North Carolina State University Athletics
Lee Fowler Chat Wrap
4/23/2002 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
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Lee Fowler: (2:01 PM ET ) I am
here and ready for your questions. Let's get started.
How much of your time do you spend focused on men's basketball and
football? I would think that all the other sports at State would require
a lot of attention from an athletic director even though the public
mainly focuses on those two main sports.
New York: All NC
State Alumni are proud of your accomplishments as chairman of the NCAA
Basketball Committee. What are your opinions about the best way to
keep athletes in school? Particularily in college basketball.
Lee Fowler: (2:04 PM ET ) That is
a tough question. I think the more we do to get more athletes interested
in getting a college degree as opposed to just participating in
athletics, the better off we will be. We need to do more for them
financially to take the burden off them while they are in college. That
is the simple answer.
Michael
Todd(Cambridge,MA): What is your stance on paying college bball
players? It seems Title IX wouldn't allow this since you would have to
distribute the money with the sports that don't make money. What about
allowing the athletes to sign shoe contracts?
Lee Fowler: (2:06 PM ET ) Simply,
we pay the players now with scholarships and the total amount of money
they are receiving is going up quickly. That is the way I look at it.
They are getting paid for the scholarship and getting great name
recognition.
I don't think shoe contracts are a road we want to go down. I think
that is discriminatory to just a couple of athletes instead of
benefitting all the athletes.
Andy (Cary, NC):
First, thanks for all your hard work to improve NC State Athletics but I
have a tough question for you. How did we end up with a ticket price
increase coupled with such a weak home and questionable non-conference
schedule? Aren't you afraid that those tactics will dull fans'
enthusiasm? When can we look forward to tougher competition?
Lee Fowler: (2:07 PM ET ) It
hasn't seem too, we are ahead of schedule selling tickets. We have a
smaller stadium than most schools so this year is a little different. We
have to have the home games but we have to raise prices because of the
work we are doing to our facilities.
Ramey Kemp
(Raleigh): Your doing a fine job. Please focus in on the baseball
program. It needs focus. The program needs to improve or you need to
find a fix for it.
Lee Fowler: (2:08 PM ET ) We are
starting a project in baseball and tennis ($5.6 million) to improve the
facilities that haven't been touched in 30 years. That will start July
1.
Andrew (Raleigh):
Mr. Fowler,
I am a student at NC State and first let me say that I have been very
impressed with the improvement of the football and basketball teams
while you have been here. One thing that concerns me is the
bottomfeeding of our soccer and tennis programs. I know about the
planned improvements of the tennis facilities, but what is being done to
help out our soccer program?
Lee Fowler: (2:09 PM ET ) Soccer
will get new lockerroom space as the football team moves out and a new
field at Paul Derr Track so they can play games at night. So we are
improving those facilities to improve the program.
Jiggy wit it:
There seemed to be a bit of controversay about teams getting "home"
games in the opening rounds of this year's NCAA men's basketball
tournament. Do you see this as a legitimate concern and will this
continue in the future?
Lee Fowler: (2:10 PM ET ) The
first round sites change each year and there are always people that feel
some teams are playing to close to home. We will meet again this year to
review the procedure but I don't see any changes being made in the next
3-4 years. From every report we got, most were happy with the tournament
this year.
Stanley: Is N.C.
State a football or basketball school?
Lee Fowler: (2:11 PM ET ) I would
hopefully say it is a 22 sport school (we are adding a women's softball
program that will begin in 2004). We are an ACC school and want to be in
the top three in all sports.
Eric (Boise):
Although I think your committe does a fine job within the current
parameters, why can't a system be used that rewards the regular season
conference champs with automatic bids and lets the remaining teams
qualify through a combination of play-in tourneys and at-large bids to
round out the field?...Wouldn't this strengthen the field? And shouldn't
it be both desireable and practical to implement a system whereby not
all, but the majority of the teams qualify directly from their play on
the court rather than through a subjective at-large process as they do
now.
Lee Fowler: (2:13 PM ET ) I think
the field of 64 with the tournament champs going is what the conferences
want because that is how they make extra money. I think the process
works and I don't see any reason to fix it.
Mike: What is the
hardest part of your job?
Lee Fowler: (2:13 PM ET ) That
would be just juggling 23 different coaches and sports and facilities
improvements. We are in a big construction phase in the next five years.
So budgeting my time is the hardest part.
Jayme Jackson
(Raleigh): Where do we stand on filling our open defensive
coordinator position, and what impact do you feel Coach Hunter will have
on our basketball program by sticking with us a little bit longer?
Lee Fowler: (2:15 PM ET ) I think
Coach Hunter is a piece of the puzzle that was important to our success
this year and we want to keep him around.
No decision has been made on a defensive coordinator, but I believe
one is coming soon.
Packman: Discuss
the impact of the assistant men's soccer coach leaving the program?
Lee Fowler: (2:16 PM ET ) He is
part of our fund raising program now. So he is still with us, he just
changed careers. When there is an opening, there is an opportunity to
hire someone as good as that coach if not better to help improve the
program.
aaron: Where do
you see our football team in 3 years, in terms of national recognition?
Lee Fowler: (2:17 PM ET ) Our
coaches' goals are to be a BCS team. But that will take time. Right now
we want to establish ourselves as a consistent top 25 team and then move
into to being in the BCS. That is our goal right now.
Robbie
(Greensboro): There has been alot of speculation that the new north
endzone seats will begin at the same time the new press/luxury boxes
begin construction. Can you bring us up to speed on the new additions
and the projected schedule of construction? Thanks!
Lee Fowler: (2:18 PM ET ) We are
a doing a survey on the pressbox and club level seating next for
funding. So the north endzone would be next. That is Phase Three.
Ed: Mr. Fowler -
what would you consider to be the No. 1 priority at NC State at the
moment?
Lee Fowler: (2:20 PM ET )
Facilities. My charge is to be a top three program in the conference in
every sport and improving our facilities is a big part of accomplishing
that.
Don (Apex, NC):
Lee,
Lee Fowler: (2:21 PM ET ) In
different years, it depends on how the sport is going. When I first came
here, there was a big focus on basketball. But you do tend to spend more
time on those two sports because they are the two biggest sports at this
school.
Matt (Raleigh): I
am strongly against paying college athletes because it would destroy the
budgets of most athletic departments and result in the cancelling of
many non-profit sports. But has any movement been made by the NCAA
towards allowing more freedom in the ability of athletes to work
part-time jobs?
Lee Fowler: (2:22 PM ET ) Yes,
there are more opportunities to work offseason. But still it is a
problem for them to juggle their time and still play a sport. But there
is more freedom now to do that.
Brandon
(Raleigh): A lot of students have been complaining recently about
the student ticket distribution at NC State. What is your take on the
process? How do you thihk it should be done?
Lee Fowler: (2:24 PM ET ) That is
student-drive. The students make all the decisions and they make up the
rules. So there is a student committee to get involved in if you want to
have a voice in that.
Lee Fowler: (2:25 PM ET ) That is
all the time I have for now. Thank you for all your support of Wolfpack
athletics. The best is yet to come!
Take care everyone.
