SoCon Commish Resigns to Head Back to Campus

[*****]

Southern Conference Commissioner Resigns
Southern Conference Media Relations, Steve Shutt
http://www.i-aa.org/article.asp?articleid=70264

Spartanburg, SC -- Dr. Danny Morrison, Commissioner of the Southern Conference, resigned today to become the director of athletics at Texas Christian University. TCU president Dr. Victor Boschini made the announcement late this afternoon.

Morrison became the Southern Conference’s seventh commissioner on November 13, 2001. Under his leadership, the Southern Conference has undergone a number of changes including the addition of Elon University, moving the SoCon’s marketing and development programs in-house, and relocating the league’s headquarters from Asheville, NC to Spartanburg, SC. ...

[catamount man]

Good riddance!!! GO CATAMOUNTS!!!

[*****]

Good riddance!!! GO CATAMOUNTS!!!Now no smacking here in discussion. Do you have a reason for that comment? What did he personally do that you would say that? He was your Conference Commish, the school leaders made all the decisions. I'm pretty sure he didn't do anything by himself. I liked the guy as a person.

[Baldy]

I met the man on more than one occasion. Personally he's a nice guy, but he did absolutely no good for he SoCon. I second the good riddance notion.
I have all confidence that if given the time and opportunity, he would have been as bad of a commissioner as Wright Waters.

[*****]

... he did absolutely no good for he SoCon. ...You guys are long on smack but short on reasoning.

"Morrison was instrumental in developing a partnership with TIAA-CREF to present the Academic All-Southern Conference teams in all 19 sports and increasing funds for postgraduate scholarships by $10,000. The league also initiated an Education Partners Program as well as an Employee Assistance Program for all member institutions. The SoCon has also participated in an internship program with the National Football League and broadened its reach on television with its partnerships with ESPN, Fox Sports Net South, C-SET, Comcast/Charter Sports Southeast, and College Sports Television."
http://www.i-aa.org/article.asp?articleid=70264

[Purple Knight]

The 'good riddance' motion has been passed.

I would like the job. My goals:

1. Each year a head-to-head weekend with other 1-AA conferences.
2. One-game-a-year matchup of all SoCon schools with ACC schools. It would give each team a 1-A game every year.
3. You want in the SoCon, impress people with your past records or your up- and- coming status.
4. Raise funds for a conference marketing team that can sell the conference as well as help individual schools improve fund raising, attendance at games, etc.

If nominated, will reveal complete platform and details.

[*****]

The 'good riddance' motion has been passed. ...The only thing passed here is a lot of gas without reason, a motion without a notion. :cool:

[WCU LawCat]

Basically Ralph, (and you know this) The bigger schools (public schools) don't want the little schools (private schools) coming in and playing good football (making them look bad, *Wofford, cough cough*). I personally want the conferance to stay in tact which includes everybody staying I-AA. I aslo would enjoy seeing CCU in the SoCon. They want rich football tradition so why not join a local league rich in football tradition?

As far as Morrison goes, I don't know the guy so I can't comment on if it is good or bad for the conferance.

[*****]

... As far as Morrison goes, I don't know the guy so I can't comment on if it is good or bad for the conferance.I know Danny Morrison and have viewed him in many different venues as SoCon Commish and I have to say that he conducted himself very professionally, was very cordial to media etc., was always available and was always very pro-SoCon. Your point is well made about the rift between SoCon institutions but Morrison can't be blamed for that just because he was AD at Wofford in the past. The schools make the SoCon, the SoCon does not dictate to the schools... unless I am completely wrong.

Bottom line is that a change is occurring. There are some great Conf Commish people in I-AA and I'm sure the SoCon will get an ample successor.

Have a blast on campus at TCU Danny!

[youwouldno]

It always seemed fans were blasting him. In any case, it's hard to objectively weigh his performance especially considering the short time span.

Interesting to see who succeeds him.

[chattanoogamocs]

My first thought when I hear people complain about Morrison...
:deadhorse

Personally, I have never had a problem with Danny. People love to complain and b*tch and moan and find someone to blame about it...people are already whining about who the next commissioner will be and Danny hasn't even cleaned his desk out.

It is a thankless job...no matter what someone does, every school will have fans that are not happy with the performance of a coach, or an AD, or a commissioner...whether it is the SoCon or the SEC.

After working closely over the last 3 years with a number of people at my school's athletic department (as a volunteer and as a pseudo-media type) and with a lot of interaction with the SoCon office, I have come to realize that everyone involved wants the best and almost all of them are overworked and underpaid...but everyone I have talked to or worked with from Steve Shutt...to Sue Arakas...to Geoff Cabe...to Danny himself have always been very positive, very helpful...and very pro-SoCon. Do I always agree with what the SoCon officials (and I mean that just as much as the school reprensentatives)? No...but I have yet in life found anyone that I agree with all of the time.

Normally I just refuse to respond to those who like to complain about everything...typically it is pointless because I have come to believe that some people aren't happy unless they are wallowing in negativity...I am smart enough to know that my comments are never going to change their mind...so why even try? But I thiought in this case it is necesary to have a little balance.

The SoCon is a particularly funny lot...most of the "football first" schools go on and on about how all the conference cares about is basketball and that it is ruining football.....and all the "basketball only" schools rant and rave about how all the conference cares about is that "waste of time, wannabe football". Which outlies my point...no matter what you do, or what side you are on, everyone complains! (...they can't both be right, or wrong, can they?)

Real progess is rarely made through negative reinforcement.

[SoCon48]

That's funny, I don't recall moaning and bitching about Alfred White.
Sometimes people complain because decisions are made that go against their interests and well-being.
Glad someone found something he accomplished.
A post on here a few weeks ago asking for his accomplishments yielded zilch.

The guy was very professional, but short on achievement for the conference as a whole.
he does have a good staff for the most part. With the exception maybe of the younger less experienced ones.

There will be few tears shed.

[blueballs]

When Furman hosted GSU last November, a matchup of top 5 teams with the conference title and national seeding on the line, the game was broadcast by- are you ready for this- C-Set. I'm willing to bet less than 20% of the people on this baord have ever heard of C-Set. Can you get C-Set in Statesboro? Uh-No.

Meanwhile, the A-10 has a weekly GOTW on FoxSportsNet, several Southland games are on FoxSportsNet. Lafayette was televised nationally in 04 more than Furman and GSU combined!!! This is one area where DannyBoy really sh-t the bed. The SoCon, with the flagship 1-AA program, GSU, and a perennial top 10 programs ASU and FU, can't seem to get a decent TV deal. Not to mention that he applied for the Clemson AD job within 30 days after taking the SoCon commish post.

Perhaps now the conference can get somebody in that will market the conference properly and get us a decent TV deal!!! Absolutely good riddance.

[FURMANFAN]

There's plenty of examples in all fields of good men doing not so good a job. I did not know about the Clemson AD job thing. IMO he should have been given notice right then. In his bio the thing that jumps out is bringing marketing in-house as an accomplishment. Marketing was practically nonexistent under his watch. Excuse me. Ineffective is a better word. The thing is he's gone. Does anyone have any ideas about possible replacements?

[thirdgendin]

When Furman hosted GSU last November, a matchup of top 5 teams with the conference title and national seeding on the line, the game was broadcast by- are you ready for this- C-Set. I'm willing to bet less than 20% of the people on this baord have ever heard of C-Set. Can you get C-Set in Statesboro? Uh-No.

Meanwhile, the A-10 has a weekly GOTW on FoxSportsNet, several Southland games are on FoxSportsNet. Lafayette was televised nationally in 04 more than Furman and GSU combined!!! This is one area where DannyBoy really sh-t the bed. The SoCon, with the flagship 1-AA program, GSU, and a perennial top 10 programs ASU and FU, can't seem to get a decent TV deal. Not to mention that he applied for the Clemson AD job within 30 days after taking the SoCon commish post.

Perhaps now the conference can get somebody in that will market the conference properly and get us a decent TV deal!!! Absolutely good riddance.


To me, the TV deal question seems to be a difference in philosophies. As I'm sure you know, no one is knocking down the door of the SoCon offices to make a TV deal. Thus, the conference people have to go out and seek networks who will put their games on for a good price.

Here is where the philosophies can differ. Do you want six or seven football games and 10 or so basketball games on Fox Sports Net and nothing else? Or do you want three or four games on Fox, seven or eight on other networks for football and nine games on Fox, 10-15 on CSET and 10-15 on CSS for basketball? The conference has to pay money for nearly every TV game so it seems as if they chose to have every team on a few times rather than to have a limited number of offerings.

[blueballs]

Fair question there, ThirdGen.

What I would like to see is the conference start their own independent production company and have their own GOTW or GOTW's. Market those productions to the networks or independent TV stations throughout the "footprint" ;) of the conference. Finally make these games PPV or market an annual PPV subscription. Streaming internet wouldn't suck either.

Whether it is profitable or not financially isn't that important initially, as long as it doesn't absolutely bleed money, there can be sufficient revenue generated to fund or least justify this as the rewards are in the exposure.

Once the ratings/buys were established, then the networks and advertisers would come a calling and it would then be self sustaining.

[EagleCrusade]

Danny Morrison was damaging to the SoCon as a whole.
The TV deals that were exclusionary to members of the conference. The lack of emphasis on major sports (football and basketball declined). There seemed little to no movement to bring the SoCon to the media. There was also a huge gap between the schools which he favored and schools he did not in terms of who got the better end of the stick. Media is key to success of any conference....look at the SEC....rediculous. There was zero impact with the media under his watch. The argument is who's knocking down the doors to sponsor the socon? Well thats the job of marketing. The same was said about GSU a few years back. We now have a new Mktng Director who has gotten a huge response in sponsors and is going far beyond what was expected in that short of time. It's all about doing your job right. Danny did not do everything he could have. He was always looking for himself. Yeah he got TIAACREF and he got a new basketball deal for this season....yet many of his practices were damaging to the Tennesee, Virginia and Georgia schools. We are a conference as a whole. It must benefit us as a whole. Who cares about small private? They compete in the same league, some compete rather well and we all are in this together.

Under his leadership we allowed VMI to leave, ETSU to drop football and added Elon. Then we are fighting about CCU and JSU. Several by-laws are archaic or simply rediculous. The quality of officials have dropped as well as overall quality of competition. There was no direction from the top. Sure member schools are involved heavily but the job of the commish is to lead. Sure he has been pro-SoCon when you meet him, he's totally a politician. When you're the leader you have to try. I didnt see him try too hard. The SoCon is a great conference, but its not being presented as such. That is why some people want out, but where to? We just have to look at what has been done wrong and hope to change it. Focus on basketball, football and baseball. How do you forget football when GS, FU and ASU are in the conference? How do you not use basketball to your advantage when UTC, DC and COC are in the conference (GS...we're going to be good)? If its all about $$, which it is....then we messed up, as a whole, under his leadership.

[chattanoogamocs]

from IAA 2005 "A post on here a few weeks ago asking for his accomplishments yielded zilch."

The reason a post like that registers zilch is because anyone that has anything positive to say is smart enough not to get baited into a debate with you...

You have absolutely nothing positive to say on any forum about any subject. you only seem to be happy when you are dropping some little negative turd everywhere you go...if it is what makes you warm, good for you. 99% percent of the time I would just blow off whatever you say (I got nothing against you personally, I except people for who they are and our philosophies don't match...no harm, no foul) because I don't want to spend my entire day responding to you...even if someone makes a rational defense it is still never going to change your mind on anything...so why even get into a debate with you?

[arkstfan]

I met the man on more than one occasion. Personally he's a nice guy, but he did absolutely no good for he SoCon. I second the good riddance notion.
I have all confidence that if given the time and opportunity, he would have been as bad of a commissioner as Wright Waters.

Looks like the SoCon keeps missing on commissioners. Is it the commissioners that are the problem or the presidents who do the voting?

The Sun Belt was dying under Craig Thompson (who seems to be doing a bang-up job under Thompson) and has really improved under Waters with every league sport stronger or equal to where it was before his arrival.

He successfully got the non-football schools on board for football based expansion and kept UNT and ULL in the fold when the WAC called.

[Baldy]

Looks like the SoCon keeps missing on commissioners. Is it the commissioners that are the problem or the presidents who do the voting?

The Sun Belt was dying under Craig Thompson (who seems to be doing a bang-up job under Thompson) and has really improved under Waters with every league sport stronger or equal to where it was before his arrival.

He successfully got the non-football schools on board for football based expansion and kept UNT and ULL in the fold when the WAC called.

That's amusing.

Waters severely crippled the SoCon by allowing Davidson, UNC-G, and CofC to circumvent conference by-laws and gain admission eventhough none of the three fielded scholarship football. Now the non-waivered members are basically at the mercy of the basketball schools.....thanks, Wrong Waters.

[SoCon48]

EagleCrusade, you made some good points.

ChattanoogaMocs:

I guess you've missed my positive comments on:

1. ETSU's attendance being great for ASU-ETSU football & basketball through the years.
2. Many, many defenses of GSU and the SoCon, relative to I-AA and the A-10.
3. SoCon strength in the "other than football sports." Chatt track, etc.
4. Western Carolina's contributions to the SoCon.
5. Chattanooga as good site for the I-AA national championship game.
6. FoxSprts TV's coverage of SoCon games
7. Chattanooga as a better site (or at least alternate site) than Chucktown
8. Asst Commisioner Steve Shutt's handling of SoCon publicity
9. Chatt, Wofford, Citadel, Elon, WCU as being better than the A-10 wants to credit them.
10. Chatt's numerous NFL players.
11. CofC baseball
12. Jerry Moore's contributions to ASU football over the past decade.
13. Chatt, Davidson's good basketball programs.
14. Furman's consistent good football program.
15 . ASU money games vs LSU/Kansas
etc
etc :cool: :cool: :cool:

I do have negative feelings about the subjects of I-AA attendance, ASU basketball of late, the calls for firing of Jerry Moore, ASU's baseball program, certain "candidates" for admission to the SoCon, time taken to find an AD, etc. However, I am MUCH more positve about ASU and the SoCon than most of the readers on a certain fan board. :eek:

[AppMan]

Looks like the SoCon keeps missing on commissioners. Is it the commissioners that are the problem or the presidents who do the voting?

You hit the nail on the head. The last three all left for positions that, on the surface, look to be a step down. There's something brewing in Spartanburg.

[arkstfan]

That's amusing.

Waters severely crippled the SoCon by allowing Davidson, UNC-G, and CofC to circumvent conference by-laws and gain admission eventhough none of the three fielded scholarship football. Now the non-waivered members are basically at the mercy of the basketball schools.....thanks, Wrong Waters.

No THAT is amusing. Unless the SoCon is unique among conferences that isn't a commissioner issue, it is a presidential issue. The presidents have to approve expansion, commissioners make suggestions that presidents accept or reject in every conference I'm aware of. If SoCon commissioners can get schools in without a vote of presidents the constitution and bylaws need to be changed.

I suspect the SoCon is a normal conference and you've made my point that it is a presidential issue.

Before La.Tech joined the WAC they wanted a waiver from league bylaws to not bring football in and Waters was strong with the presidents against a waiver.

[Baldy]

Please....the commissioner sets the tone and direction for the conference. In almost every conference in almost every circumsance the commissioner will get what he wants, even if the presidents don't want it. Waters against waivers??? What a unique position for him. He definately wanted the waivers for CofC, UNCG, and Davidson and got them. He leaves (to put it nicely), ETSU and VMI (who had been a member of the SoCon since the early 20's) knew better than to even ask for waivers and left the conference. In fact, if I'm not mistaken, the only waivers ever granted in the Southern Conference's loooooong history, came under Waters' watch.

You're kidding yourself if you think waivers aren't a commissioner issue.

[*****]

...You're kidding yourself if you think waivers aren't a commissioner issue.No, the commish doesn't vote for waivers, the presidents do.

[asufan87]

No, the commissioner doesn't vote, but he does have the power to present changes and bring items to the table to be voted on. On another note, the Socon has gotten so diverse in its membership that it's going to be difficult for any new commissioner to have everyone on board moving in the same direction. Rough waters ahead.

[Baldy]

No, the commish doesn't vote for waivers, the presidents do.

The govenor of a state or even the president of the US doesn't vote for or against bills, so I guess that means they have no say so in government. :rolleyes:

use a little common sense, ralph.

[*****]

... use a little common sense ...That's my advice to you if you think Conferences are run like the US government.

[Baldy]

That's my advice to you if you think Conferences are run like the US government.

Being conferences are bureaucratic in nature, it was a very good analogy. Sounds like you believe conference commssioners are nothing but figureheads. :confused:

[OL FU]

No, the commissioner doesn't vote, but he does have the power to present changes and bring items to the table to be voted on. On another note, the Socon has gotten so diverse in its membership that it's going to be difficult for any new commissioner to have everyone on board moving in the same direction. Rough waters ahead.


The Socon has always had the diversity that exist now. That has not changed. There has always been big, small public and private.

[arkstfan]

Please....the commissioner sets the tone and direction for the conference. In almost every conference in almost every circumsance the commissioner will get what he wants, even if the presidents don't want it. Waters against waivers??? What a unique position for him. He definately wanted the waivers for CofC, UNCG, and Davidson and got them. He leaves (to put it nicely), ETSU and VMI (who had been a member of the SoCon since the early 20's) knew better than to even ask for waivers and left the conference. In fact, if I'm not mistaken, the only waivers ever granted in the Southern Conference's loooooong history, came under Waters' watch.

You're kidding yourself if you think waivers aren't a commissioner issue.

Actually the political comparison is apt. In Arkansas we have a constitution designed to make a weak governor. If he vetoes a bill it takes a simple majority to override. So traditionally the governor jumps out early and wheels and deals to avoid having to be in the position to veto. It is very common to see the governor go from totally opposed to a bill to jumping on the bandwagon because a veto won't be sustained.

Conference commissioners don't even have veto power. Yes, they can lobby and encourage but they can also see how the wind is blowing and jump in front of the parade. In fact that is a lot of what their job is, figure out where the parade is headed and jump out in front and keep it moving that way.

The best public example we've seen was Swofford and the ACC. For years we heard that the ACC would never expand because UNC and Duke were opposed and someone would cave and join them. The football schools started pushing for 12, Swofford counted noses and saw he had 7 votes in favor of expansion, got the ball rolling and the governor of Virginia put the squeeze play on UVa throwing off the vote.

A couple of columnists speculated that Swofford was a lame duck for botching the deal and starting an expansion process he couldn't complete. No the only problem he had was the president of UVa mis-read the politics in his state, that wasn't a mistake by Swofford it was a mistake by the president.