By 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.