This is a long read....print out, get a glass of wine and take your time......
Ron Polk letter to NCAA
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Me thinks you will need something stronger than wine to get thru this
Way to go Ron !!!!
Way to go Ron !!!!
Outstanding. But I doubt the bureaucrats will be able to read it.
The thing I liked about it was that it was spoken from the heart with passion - he is obviously a good man.
I believe he needs to distill the message down to about 1 or 2 pages imho. The other 16 pages can be included as an appendix for supporting material. 18 pages is just too darn long imho. I appreciate what he is trying to do however.
I believe he needs to distill the message down to about 1 or 2 pages imho. The other 16 pages can be included as an appendix for supporting material. 18 pages is just too darn long imho. I appreciate what he is trying to do however.
I read the whole thing too. Very passionate. I really enjoyed it.
Great letter and a great read!!!!
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OUTSTANDING!
Part of the beauty is that it is NOT written like an administrator....but rather a real coach who cares...The thing is long but drips with a passion for the sport and concern for the players and the game!
Also full of the very realistic scenerios that players, parents and coaches will/are seeing..
..and provides clear and direct answers to many of the the questions that we have been kicking around here.
Should be required reading for every player and parent....for here is exactly what the future holds...
44
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OUTSTANDING!
Part of the beauty is that it is NOT written like an administrator....but rather a real coach who cares...The thing is long but drips with a passion for the sport and concern for the players and the game!
Also full of the very realistic scenerios that players, parents and coaches will/are seeing..
..and provides clear and direct answers to many of the the questions that we have been kicking around here.
Should be required reading for every player and parent....for here is exactly what the future holds...
44
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I always liked how he spoke up against the NCAA.
For those who do not know the situation and he needed to educate them, I am surprised he got it all in with only 18 pages!
His roster of last year was 44, he must have had a very difficult time in getting it to 31. He also did not have a lot of D1 transfers. Those that have constant revolving doors should be punished, JMO.
I feel for the coaches, players and parents.
For those who do not know the situation and he needed to educate them, I am surprised he got it all in with only 18 pages!
His roster of last year was 44, he must have had a very difficult time in getting it to 31. He also did not have a lot of D1 transfers. Those that have constant revolving doors should be punished, JMO.
I feel for the coaches, players and parents.
Great read but I believe it will fall on deaf ears.
CD-It's the first "book" I've actually started and completed in quite a while 
and I agree with your suggestion about condensing from 18 pages, however, when dealing with the NCAA(trust me, we've been there) it takes a sledgehammer to the "forehead" to get their attention and even then the 'hammer might just split. 
Polk helped my best friend's son get out of a sticky situation with an SEC school which allowed this young man to attend u of Georgia(Polk had recruited him while HC there but moved back to MSU) even though he was no longer at UGa. We(son and I) ran into Polk in Starkville,Ms before Tennessee/MSU series acouple of years ago and I told him how grateful the boy was for his intervention and he got a big smile on his face and told us to say hello for him.
I'm happy to see a coach finally standing up against the injustices handed down by the NCAA-most coaches are fearful of extreme scrutiny if they try to make waves and it's understandable, it's going to take someone like Polk who really doesn't have a whole lot to lose at this point in his career to speak for the rest. Maybe some other longtimers will jump on the bandwagon. Let's hope so.
BTW-Looks like our two UNF'ers will be starting their season with a 3 game series in Jacksonville against Mississippi State end of Feb.
and I agree with your suggestion about condensing from 18 pages, however, when dealing with the NCAA(trust me, we've been there) it takes a sledgehammer to the "forehead" to get their attention and even then the 'hammer might just split. Polk helped my best friend's son get out of a sticky situation with an SEC school which allowed this young man to attend u of Georgia(Polk had recruited him while HC there but moved back to MSU) even though he was no longer at UGa. We(son and I) ran into Polk in Starkville,Ms before Tennessee/MSU series acouple of years ago and I told him how grateful the boy was for his intervention and he got a big smile on his face and told us to say hello for him.
I'm happy to see a coach finally standing up against the injustices handed down by the NCAA-most coaches are fearful of extreme scrutiny if they try to make waves and it's understandable, it's going to take someone like Polk who really doesn't have a whole lot to lose at this point in his career to speak for the rest. Maybe some other longtimers will jump on the bandwagon. Let's hope so.
BTW-Looks like our two UNF'ers will be starting their season with a 3 game series in Jacksonville against Mississippi State end of Feb.
quote:BTW-Looks like our two UNF'ers will be starting their season with a 3 game series in Jacksonville against Mississippi State end of Feb.
How cool is that!
Nice job coach Polk
All I can say is WOW!
That file is HUGE! 8M My download lasted only about 8 pages worth. But from what I read, I have to agree with O44 that this should be required reading. For me, it clarified a lot of the issues that have been debated on HSBBW these past few months.
Could someone possibly print the letter, scan it using OCR and re-post it somewhere? ...unless there is a text version on the internet.
Could someone possibly print the letter, scan it using OCR and re-post it somewhere? ...unless there is a text version on the internet.
If I'm an egghead, intellectual snob president of a university I've thrown this in the trash by page four. If not, definitely by page eight.
While Polk is one of the good guys and his points are valid, the paper is long, redundant and comes off like a rant. I visualized Floyd R Turbo editorializing (Carson Tonight Show character). Polk could have described his credentials in a paragraph and should have made his points and solutions in four pages even if he had to create the entire paper in an outline form. However, it's interesting reading if followed all the way through.
While Polk is one of the good guys and his points are valid, the paper is long, redundant and comes off like a rant. I visualized Floyd R Turbo editorializing (Carson Tonight Show character). Polk could have described his credentials in a paragraph and should have made his points and solutions in four pages even if he had to create the entire paper in an outline form. However, it's interesting reading if followed all the way through.
Any relation to James Polk the11th President of the US. Besides looking like they may have come from the same clan their accomplishments kind of parallel one another.
James Polk accomplished nearly everything that he said he wanted to accomplish as President and everything he had promised in his party's platform: acquisition of Oregon, California, and New Mexico; the positive settlement of the Texas border dispute; lower tariff rates; the establishment of a new federal depository system; and the strengthening of the executive office. He masterfully kept open lines of communication with Congress, established an administrative press, and conducted himself as a representative of the whole people. Polk came into the presidency with a focused political agenda and a clear set of convictions about America's destiny. He left the office the most successful President since Washington in the accomplishment of his goals.
Ron Polk's influence on college baseball, particularly in the highly-competitive Southeastern Conference, is reflected at the baseball facilities throughout the league. In 1987 Mississippi State completed a $3.5 million, 6,700-seat grandstand and baseball facility at Dudy Noble Field. In subsequent years new grandstands and significant stadium improvements have followed at the baseball facilities at each of the other schools in the SEC.
MSU's baseball facility has continued to grow in recent years. Luxury skysuites and additional grandstand seating were part of a project completed during the 2000 season. And in late 2005 work was completed on two other major baseball projects: a 68,000 square foot climate-controlled indoor training facility
In 27 seasons in Starkville he has skippered the Bulldogs to a 1,078-535-2 record. He has coached better than 46 percent of Mississippi State's 3,496 all-time games and has directed MSU to nearly 49 percent of its 2,219 all-time wins. The 2006 campaign was Polk's 27th at State, moving the MSU skipper past former longtime coach Paul Gregory as the longest-tenured baseball coach in MSU history.
James Polk accomplished nearly everything that he said he wanted to accomplish as President and everything he had promised in his party's platform: acquisition of Oregon, California, and New Mexico; the positive settlement of the Texas border dispute; lower tariff rates; the establishment of a new federal depository system; and the strengthening of the executive office. He masterfully kept open lines of communication with Congress, established an administrative press, and conducted himself as a representative of the whole people. Polk came into the presidency with a focused political agenda and a clear set of convictions about America's destiny. He left the office the most successful President since Washington in the accomplishment of his goals.
Ron Polk's influence on college baseball, particularly in the highly-competitive Southeastern Conference, is reflected at the baseball facilities throughout the league. In 1987 Mississippi State completed a $3.5 million, 6,700-seat grandstand and baseball facility at Dudy Noble Field. In subsequent years new grandstands and significant stadium improvements have followed at the baseball facilities at each of the other schools in the SEC.
MSU's baseball facility has continued to grow in recent years. Luxury skysuites and additional grandstand seating were part of a project completed during the 2000 season. And in late 2005 work was completed on two other major baseball projects: a 68,000 square foot climate-controlled indoor training facility
In 27 seasons in Starkville he has skippered the Bulldogs to a 1,078-535-2 record. He has coached better than 46 percent of Mississippi State's 3,496 all-time games and has directed MSU to nearly 49 percent of its 2,219 all-time wins. The 2006 campaign was Polk's 27th at State, moving the MSU skipper past former longtime coach Paul Gregory as the longest-tenured baseball coach in MSU history.
Wow, lots of good info, but I guarantee that no college president that received the letter read it all.
I learned in law school that if you can't say it in 15 minutes or less, you lose your audience. The attention span of the brain is directly related to the numbness of the rear end. Shorter is better.
Polk should've edited it down to about 4-5 pages tops. In a freshman writing class that all of his players certainly attend, he'd get an "A" for passion, and "A" for "knowledge of subject", but a "F" for his writing style.
For the record, in 28 years of practicing law, I've never written a brief that long, much less a letter.
Bless Coach Polk for his effort, but get a ghostwriter...
I learned in law school that if you can't say it in 15 minutes or less, you lose your audience. The attention span of the brain is directly related to the numbness of the rear end. Shorter is better.
Polk should've edited it down to about 4-5 pages tops. In a freshman writing class that all of his players certainly attend, he'd get an "A" for passion, and "A" for "knowledge of subject", but a "F" for his writing style.
For the record, in 28 years of practicing law, I've never written a brief that long, much less a letter.
Bless Coach Polk for his effort, but get a ghostwriter...
For those who do not know Coach Polk let me tell you he is one of the finest men in the college game and perhaps the most passionate.
His letter is him--no punches pulled--just flat out Ron Polk at his best
His letter is him--no punches pulled--just flat out Ron Polk at his best
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IMO....this thread Sort of defines the issue...
Sadly...
...in the end, in any true bureaucracy (NCAA)...
...the form: grammar, syntax, legnth...
...and the title of the writer/speaker: President, Director...
...are much more important than the message, the game...or the players.
44
.
IMO....this thread Sort of defines the issue...
Sadly...
...in the end, in any true bureaucracy (NCAA)...
...the form: grammar, syntax, legnth...
...and the title of the writer/speaker: President, Director...
...are much more important than the message, the game...or the players.
44
.
agree with everything said but the letter deserves to be in the "Golden Threads" section.
There was an article in my local paper today about the letter. Also said the AD from MSU was on the Baseball Academic Enhancement Committee. I wonder if Coach Polk tried to "educate" him BEFORE all these decisions were made and the AD just didn't listen.