Bobby D: Hoosier Daddy?!
by Jake Bertalotto on Oct 22, 2008 7:53 PM PDT
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PrintBy now everyone has heard the rumors that Oregon State Athletic Director Bob De Carolis is receiving attention from Indiana University. Many have expressed concern for the situation, and many have voiced that they'd like Bob De Carolis to stay in Corvallis.
If that's your opinion, I'm with you. Bobby D has done more for OSU Athletics than anyone else in our lifetime.
What follows is an excerpt from John's column regarding the situation. To just read the full article on OregonLive, click this link, but I'm sure most of you saw it in Monday's paper.
CLICK HERE FOR THE FULL ARTICLE.
Hey, OSU: Don't let De Carolis go John Canzano
I was visiting with Oregon State athletic director Bob De Carolis between innings at the College World Series in Omaha, Neb., a couple of summers ago when a Portland TV-news story became the topic.
The piece featured a homeless teenager who was attending an area high school. The kid, then a junior, was a decent student, and involved in extracurricular activities. He was also sleeping in a motel room on Sandy Boulevard with four younger siblings and a couple of parents who just couldn't seem to get it together.
College was a pipe dream. The teen was more concerned with how many nights the family had left before the motel kicked them out, and where the family would get money for groceries, and how he'd become used to being hungry all the time.
De Carolis asked me to send him a copy of the story.
I figured he was just being polite.
A couple of weeks later, De Carolis called and asked again if I'd send the piece. He'd been thinking about the teen.
I eventually got it copied, and sent it over. And I only bring this up today because as Indiana University is apparently zeroing in on De Carolis as a possible athletic director candidate, that once-homeless kid is currently a freshman living in a dorm on campus in Corvallis, where he's on scholarship.
De Carolis did that.
He also was the administrator of record when the Beavers football program became profitable, and regularly bowl eligible. He also was in charge when OSU kept national championship baseball coach Pat Casey out of Notre Dame's grubby hands. And it was De Carolis who had the confidence to go outside the box on the Craig Robinson hire in men's basketball, and nevermind if the Beavers don't win a single Pacific-10 Conference game this season, the move already is a jackpot of national exposure.
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Here is my opinion on Bobby D
He will probably be most remembered for keeping Jay John on too long. Lest we forgot what else he had done.
Summer 06: Notre Dame baseball comes calling to Pat Casey. Casey mentions the ND is his dream job, and would be the only job he would take over OSU. Bobby D figures out a way to keep him. Beavs win 2nd consecutive national title following year
Summer 06 and 07: After a miraculous turnaround of the OSU program, Mike Riley starts getting attention from the rest of the country. His alma mater, Alabama, asks for an interview. So does ASU and UCLA. The NFL starts to peek a little interest as well. Riley is still the coach at OSU, and looks to be for a long time.
He hired Craig Robinson this past year, which remains to be seen whether he can turn this program around, but in the short time he’s been here has been able to get recruits interested in what could possibly be one of the worst D1 basketball programs in the country (even getting a commitment from a top 50 player)
He got arguably the greatest wrestling coach of all time to come in for our boys. After Iowa fired him, Bobby D convinced him to work his magic in Corvallis.
Let’s not forget about other sports: Volleyball has been a complete turn around. Bobby hired an olympic volleyball coach and we are now ranked in the top 25 in a conference that has as many as 5 teams in the top 10 at any given time. Womens basketball, while not having immediate success, has improved under the tutelage of LaVonda Wagner, who came from a top program, Duke, to coach our girls.
The fact is, losing Bobby D hurts us, real bad, and we need to do everything in our power to keep him to stay. Unfortunately, from what it sounds like, he is already 3/4 of the way to Bloomington… Bobby D, we will miss you.
The Artist Formerly Known as OrState GoBeavs
by The VD Special on Oct 21, 2008 5:14 PM PDT reply actions 1 recs
It would be devastating to lose Bobby D...
oregon state athletics have started to come to the forefront in most sports and bobby d is one of the main reasons for this. he has really started to make oregon state a brand name not only in the northwest, but throughout the country. i believe the only questionable decision he has made was to let jay john stay around too long but who could blame him? i mean lets be honest there wasnt a real big list of coaches lining up to take the OSU job. i do think that the craig robinson hire will prove to be a GREAT one in about 3-4 years and it will even pay dividends this year. he made a great decision in bringing back mike riley for his second stint as oregon state is starting to become a perennial top 25 and bowl team (still crossing my fingers for that rose bowl this year!). the job to keep pat casey as the baseball coach and to lure the former iowa wrestling coach to corvallis are just two more examples of why bobby d is a GREAT AD and a perfect fit for the university. you say that it seems he is already gone but i have not read that anything is eminent as IU has not even offered him the job yet. i really hope the university steps up and does what it takes to keep bobby d around or we could start to see a lot of the hard work and progress we have made as an athletic department start to fade….
I've heard reports from both IU and Bobby D's people
That both are high on each other. So while Indiana may be going through the formality of other interviews, it appears that the offer will be made and sounds like Bobby D would accept it. That’s what I meant by 3/4 of the way out… The last 25% is the offer and acceptance…
The Artist Formerly Known as OrState GoBeavs
by The VD Special on Oct 21, 2008 6:09 PM PDT up reply actions
oh...
that is pretty good information. any word on whether the university will try to step up the offer to try and keep bobby d? and also, in the unfortunate event that bobby d does leave, who would we get to replace him? thoughts?
He is a jerk!
I have met him several times with my children and you couldn’t ask to meet a more pompous and just downright rude person. I personally will be happy if and when he leaves. Most of the stuff he did here at OSU was great, but that really just left a sour taste in my mouth.
Unfortunately
Many times people in those positions are pompous. Also, unfortunately, most people don’t care what kind of people they are as long as they produce results, myself included. Very few out there can be a Mike Riley. I’m sorry it left a sour taste with you, but would you rather have a nice guy who didn’t know what he was doing or Bobby D dominating who doesn’t appeal to the people?
The Artist Formerly Known as OrState GoBeavs
by The VD Special on Oct 21, 2008 8:55 PM PDT up reply actions
i agree with you mostly, like i said he has quite a good record with the beavs. i also understand the importance of having a top notch a.d. but in my opinion it is equally important to have an a.d. that can be a diplomat of there university. he also has made some huge blunders, most importantly his lack of success with the basketball team. also from what i have heard he has always had issues with key alumni and donors. in order to ever have a competitive basketball team we need to have the full support of those same alumni and donors. maybe its not such a bad thing if he leaves. i do feel that if he leaves then it is imperative that we hire someone with his clean track record, just throw in a few people skills and we’ll have a winner.
by jaycb324011 on Oct 21, 2008 11:41 PM PDT up reply actions
Okay, a couple things:
First of all, I’m going to disagree slightly and say that it’s not completely fair to judge someone based on one meeting, although I know that’s something that will stick with you forever. It still doesn’t mean that Bob is a bad guy, maybe he was just particularly busy or stressed in that moment. But still, I understand where you’re coming from. One bad experience generally bears more weight than a lot of good ones.
The second thing is that Bobby D didn’t bring bad basketball to Corvallis. It had been here for awhile. And as for the Jay John “late firing” ordeal, I understand where people are coming from, but remember that hindsight is 20/20. That’s a tough position to be in- firing someone, changing their life, and changing the collegiate careers of the players under the coach. He got it done, and I think we’re in good shape now because of it.
--JB--
by Jake Bertalotto on Oct 22, 2008 12:38 AM PDT up reply actions
you have some good points jb. but first off i have met him three times not just once and they were all meet and greet sort of situations. second it is yet to be seen if his selection of coach robinson was the right selection. they just started practice last friday so we will find out soon. i think robinson should be a huge asset to the university, but we just don’t know yet.
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Pacific-12 Conference Standings
(updated 1.2.2012 at 11:12 PM PST)
| North | Conf | Overall | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| W | L | W | L | |
Oregon Ducks
|
8 | 1 | 12 | 2 |
|
Stanford Cardinal
|
8 | 1 | 11 | 2 |
|
Washington Huskies
|
5 | 4 | 7 | 6 |
|
California Golden Bears
|
4 | 5 | 7 | 6 |
|
Oregon St. Beavers
|
3 | 6 | 3 | 9 |
|
Washington St. Cougars
|
2 | 7 | 4 | 8 |
| South | Conf | Overall | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| W | L | W | L | |
|
USC Trojans
|
7 | 2 | 10 | 2 |
|
UCLA Bruins
|
5 | 4 | 6 | 8 |
|
Utah Utes
|
4 | 5 | 8 | 5 |
|
Arizona St. Sun Devils
|
4 | 5 | 6 | 7 |
|
Arizona Wildcats
|
2 | 7 | 4 | 8 |
|
Colorado Buffaloes
|
2 | 7 | 3 | 10 |
Pacific-12 Conference Standings
(updated 2.6.2012 at 10:39 PM PST)
| Conf | Overall | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| W | L | W | L | |
|
Washington Huskies
|
9 | 2 | 16 | 7 |
|
California Golden Bears
|
8 | 3 | 18 | 6 |
|
Colorado Buffaloes
|
8 | 3 | 16 | 7 |
|
Oregon Ducks
|
7 | 4 | 16 | 7 |
|
Arizona Wildcats
|
7 | 4 | 16 | 8 |
|
Stanford Cardinal
|
6 | 5 | 16 | 7 |
|
UCLA Bruins
|
6 | 5 | 13 | 10 |
|
Oregon St. Beavers
|
5 | 6 | 15 | 8 |
|
Washington St. Cougars
|
4 | 7 | 12 | 11 |
|
Arizona St. Sun Devils
|
3 | 8 | 7 | 16 |
|
Utah Utes
|
2 | 9 | 5 | 18 |
|
USC Trojans
|
1 | 10 | 6 | 18 |
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