Do all ADs leave BC a better place than they found it?

Whenever anyone writes or talks about Gene's tenure (myself included) they always include some sort of caveat that "BC Athletics is in a better place than he found it" or some similar sentiment. Since I was a student during the transition from Gladchuk to Defilippo, I have vivid memories of what it was like then and where things are now and thought it might be time to compare the transitions. Because of the progress of BC as a whole and the growth of college athletics, most BC ADs could say they left BC a better place than they found it.

Being an AD is highly political and involves two things people hold dear (money and sports). Unless an AD moves on before opinions change, he or she are going to step on enough toes to the point where everyone wants him or her gone. It happened with Gene and it happened with Gladchuk. To give people perspective on Gladchuk and his parallels to Defilippo, let me breakdown the major issues then and their relevancy now.

Facilities
Gladchuk's major accomplishment was the renovation of Alumni. This was as big a facilities project as any Gene has done. Much of the momentum and fundraising was based off of Tom Coughlin's success, but it was still on Chet's watch. BC facilities were definitely in a better place after his tenure.

Conference
When Gladchuk tookover BC in 1990, the Big East was only a basketball conference. During his time, the Big East expanded multiple times and added football. The new conference earned a national TV deal on CBS and gave a boost to many of our non-revenue sports. It was still an awkward combination of schools, but BC was in a better more secure place than they were when he started.

Graduation Rate
BC won the College Football Association's Academic Achievement Award three times under Gladchuk. If anything this speaks to a culture and emphasis on the student aspect of "student-athlete" that predates both Chet and Gene. Like Gene, Chet deserves credit for preserving this part of our culture, but I don't know if he or anyone can claim they made it better. It is a BC thing, not an AD thing.

Fundraising
Gladchuk was able to raise a lot of money and create new things for fans and alumni to sponsor or buy. However, like Gene, he stepped on some big donors' toes. (Once again, it is the nature of the job.) And like Gene, the fundraising aspect of his job is the only area where you could question if BC was better off. He raised previously unprecedented levels of money, but also burned enough bridges that the new guy had to come in and repair relationships.

Athletic Department Operations
Gene's defenders will tell you that he took over a Department in the dark ages when it came to how we promote, market, licenses or sell Boston College Athletics. The same could be said about Gladchuk. He was taking over for the revered Bill Flynn, who still did things in an old school fashion. BC was never ahead of the curve in this area, but Gladchuk left the school in a better place.

Coaches
Gladchuk hired Tom Coughlin...and Dan Henning. He also screwed up the hockey program before lucking into York. In basketball, he inherited JOB and was ready to fire him, if not for some lobbying from alums and due to JOB's wife losing her battle with cancer. It was a mixed bag to say the least. Henning was really what did him in. When any AD is so closely tied to a bad football hire at a football school, it is going to generate a lot of criticism. TOB and Al Skinner both came in during Chet's last days, but he was not the main decision maker on either. He was a lame duck who wanted Randy Edsall. Sullivan and Leahy made the final decision on both coaches. Both turned out to be just what BC needed and led the school to success over the next decade. BC was in a better place, but it really wasn't Chet's doing.

Don't boo Gene on Saturday

I hate telling fans what to do, but I want to be a bit preemptive with this post. We are in the final days of Gene Defilippo's tenure as AD, so I imagine BC will make note of it in some way on Saturday. While many frustrated and angry fans might want to voice their dislike one last time, the appropriate response is to clap or not do anything at all. Booing accomplishes nothing. He is being replaced. BC is headed in another direction. Gene's legacy is still to be determined, but even without knowing what happens next for the department, you have to credit Gene for always doing what he felt was right for BC. Booing sends the wrong message and is not who we are. Although many of the coaches he fired didn't get a clean good-bye, it is how things should be done. Let Gene leave knowing that most BC fans took the high road.

Irish BC Guys Need Not Apply

Replacing Gene DeFilippo presents a great opportunity for BC. I hope we don't blow it by hiring a "BC guy."  There are so many challenges ahead. Narrowing our search only to people who worked at or graduated from BC eliminates too many great candidates. Fans always clamor for the familiar or "one of us" but those sorts of relationships and expectations can also bring a lot of baggage. I also fear that hiring a BC Guy or Gal brings a lot of preconceived notions of what can be accomplished at the school.

I don't want someone who just assumes BC will always be behind the Patriots, Red Sox, Celtics and Bruins because "Boston is a pro sports town."

I don't want someone who will just accept the limitations and roadblocks from our neighbors in Newton, Brighton and Brookline with a shrug or an "it is what it is."

I don't want someone from the Old Boys' Network of Athletic Directors and former BC employees. I understand that this is a relationship business but the schools and the conferences that are making strides are hiring business leaders and forward thinkers. A successful executive can learn about coaching just as easily as a former coach can learn about Marketing, Budgeting and Fund Raising.

I don't want someone who approaches the job with a built in assumption that "I have to win over the BC Wall Street crowd and then get the Football Alumni onboard, and then throw a bone to the internet fans,..." A fresh start with all of the BC factions is important but I want the AD to learn that on his or her own, not because they know that from Gene or from being a member of the BC community.

There are many major projects and decisions ahead for our new Athletic Director. He or she will have to change the Department's attitude towards donors, fans and the media. He or she will have to decide the fates of numerous coaches. And the new AD will have to start multiple major infrastructure projects that Gene has been putting off for the last few years. Gene is leaving for a reason. We don't need one of his acolytes to take over and be a lessor version of Coach Flip. We need someone new and bold and someone who thinks BC can be the best athletic department in the country.