds like he’s involved and kept abreast of most coaches and sports.
- McGillis was a meh hire. But he was stable.
- Gilbert was a terrible hire. So that’s a big strike against Bennett.
- Bennett has gotten complacent in other areas of the school as of recent.
And that’s why i think it’s just time for him to move on. Is he “the reason we are where we are right now”? No not by a long shot. He’s done some great things as President on the academic side and finally hired the right guy to stabilize things on the Athletics side. So, I appreciate his contribution, wish him well. And it’s time to move on to new, younger, hungrier leadership.