http://pamplinmedia.com/pt/338180-218209-osus-barnes-gets-praise-from-former-colleagues
Sorry if this has been posted already, but I found this very long Portland Tribune article on Scott Barnes as new OSU AD and found the comments from Paul Zeise to be very interesting, especially regarding the relationship between Barnes and Dixon. Seems to confirm alot of what was rumored:
During Barnes' time at Pitt, long-time men's basketball coach Jamie Dixon left to take a job at Texas Christian.
"Pederson had let Jamie have pretty much complete autonomy to run the program the way he wanted, especially with scheduling," Zeise says. "Jamie made sure to schedule opponents that were very RPI-friendly. His last year, he brought in three graduate seniors and set up an easy schedule, like a guy who was trying to get to the NCAA Tournament one last time before getting out. He knew things would be different under Scott, who is a basketball guy."
Dixon had removed rivals West Virginia and Penn State from his schedule. Barnes worked out a deal to bring back both opponents.
"Scott meddled a little in certain areas of the program," Zeise says. "That created friction with Jamie. In the end, it wasn't quite Scott pushing him out the door, but it seemed like he was encouraging it. Some Pitt fans held that against Scott. To them, Scott fired Jamie, but that wasn't the case. He was doing the right thing."
Wrote Zeise in a column after Oregon State hired Barnes: "He should be remembered as a great athletic director with tremendous vision, and a man who left Pitt in better shape and better-positioned for the future of college athletics than when he arrived."
Sorry if this has been posted already, but I found this very long Portland Tribune article on Scott Barnes as new OSU AD and found the comments from Paul Zeise to be very interesting, especially regarding the relationship between Barnes and Dixon. Seems to confirm alot of what was rumored:
During Barnes' time at Pitt, long-time men's basketball coach Jamie Dixon left to take a job at Texas Christian.
"Pederson had let Jamie have pretty much complete autonomy to run the program the way he wanted, especially with scheduling," Zeise says. "Jamie made sure to schedule opponents that were very RPI-friendly. His last year, he brought in three graduate seniors and set up an easy schedule, like a guy who was trying to get to the NCAA Tournament one last time before getting out. He knew things would be different under Scott, who is a basketball guy."
Dixon had removed rivals West Virginia and Penn State from his schedule. Barnes worked out a deal to bring back both opponents.
"Scott meddled a little in certain areas of the program," Zeise says. "That created friction with Jamie. In the end, it wasn't quite Scott pushing him out the door, but it seemed like he was encouraging it. Some Pitt fans held that against Scott. To them, Scott fired Jamie, but that wasn't the case. He was doing the right thing."
Wrote Zeise in a column after Oregon State hired Barnes: "He should be remembered as a great athletic director with tremendous vision, and a man who left Pitt in better shape and better-positioned for the future of college athletics than when he arrived."
