Wow! It's Yow! Happy Days to follow for NCState

http://www.newsobserver.com/2010/06/27/553501/expect-a-direct-approach-from.html

Stunning news this week from my alma mater, NCState, which announced that Debbie Yow will take over as Athletic Director on July 1 after 16 years in the same position at Maryland. This hire has my full support -- Yow is known for her fiscally responsible means of running an athletic program and perhaps more importantly, FOR HOLDING HER COACHES ACCOUNTABLE AND EXPECTING THEM TO WIN!

The atmosphere among NCState coaches is going to get a bit more pressure-packed now since expectations will be raised for all programs. No more status-quo and medicority. Teams will be expected to compete for conference championships and if the current coaches can't get the job done, Yow has shown at Maryland that she is not afraid to cut ties and move in another direction. This can only be a positive for the future amongst the athletic programs:

FOOTBALL -- Tom O'Brien has yet to have a winning season since taking over for Chuck Amato. He has the most to lose with yet another losing or break-even season in 2010.

MEN'S BASKETBALL -- Sidney Lowe is much beloved amongst NCState alumni but has yet to take the team to the NCAA Tournament. With a healthy recruiting pipeline now well-established, the pressure is going to be on Sid to produce or be forced to leave.

WOMEN'S BASKETBALL -- Kellie Harper is perhaps one of the safer coaches in the NCState family, taking over for Yow's sister last season and taking the team to the NCAA Tournament in her first season at the helm. Yow has experience coaching women's basketball and hired Brenda Frese, who led Maryland to a national championship in 2006.

BASEBALL -- Time may be running out for Eliot Avent, who seems to have NCState competitive year after year but has yet to prove he can win the Big Games. Yow may leave Avent alone initially, tho; Maryland's un-funded baseball team has never done much in this sport and Yow may take a wait-and-see approach in her first couple of years. Many alumni, tho, would like NCState to become a national power in baseball and return to Omaha for the first time since 1968.

MEN'S SOCCER -- George Tarantini is the most likely candidate to be replaced. NCState soccer, once a national powerhouse, is mediocre at best most years...although every few years, they make national headlines. Tarantini has been at NCState since 1988 but we have done very little on the national scene during his time with the Wolfpack.

I am very excited to hear that Debbie Yow is coming to NCState...completing the family circle started with her sisters Kay and Susan, NCState's first All-American in women's basketball.