Greg McGarity as AD: A win-win for Georgia and Adams
Esteemed colleague Tim Tucker is reporting that Greg McGarity will be named Georgia’s athletic director, which prompts the question: Will wonders never cease?
Because this would truly be a wonder. It would mean that Michael Adams, the president who cared nothing for what his constituency thought in regard to one AD seven years ago, is making a move that will delight those same constituents who came to hate his guts.
Greg McGarity, if you don’t know, is a Darn Good Dawg of long standing. He’s from Athens. He came to UGA to play tennis under the legendary Dan Magill. He coached tennis for a while, then turned to administration.
In his duties as assistant AD McGarity met and befriended an assistant AD from Florida, and when Jeremy Foley became the top man in Gainesville he hired his pal. The two have formed a famous partnership since 1992.
And now the tandem that has made Florida the model athletic department — Foley out front making the hires, McGarity making sure the electric bills at Reptile Central get paid — is apparently breaking up. And it would be a win-win for Georgia, which would be hiring a distinguished Bulldog and taking a considerable asset from the hated Gators.
It would also be a win-win for Adams, who has seized on an embarrassing turn of events — you might have heard about Damon Evans’ night on the town — to demonstrate a brand of leadership this correspondent wasn’t sure he had in him.
The belief here was that Adams would dismiss McGarity as a candidate simply because he came up under Vince Dooley, whom Adams brushed aside seven years ago. But if McGarity is indeed the choice, he’d be yet another indication that this president has grown in his stewardship to the extent that holding a grudge is less important than doing the right thing.
The day after accepting Evans’ resignation, Adams announced that his first look would be outside the department, that his preference was to find someone who’d worked at the highest level of collegiate athletics. On its face, those sentiments didn’t seem encouraging news to the McGarity Lobby. It sounded like Adams wanted someone who’d been an AD, not a No. 2, but if being No. 2 at Florida doesn’t stamp a man as first-class … well, what would?
As regrettable as Evans’ exit was, the advent of McGarity will essentially put that matter to rest. Evans was a rising star in the industry, but his successor is no less able. Not many schools would be able to swap out these men in the course of six weeks. It says something about Georgia. Says something about the UGA president, too.
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171 comments Add your comment
FO FI FREE
August 13th, 2010
11:19 am
WATCH FOR THE NAACP TO INTERVINE
BR
August 13th, 2010
11:20 am
TWO correct decisions by Adams so far… the firing of Evans and the hiring of McGarity.. However, as a friend of mine said, “even a broken clock is right twice a day.”
Tech Lifer
August 13th, 2010
11:26 am
Even at 21st, Georgia is way overrated. This hire will help in the long run, but the Dawgs will struggle this year, even with a pancake schedule. CMR and his prayers won’t put Georgia in contention for the SEC title game. Maybe next year….or the next….
DawginLex
August 13th, 2010
11:55 am
POAD, your poem and best wishes for Cuz and his daughter have elevated you to 2nd place on the nerd herd poster list right behind “not dissappointed”.
I'm with Stupid
August 13th, 2010
11:57 am
Has anyone seen Yellow Fuzz or Saint Simons? They’ve been aweful quiet since 30-24.
DawginLex
August 13th, 2010
12:00 pm
POAD, you have been elevated to 2nd on the nerd herd poster list right behind “not dissappointed” based on your prayer for Cuz and Haylie.
DawginLex
August 13th, 2010
12:01 pm
what’s up with my posts? I can’t wish someone well for posting something classy?
DawginLex
August 13th, 2010
12:02 pm
Tried to praise your prayer and best wishes for Cuz but I guess putting your blog handle in makes it un-postable.
ATLDawg, ya dig?
August 13th, 2010
12:02 pm
Leadership? Adams is running a top tier research university and the athletic department an important part of it, but not the only part. I imagine he wanted to hire the best man for the job. With all that’s on his plate, I doubt he’s playing small time politics over Vince Dooley. It blows my mind what a little fishbowl sports writers live in.
ozzfest
August 13th, 2010
12:17 pm
LET’S JUST HOPE HE HAS A CELL PHONE….THAT WAY HE CAN CALL LOUISVILLE AND CANCEL THE 2012 GAME SO WE CAN PLAY USC IN THE DOME.
Pearl Harbor
August 13th, 2010
12:54 pm
The usual UGA haters and detractors come up with some strange comments like this AD news is still a no win for UGA because of so and so and his evening antics, etc or something similar.
To use their logic, Pearl Harbor was reason fopr the USA to be a no show the rest of the way in the 1940s. Events took place at UGA and more events followed …………..UGA hired another good AD candiate and that is that. This is what you do in most any enterprise, except with trash like Bill Clinton, where we were stuck with him till 2000.
Keep on hating UGA …………we Dogs just love it. You are all jealous.
Go Dogs.
DawginLex
August 13th, 2010
1:00 pm
there once was an AD named Greg
who oversaw the mascot of four leg
he wants to beat the gators
and silence all the haters
while keeping his wife’s panties off the news
bigreddawg71
August 13th, 2010
1:15 pm
Great choice, no doubt! But, I sure hope he has read “Behind the Hedges” and knows the territory and the Adam’s era history very well. This is the best news to come out in a long time for the Bulldog Nation !!!
POAD ........take a look at this $$$$$$
August 13th, 2010
1:35 pm
UGa is by all acounts in pretty solid shape. First and foremost is the money situation and UGA is full of cash. Yep, that is the best indication of success ………..money baby. UGA is loaded with it.
The baseball coach will need a good hard look if we repeat in 2011 this past year. The guy has coached UGA Diamond Dogs to tons of RECENT CWS , so maybe he rides for awhile longer. He might get two more years to re visit Omaha. He gets maybe on more year into 2012.
Ladies basketball is where I would IMMEDIATELY go out and hire a new coach. Landers has not done a thing for many years and I am talking SEC titles and deeply advancing in the Tourney. He would be my first hard look, if i were AD GM.
Football and basketball are doing well, thank you. UGA has been to the Sugar Bowl 3 times in 9 years, with two Capitol One Bowls and one Outback and a Chic Fil A Bowl or two and the Independence and the Music City in CMR’s first year. UGA football is second only to Texas in BRAND AWARENESS and this is HUGE to any AD at a major university. This is the school’s platform. BRAND RECOGNITION DENOTES $$$$$. Money talks and jealousy walks.
UGA atheltic department is flush with $$ bread and the fans are excited and the new additions at the UGA Stegman Coliseum and the fact that UGA is the 19th BEST public college in USA according to FORBES magazine is reason to be pumped, if you are AD GM.
ESPN tv casters recently said that “the UGA AD job is right there with the same job at Florida, Ohio State and Texas” as far as PRESTIGE. UGA without that fabled NC lately is A HOT PROPERTY and this ESPN comment validates that ……….along with the MONEY baby.
Welcome home Greg. Enjoy the UGA prestige. You can take it higher. We know this to be true.
UGa detractors?? Oh yeah, keep that hate a coming, cause we Dogs love knowing that you are envious. Gonna put the top down on my convertible and head over to the Tir Delta house and pick up a comely 20 year old from Macon.
Urange Bowl for Tech? Two in 43 years. AAAAAAAAAAAAAHAHAHAHHAHA
Go Dogs.
Steve
August 13th, 2010
2:19 pm
Looks like Adams has finally matured a little. Miracles will never cease.
Josey Welsh
August 13th, 2010
11:31 pm
You’re a correspondent? I thought you were a blogger. Congrats on the promotion!
Dawg Stephen
August 14th, 2010
3:50 pm
This is great. I have actually been BANNED from posting over on Bill Kings joke of a blawg. The haters, pretenders, and obvious people just to be idiots can still post, but a season ticket holder of 11 years, and young man in his 30’s, and REAL FAN of Georgia has been banned. I cannot believe it. well, anyway, thanks ajc for running the worst blog and open forum in all of online media. wow.
http://dawgstephen.blogspot.com/
SOS Dawg
August 14th, 2010
7:12 pm
Quit whining Dawgstephen You use censorship or your blog as well if someone is critical of CMR. Go get laid dude!
ugaclassof2004
August 15th, 2010
11:40 am
Bob,
Why must the Dawgs play a tough out of conference schedule? I mean playing an schedule with Oklahoma State or Colorado and then having to turn around and play an Alabama is hard. This isn’t the NFL where players are getting paid to playing all over the freakin country. Playing a tough out of conference schedule is a virtual guarantee of a couple of losses. And unlike the NFL, where you can lose a few games and still make the playoffs, every loss counts against you in college. Trying to schedule tough non-conference opponents is important if you play in a garbage conference like the MAC or ACC. But UGA plays in the toughest conference in the country! Why schedule tougher games when you already play Florida, Auburn, Bama, and LSU? Besides I’d rather watch UGA play Florida or Tennessee over some BS Pac-10 team anyway. I think all this clamoring for the National Media’s attention makes us look second rate. Florida and Bama doesn’t schedule this way and they are winning championships. So why should we?
Win-Win
August 17th, 2010
9:28 am
Playing Trek every year is a Win-Win Situation
30-24 (WIN) & 73-66 (WIN)
Report: Georgia hires Greg McGarity – ESPN | The Fresno News
September 17th, 2010
9:02 pm
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