Hey Byron - A high-profile customer

[ijsouth]

...one of your high-profile customers looks like he might have some more time on his hands for fly-fishing - breaking news:

http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/news/story?id=3679810

[Byron Begley]

I can't believe this. It makes me sick to my stomach. I'm not a huge football fan but I am a Phillip Fulmer fan. He is a nice guy. When he comes in here we call him Phillip and the word "football" never comes up. When he is here he is a fly fisherman.

I'm blown away.

Byron

[ijsouth]

I can't say that I'm surprised - now more than ever, big-time college football is a game of "what have you done for me lately", particularly in the Southeastern Conference. It's a constant pressure-cooker to produce. By announcing this now, it gives him a chance to bow out gracefully, rather than being abruptly fired at the end of the season. By all accounts, he is a nice guy, and he has certainly served the university for a long time...but it all boils down to wins. It is very similar to the situation down here years ago with LSU and Charlie McClendon; he served LSU for years as an assistant, then as head coach for 18 years - very successful, but he had a hard time beating Alabama and Bear Bryant, so the chant at the end was "Help Mac Pack"...after going through a few years of ups and downs, it was "Bring Mac Back".

[JimmyC]

You're right, Byron. It is a shame and it makes me sick, too. UT donors should take a long, hard look at Joe Pa at Penn State, a little loyalty would be nice.