Slammed in the press

May 5, 1999

Originally Published By The State Hornet (Sacramento State)

SLAMMED IN THE PRESS

by Mark Bryant

The next time Sac State sports gets publicity in the media, they might want to do themselves a favor and not let President Donald Gerth speak.

On Sunday, April 25, there was a lengthy front-page sports story in the Sacramento Bee entitled "The captain of a sinking ship." In it Gerth rambled on about his failures to boost our athletic program.

Well, getting slammed in the press really burned my skin. It's one thing to catch criticism, but to get dogged by an unreliable source is totally ridiculous.

Yes, we have had our disappointments (namely, basketball and football) but "continuing to stumble"? Come on. The reports on the demise of Sac State sports are greatly exaggerated.

It's just too bad Gerth failed to address the issues we are dealing with - for one, a constantly changing athletic program that is hamstrung by administrative incompetence.

For another thing, Gerth doesn't know jack about athletics, let alone what it takes to build a winner. Even he will admit that.

"I want to build a program that is thoroughly appropriate for this institution," Gerth eloquently said in the interview.

But asked what he meant by "thoroughly appropriate," Gerth responded by saying: "It beats me."

In other words, he would like to build a consistent winner on campus, but does not have one iota of the wisdom to do so.

"I do not fancy myself to be an expert in athletics," Gerth concluded.

It shows.

It takes commitment to building a winning program, and Gerth doesn't seem to have any.

In fact, this has been one of the better years in Sac State sports. Don't think so? Consider this:

There are three Hornet teams - gymnastics, men's tennis, and women's volleyball - that have qualified for the NCAA postseason this year. This is the first time that's happened since the Hornets made the move to Division I competition in 1990.

Four other schools in the Big Sky have only put one team into postseason play and three others - Idaho State, Montana State and Portland State - haven't done anything.

Three teams in the playoffs in hardly the mark of a sinking ship, in my opinion.

Next, Gerth went as far as to admit that he doesn't feel comfortable in playing a role in athletics. It is, however, his responsibility to make sure things in this department are run smoothly. It's up to him to have everyone connected with athletics making sure that our athletes are committed to success, on the field and off. And that, folks, hasn't been happening.

Even after coaching here for 23 years, Debby Colberg was unsure what direction the program was headed when she took over as athletic director following the inevitable sacking of Judith Davidson.

It was a no-brainer that there will be no coaching changes for now. Head basketball coach Tom Abatemarco literally crawled on his knees begging to have his contract renewed toward the end of this year's 3-23 season. Trust me, he didn't need to go that far.

With the schedule they played and the motivation factor every opponent had (who wants to lose to Sac State?) it's a wonder the Hornets came out on top even once.

In short, I just want to see a committed athletic program that strives on and off the field, not necessarily with wins and losses being the main criteria. But since we got slammed, don't bet on it anytime soon.