What will Michael Adams’ legacy be in regard to UGA athletics?
UGA's athletic facilities saw dramatic improvement during the tenure of Dr. Michael Adams, seen here at the dedication of the expanded football complex in February of 2011. (AJC photo by Curtis Comption)
ATHENS – One of the most successful — and tumultuous — periods in the University of Georgia’s long history will come to an end when Dr. Michael A. Adams officially retires as the school’s president 13 months from now. Adams will make that decision public on Thursday, The AJC has learned.
The question I want to pose is, what will Adams’ legacy be with regard to Georgia’s athletics?
Certainly, Georgia’s athletic teams continued to fare well and maybe even improved during his tenure. He took over for Charles Knapp in 1997, which was coach Jim Donnan’s second year as the Bulldogs’ football coach.
It was only a short time later that UGA supporters witnessed Adams’ willingness to weigh in on athletic matters. After Georgia lost to Georgia Tech for the third year in a row in Athens in November of 2000, Adams — over athletic director Vince Dooley’s objections — made the decision to fire Donnan. It was several years later that we would find out that Adams had also promised Donnan $250,000 in a “secret deal” following the 1997 season.
That was the beginning of several clashes Adams would have with Dooley over athletic matters.
When the Bulldogs needed to hire a new men’s basketball coach, Adams added former UCLA and Rhode Island coach Jim Harrick to Dooley’s list of finalists. Harrick was eventually hired and, after a brief period of on-court success, the program had to vacate wins due to accusations of academic fraud involving basketball players. Harrick was forced to resign.
Around the same time, Dooley, who had been a member of UGA’s athletic association 40 years at that point, asked for a two-year contract extension as Georgia’s athletic director. Adams denied that request despite pressure from several influential members of the UGA Foundation, then the university’s primary fundraiser. Adams eventually granted Dooley a six-month extension, but only to assist in the transition to new athletic director Damon Evans. The controversy eventually led to the dissolution of the foundation.
“He’s been very divisive for the Georgia people,” one prominent UGA alumnus said of Adams. “There are important factions out there that would not come together for a wiener roast under him.”
But while Adams may have been divisive to the fan base, he has also been a beneficial to the teams they love to root for. Virtually every sport for which Georgia fields a team has seen dramatic facilities improvements during Adams’ tenure as chairman of the athletic board (that trend has been duplicated ten-fold on the academic side as he helped secure more than $1 billion for new construction projects). Adams’ tenure as chairman of the NCAA executive committee made him a powerful influence on national matters and in the SEC.
And, of course, because of Adams’ persistence, the Bulldogs ended up with Mark Richt as their football coach in 2001. They have since won two SEC championships after not having won one for 20 years and played in four SEC title games.
“I think he’s done one heck of a job for the university,” said longtime athletic association executive committee member Bob Bishop.
So I pose the question to you. What kind of job do you think Adams did as chairman of Georgia’s athletic board?
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124 comments Add your comment
corey
May 2nd, 2012
10:34 pm
First! adams departure will only help uga athletics. he has been hold the entire university back by his dictatorship!
TDAWG
May 2nd, 2012
10:37 pm
Guess everybody is watching the Braves
G-Max
May 2nd, 2012
10:37 pm
Glad to see him go!
Go Dawgs, let’s bring home the ring!
BBracket
May 2nd, 2012
10:42 pm
Who will Don Leebern pick to replace him?
chavezravinedawg
May 2nd, 2012
10:48 pm
Billy Payne. MR. UPPERCRUST RETIRING, eh? DANG GOOD!
NoogaDawg
May 2nd, 2012
10:53 pm
Good Riddance
FlintstoneDawg
May 2nd, 2012
10:55 pm
Glad that he is final leaving. Maybe we can get the UGA Foundation back and running now that he is gone. I still remember the year that Dooley was forced out and how loudly we all boo’ed Adams during homecoming when he tried to announce the homecoming king and queen. You could not hear anything but the collective dislike of Adams.
AP
May 2nd, 2012
10:56 pm
So in 13 months I will begin contributing once again. I despise the man that much!!! I’ve been telling the alumni association this for the past 10 years every time they call to solicit funds. I’ve been anxiously awaiting this news for a while now.
RunThisState
May 2nd, 2012
11:00 pm
Don’t let the door hit you MA! Best news of the week. Time to blow the lid off this program!
ViningsMike
May 2nd, 2012
11:18 pm
I am SO glad to see Adams go. Now I can start giving money to UGA again! Don’t let the door hit you……..
Dandy Dawg
May 2nd, 2012
11:19 pm
Let’s see – under Adams leadership:
– UGA has won more national titles in his tenure than any other UGA college presidents tenure.
– UGA has renovated it’s facilites to be on par with the best in the nation.
– He guided Dooley to hire Mark Richt.
– Has spent millions in renovating the campus – with plans in place to upgrade and renovate Russell and Brumby (needed in the worse way).
– Got rid of Dooley – who was outstanding in his time – but it bacame more about Dooley and not UGA. When the AD (Dooley) has his hands out to alumni for donations to replace his roof. I’m sorry folks – Dooley needed to pay for his own roof with the salary he was making, I am a huge Dooley fan – but he whould have stepped down on his own a few years before being forced out.
– Academically, under Adams reign – UGA has gone from academic mediocrity to a top 25 public university – with designs to add a medical school and engineering school.
Yes, he is harsh and arrogant – but by gosh folks – look how much UGA has imporved under his tenure. IN the SEC, only Vanderbilt and Florida are considered superior schools academically. And as athletic department as a whole go – UGA is only behind Florida.
You rednecks need to wake up and realize we are losing one of the bvest college presidents in the nation.
corey
May 2nd, 2012
11:25 pm
i would recommend Dr. James Fatzinger from Georgia Gwinnett College to replace him. He is awesome and brings out the best in every single person he comes in contact with. He is younger and inexperienced as of now, but he will be a president of a major college very soon! Most motivating person/professor/administrator i have ever met. Wish everyone at the college level was more like him.
sldkfjslk
May 2nd, 2012
11:28 pm
It’s not just sports. UGA faculty despises the man who cares more about fundraising than supporting the people who make the UGA experience special.
Concerned
May 2nd, 2012
11:30 pm
Giving Adams credit for the improved academic standing at Georgia is like giving a rooster credit for the sunrise.
Atlanta’s booming population and the HOPE Scholarship were the reasons Georgia’s academic standing rose, not Adams’s leadership. He ran off far more talented people than he ever hired only because they did not kiss his ring. His lack of integrity should be his legacy as he was essentially fleecing the University at every turn.
As far as Bob Bishop goes, he was instrumental in the hiring of Ray Goff and did not believe that he should have been relieved of his duties. Consequently, please disregard any statement he might make on the behalf of anything.
GIVE ME A BREAK
May 2nd, 2012
11:31 pm
He should have gone with Damon. Maybe those were MA’s panties.
chavezravinedawg
May 2nd, 2012
11:36 pm
Guided Dooley to hire Richt?…LMAO. Thats a crock of Clowndung…Credibility went outta the door dimwit!
William
May 2nd, 2012
11:46 pm
I’m sure there are good things MA did for the athletic dept., I just can’t think of any. Let’s hope whoever fills the post will be pro athletics. If not, we are no better off.
The Conqueror
May 2nd, 2012
11:55 pm
Adams didn’t call a play,William!-Bobo did .Replace him.
shane#1
May 3rd, 2012
12:10 am
Adams’ greatest feat had nothing to do with athletics. IMO, the best move Adams ever made was the poison pill he slipped to the Georgia legislature when faced with a 200 mil. cut in the University’s budget. Adams said hat it would involve drastic cuts including the 4 H clubs. Since no politician can survive ” hurting the kids” the cuts were modified. Masterful stroke by a shrewd pol. Worst moments? the use of taxpayers money for a condo in Bucxkhead and ocean front property n Costa Rica and completely mishandling Dooley’s firing
politics
May 3rd, 2012
12:14 am
Adams and Playoff=Gore and Internet
currentUGAstudent
May 3rd, 2012
12:19 am
Can the new President of UGA please, PLEASE bring back tailgating on north campus? It’s not the same on the quad @ myers…
bulldog13
May 3rd, 2012
12:33 am
Enter your comments here
bulldog13
May 3rd, 2012
12:45 am
For all those complaining about Michael Adams, of whom I am no fan, remember Charles Knapp. Let’s hope the power brokers in GA unite to get someone who cares about the long term success of the University and the state. Chuck Knapp may have had a Tulane pedigree, and Mike Adams his Centre College prowess, but no one has represented Georgia like Fred Davison. I hope we can find a qualified Georgia-man once again. All the money and power of the position will never produce the results of a man who, appropriately qualified and competent, loves Georgia. The results would be astounding!
www.fireCMR.edu
May 3rd, 2012
12:49 am
Adams was great for Academia-under his Presidency he weeded out the old stodgy-school, Dooley-Evans helped reap-in millions of $$$$ for athletic program…TIME FOR RICHT AND STAFF TO GOOOOOOO. I, for one, want SEC and National Titles!
1953dawg
May 3rd, 2012
1:42 am
One down, two to go. That’s what will be left of the 3 stooges that run the UGA athletic program. Adams, McGarity and RIcht have brought the UGA football program to the mediocre state it is in now. UGA has been irrelevant in the SEC for 7 years now, and it hasn’t been competitive in big time games since W.Virginia kicked their asses in the Sugar Bowl in 2005. Yet UGA fans continue to hope that this pitiful president and his hand picked head coach and A.D. will stop being the laughing stock of the SEC in football. Hopefully the new president will have passion for UGA athletics and he will see that McGarity is nothing but a bag of hot air, and the new president will not buy into Rev. Richt’s soft ass football program. It is a total joke when NFL executives and coaches label the football program and the players as soft. Richt should be embarrassed of the national perception the program has under his leadership. I have always asked in previous posts when will the nightmare end in athens. It will start to end in 13 months.Hopefully the new president will end the nightmare for good and get rid of the 2 other stooges(Richt&McGarity)
EP
May 3rd, 2012
2:08 am
He consistently under invested in the football program (only allowing it to keep 30-40% of the omen football brought in) and made it increasing difficult to support the program by making impossible much on campus tailgating and through under investment in infrastructure versus minor (sorry, but it is true) Universities like Alabama. He was right that UGA s/d be on the national and global stage, just like Atlanta and the rest of our state. He was wrong to assume that football was an impediment to that effort. And he presided over a MASSIVE increase in administrative overhead. Plus he had a vindictive streak. He was a fighter who ruled our university as if he knew better what it needed. He was wrong.
SCarolina DAWGS
May 3rd, 2012
2:29 am
From across the River – We Say – ” Go to Hell ADAMS” and do not let the door hit your arogant ass on the way out!!!! Man are we glad to see him go – the quicker the better!!!!!
Old Guy
May 3rd, 2012
2:53 am
How good a hire was Damon Evans? He sure put red panties in the news.
FLORIDA DAWG
May 3rd, 2012
4:23 am
Maybe we can go back to being the UNIVERSITY OF GEORGIA and drop the idea of being the Harvard of the South.
THE REAL PHIL
May 3rd, 2012
4:42 am
Just like AP I have been telling these kids from the University that call Alumni wanting donations that I will not contribute as long as he was there. He and he alone threw those kids on the basketball team under the bus when he wouldn’t allow them to play in the tournament in order to save his butt. Never thought there was the first inkling of integrity in that man since then, He’s not done so well in other areas besides athletics. The University has grown IN SPITE of this man. Good riddance.
DawgNation
May 3rd, 2012
5:16 am
He is leaving under his own terms and I am sure he will be instrumental in picking who replaces him. I don’t think the University is out of the woods just yet. Glad he is going but 13 months is a long time.
snake
May 3rd, 2012
5:24 am
I is what I is.
Big time?? Not
May 3rd, 2012
5:32 am
A generation of Georgia graduates children were forced to go elsewhere because of his desire to be Harvard Auburn , bama, sc, Florida ( the horror. ) all benefited. So we lose that generation that would grave cheered the Dogs. Good riddance. Pompous a;:###
John Lee
May 3rd, 2012
6:49 am
Like the earlier postings, I’ve declined contributing to the school since this arrogant self serving jerk surfaced.Giving him any credit for the rise in academic rankings is to simply not pay any attention to the effects of the lottery funding, as well as the growth of the state.The complete narcissism and self centeredness of this man, epitomized by the hiring of Harrick and the subsequent mess that resulted, is the “legacy” of this loser.
Good riddance!
Sopwith Camel
May 3rd, 2012
6:54 am
We have to keep him around for another 13 months?? Why can’t he go now??
ksleezy
May 3rd, 2012
7:04 am
He’ll always be the (fill in the blank here) that ran Coach Dooley out of town.
Roy
May 3rd, 2012
7:07 am
Don’t wait leave now!
old salty dawg
May 3rd, 2012
7:10 am
Adams’ departure will be a boon for UGA’s Athletic Department. He is a Peperdine Jerk! Perhaps Dooley will get the recognition he deserves, now.
Drago
May 3rd, 2012
7:13 am
Will Adams’ wife retire too?
BobDawg
May 3rd, 2012
7:24 am
Be careful what you ask for … I remember the dufus Fred Davidson during my academic days there and beside the Vet school, not much happened during his tenure. Adams had to make a lot of hard calls and while he ruffled feathers, he drove the University into a top 20 institution and set the total Sports programs up for constant success….
Big Al
May 3rd, 2012
7:28 am
Excited to see Adams go. Wish it was quicker.
He was, is, and will always be a F _ _ k up!
BobDawg
May 3rd, 2012
7:32 am
I also remember the Red and Black made it their mission to oust Fred D. No one likes the U. President ever… and yes Fund raising is what they are there for… Watch a Univ. go downhill fast when the funds dry up…..
JB
May 3rd, 2012
7:38 am
Hire a top notch football coach who can run the University ala Saban and let’s win a Crystal Football.
Hope the Athens police chief leaves with him.
DBasham
May 3rd, 2012
7:39 am
Chip, why did you gloss over Mike Adams’ involvement in the Tony Cole debacle? And Richt would have come to UGA regardless of who was President. Are you really suggesting otherwise?
True Dawg
May 3rd, 2012
7:44 am
Good riddance to a sorry leader!!!!! Just wish it could of been years earlier!! We have had 0 yes that is ZERO- did you hear me I said 0 BCS football championships under Adams- I would help him pack his bags!
kingdaddy
May 3rd, 2012
7:51 am
@Micahel Adams
Don’t let the screendoor hit ya, where the Good Lord split ya…
Freehawk
May 3rd, 2012
8:00 am
He got his son a good education at Emory.
smyrnaguy
May 3rd, 2012
8:01 am
Hooray! Gotta figure he had some dirt on members of the board of regents to survive like he did through many bad moments.
Dap01
May 3rd, 2012
8:06 am
I don’t recall anyone talking about Michael Adams. No UGA fan even thinks of Adams. Who cares?
Dap01
May 3rd, 2012
8:06 am
Hearing a Michael Adams update is about equal to the Soccer updates on ESPN.
Chip Towers
May 3rd, 2012
8:09 am
DBasham: No, not saying that at all. I’m saying UGA couldn’t have hired CMR without Adams’ decision to oust Donnan. Otherwise, Donnan would have stayed on another year and Richt would have ended up somewhere else.
DogWatcher
May 3rd, 2012
8:27 am
It seems to be very fashionable to dislike Adams. I don’t agree with every decision he made, but he did a very fine job overall. I liked his old-school, authoritative style. Then again, I liked Bowie Kuhn also. Regardless, Adams absolutely knew what he was doing and was good for UGA athletics and UGA in general.
John Withers
May 3rd, 2012
8:28 am
He did some good things but anyone who divides the house is not a leader. Arrogant is the best word I can come up with to describe Adams. He will not be missed, and Yes, I will now contribute again, but don’t call until he leaves.
uncle kirk
May 3rd, 2012
8:34 am
1953 Dawg
you gotta be the dumbest person on this blog. would you care to see where the football program was for 15 years before Richt got here. I guess the Dawgs were feared by all from 1983 til Richt got here…..Dumbass
collegeballfan
May 3rd, 2012
8:34 am
“What will Michael Adams’ legacy be in regard to UGA athletics?”
Your kidding, right?
Athletics does not matter. What matters is the academic side of the university. And Adams has made Georgia one of the nation’s finest public universities.
But if one insist on looking at athletics, just look at the number of conference and national titles under and Adams compared to all previous presidents since Abraham Baldwin.
UA Grad
May 3rd, 2012
8:36 am
All my UGA Alum friends tell me Adams was just a big Richard Head. Do you think your stadium will now rightly be called Sanford-Dooley Stadium? I hope so. Coach Dooley was a class act.
Roll Tide!
LakeDawg
May 3rd, 2012
8:36 am
MA can kiss me where the sun don’t shine. Good news and good riddance!
logical jacket
May 3rd, 2012
8:39 am
Word around the Capitol is Sonny Perdue had already begun the full court press.
dawgfan
May 3rd, 2012
8:49 am
Maybe he could have handled the Dooley thing a little better but people need to let it go. He was a great president. Its not all about the football team people. The rest of the university has thrived under him. And even if it is all about the football team, it would have been a disaster to keep Donnan around any longer. And cry me a freaking river about not being able to tailgate on North Campus. Maybe if you could conduct yourselves like adults and not trash the place like a bunch of children you’d still be able to tailgate there.
Thanks.
Moneyball
May 3rd, 2012
8:57 am
Newt for Prez!
bubba4dawgs
May 3rd, 2012
8:58 am
Bobby Petrino is available and I hear he really likes UGA coeds! Give him a new motorcycle and he’ll take the job! Seriously, don’t know too much about Adams, just hope UGA gets a good president! They sure have enough time to search! If politics is left out of the selection and the interest of UGA comes first, a better selection will be made! GO UGA, GO DAWGS!!!
Moneyball
May 3rd, 2012
9:10 am
@FlintstoneDawg, I was at that homecoming game as well. The crowd drowning him out with their boos was worth the price of admission.
truedawg
May 3rd, 2012
9:15 am
Adams was the driving force to get CMR. period!! Dooley was a great coach, but very arrogant as well, and was very happy being mediocre under Donnan. Dooley might have gotten a NT, but it was Buck Belue and L. Scott that talked Walker to coming to UGA, not Dooley. Without Walker, no NT!! Love him or hate him, UGA is a far better place to get a degree and with sports than it was before he came to Athens. Oh and before you say I’m crazy about 34, ask Buck..at a basketball game, walker was still thinking military. Week after the Belue and Scott visit, he signs with the DAWGS!!
Not saying Adams was perfect, but UGA is better now, than before him! GO DAWGS!!
Laurens SC
May 3rd, 2012
9:17 am
Donnan was the man who brought football back! Goff had run it into the ground and Donnan came in and made it respectible. Richts best years were with Donnans players.
MA is trash and I think he saw a great coach who could have challenged him in the battle of power so he fired him.
old dawg
May 3rd, 2012
9:18 am
good riddance. now let’s get that napolean bootlegger on the athletic board off and finish cleaning house of these megalomaniacs.
Big Dawg Daddy
May 3rd, 2012
9:19 am
Glad to see him go. Nothing good to say about the man except Bye!
Bobby B
May 3rd, 2012
9:24 am
The truth is ALWAYS somewhere in the middle. Hard to give him too much credit for the athletic facility improvements, that was a necessity to keep up in the SEC arms race….there are examples of needed improvements he has delayed or denied. And things like the the $250K secret deal with Donnan prove that he was all about M Adams wanting to do it his way, rather than properly through the system. Had any of the athletic directors made such a deal without approval and disclosure, he would have fired them….double standards? Read “Behind the Hedges” for more examples of his nature and similar double standards.
On the academic side, he certainly deserves much of the credit for the campus expansion and capital improvements. And some of the credit perhaps for the academic improvements during his tenure……but, his tenure pretty much paralleled the HOPE scholarship beginnings and the impact it had. That $$$ kept many of the best and brightest in state.
Pete Van Weird
May 3rd, 2012
9:28 am
Anyone who has been truly associated with the University, whether as an academic or athlete, will be glad to see the bean counter go. However, he did have his favorites; gymdawgs, but not block and bridle, for instance. Divisive is the perfect word for his tenure. I am glad to see it come to an end.
Dr. Phil
May 3rd, 2012
9:31 am
As has been mentioned here, Adams’ success was primarily due to the renorming of the SAT in 1998, which added about 80 points to scores. Adams immediately took credit for raising entrance scores by 80 points. Enrollment and academic preparation of admissions increased when the HOPE Scholarship encouraged top students to remain in GA. When Adams arrived, he promptly fired key administrators and replaced them with lackys. His chief of staff was a politician from the GA Legislature, empowered to write checks at Adams’ bidding from the Foundation. Adams constructed a Roman-like suite to entertain Sonny Perdue and other politicians at the stadium. After a number of academic and financial scandals, the College of Arts and Science gave Adams a no confidence vote of 74%. Adams should have been fired, but his patrons, Sonny Perdue and Regent Leebron coddled him, and Perdue’s hand-picked Board of Regents turned a blind eye. Tony Coles, Jim Harrick, and Damon Evans are testiment to Adams’ manipulating and tinkering. Richt’s program has been successful but made UGA a laughingstock with player arrests and misbehavior. In short, Adams has been an opportunist and self promoter. It will take years for the University to recover. I wonder if he will take his $500,000 desk with him when he goes. Probably.
Red Clay Hound
May 3rd, 2012
9:32 am
Who will we boo at Homecoming now?
THE Dixie Redcoat Band
May 3rd, 2012
9:32 am
We can just win a bowl game some year!
UGA Insider
May 3rd, 2012
9:34 am
Everyone can thank me and my friends now………… We have been tirelessly sending emails to the Gov for Adams to step down. While he has done some good he has brought many athletic programs have su
Ted Striker
May 3rd, 2012
9:36 am
Arrogant. Unpopular. Overpaid.
Brilliant. Effective. A visionary and a difference maker.
UGA has more prestige academically and athletically now than when he arrived. He has been good for my alma mater. And for those who say you won’t contribute just because he is there, then clearly you 1) put your dislike of one person over your love for the university and 2) probably are just using that as an excuse not to give
UGA Insider
May 3rd, 2012
9:38 am
suffered.
Sorry
crossdawg
May 3rd, 2012
9:43 am
Best news I ‘ve had in a while. VINCE DOOLEY FOR PRESIDENT.
JB
May 3rd, 2012
9:44 am
If you are a college coach and want a job forever for mediocre results, UGA is your place under Adams.
mcdaviddawg
May 3rd, 2012
9:45 am
It’s been overdue. It’s a day of celebration for the university. Maybe now we can get someone more interested in the university than themselves.
JB
May 3rd, 2012
9:48 am
What a buffoon. I will never forget how childish and unprofessional his “34 cent” commentary was that he directed at Herschel Walker.
HBTD!!!
UGA Insider
May 3rd, 2012
9:49 am
Billy Payne will be hired as the new GA Pres.
a.p. dawg
May 3rd, 2012
9:55 am
My biggest problem with Adams (and Knapp for that matter) is that it is too hard for in-state, qualified, students (unless you are from metro Atlanta) to get into UGA. Fred Davidson understood that as the flagship of the university system of Georgia, a degree from the university needed to be accessible and attainable to primarily in-state students (since their parents live in state and pay state taxes). Dr Davidson was an alumni of the university, loved the university, and bled red and black just like all of us alumni do. Why can’t we hire another alumni of UGA to be our president?
Jborodawg
May 3rd, 2012
9:57 am
Adams will probably go down as a very good “university” president. But, he had little to do with any athletics department success. Most of our success in athletics has been due to the AD’s and coaches. Most of the embarrassing moments in athletics has been his doing. His handling of Coach Dooley is unforgivable.
Old Dawg
May 3rd, 2012
9:59 am
He is now, and ever shall be known to UGA students, alums, faculty, staff and fans as Darth Adams, Dark Lord Sith.
In other words, a complete scumbag.
G-Dawg
May 3rd, 2012
10:04 am
Not sure what to make of the Adams situation! Seems academically was good for the university? Or was it all just smoke and mirrors? And being too involved in the athletic depts business decisions?
PAC
May 3rd, 2012
10:06 am
He has done a good job with the Educational aspect of the school, but what he did to Vince Dooley is unforgivable. Maybe now the school will finally add Dooley’s name to the stadium.
Alphare
May 3rd, 2012
10:08 am
Without Adams, Donnan would still be the UGA coach, Vince Dooley would still be the status quo until he chooses his day to retire while his secretary runs the Athletic Department.
Alphare
May 3rd, 2012
10:13 am
I am glad most UGA fans are not qualified to run a university, or the biggest university of my state would not be fixed until it’s all in a shamble.
BulldogBen
May 3rd, 2012
10:21 am
Besides all of the reasons people have posted, his legacy of destroying the tailgate culture on gamedays is a biggie for me. I started UGA the 2 years before he arrived and RV’s could still get in on Friday and park any just about any lot. People who got to campus early, got whatever spots they wanted. It was an all weekend festival atmospshere.
Cut to present day and any parking spot even remotely close to the stadium will cost you $1500+, most parking deck passes are gone in July, and you can set up anything until 5 hours before kickoff.
Crying shame and the next guy won’t reverse any of it because it’ll be viewed as being an enabler to “partying” when that couldn’t be further from the truth. I always viewed it as an expression of their passion for UGA football.
Don'tsufferfools
May 3rd, 2012
10:27 am
Like or dislike Adams and Dooley, giving Dooley 2 more years back in 2003 with the understanding that would be all could have avoided the nastiness. Evans still would have become AD. Adams would not tolerate Dooley because Dooley would not let Adams have athletic money for nonathletic spending. Plus Dooley was too popular with most of the Georgia people. Even those that did not like his coaching appreciated the way Dooley treated folks. The entire athletic program has become indifferent toward winning during Adams’ tenure. Coincidence, or not?
George Stein
May 3rd, 2012
10:35 am
I’m a bit surprised by the reaction here. I know he comes across as arrogant, but the University of Georgia has seen tremendous academic improvement during his tenure (HOPE clearly had something to do with that) and the athletics have been good, too. I guess the Dooley thing could have been handled a bit better, but in total, it’s difficult to find much fault in his work.
NC Dawg
May 3rd, 2012
10:42 am
I will never forget that moment when UGA VII was being introduced at mid-field. Adams wouldn’t wear UGA colors. Blue sportcoat and khaki slacks!! Do those colors ring a bell? Bye Adams!
http://projects.ajc.com/gallery/view/sports/uga/uga0830/8.html
JB
May 3rd, 2012
10:42 am
George, you are correct on all points. Dooley was not 100 % loved, but widely loved, and Adams did not do him right after all he had done for UGA. Few remember he turned down Auburn to go back home when he was a hot commodity.
My $.02
May 3rd, 2012
11:31 am
Cannot come too soon. Adams is an arrogant prick who should be going to jail, not retiring. I wonder if UGA will start calling me for money again? i told them to take me off the list until he was gone.
sr. citizen dawg
May 3rd, 2012
11:33 am
His legacy will always be “he rejected Dooley” ! Thats what he’ll be remembered for. For that reason, I reject Adams ! Selah !
Jesus christ
May 3rd, 2012
11:36 am
Stop admitting so many low class, redneck students.
Funny Bunny
May 3rd, 2012
11:37 am
Nominate Leebern and Yucolan, they can give free booze to players, and ” Shack-Up ” in the President’s House.
UGA Insider
May 3rd, 2012
11:38 am
What is the books name that the AJC journalist wrote about Adams then went missing? I never read that one.
Black Mountain Bulldog
May 3rd, 2012
11:51 am
The guy is a pompous jerk.
www
May 3rd, 2012
11:52 am
the question is how did he keep his job for as long as he did?
DawginTX
May 3rd, 2012
11:53 am
It’s a great day for the University of Georgia, at least it will be when that jerk steps down in 2013. He was supposed to be a great fund raiser, but instead was a great spender. Professors almost universally despise him but won’t speak out publicly for fear of reprisal from the dictator. And a university president should not be making athletic department decisions, regardless of how they turn out. He pushed out one of the most respected people in college athletics in the last 50 years and put in his puppet, a guy who made us a laughing stock. The university and individual college rankings have not increased since he came, and some college have declined. Georgia is where it is academically thanks to Chuck Knapp, not Michael Adams. June 2013 can’t come soon enough.
GaDawg_2004
May 3rd, 2012
12:18 pm
I worked at the UGA Library and was part of the evacuation during the fire in July, 2003. After a few hours from the start, Adams comes strolling down from across the quad and worked the crowd, shaking hands. Mysteriously he ends up with ash on his cheek clearly showing he was very involved with the disaster. He posed for a picture with a grim look on his face (which of course was the front page picture of the Herald/R&B the next day) and left after no more than 10 minutes. Always the politician!!!!
Dawg Haus
May 3rd, 2012
12:37 pm
Farewell to the quintessential politician. The Athletic Association will certainly be better off without him. Dooley for prez!
Free At Last, Free At Last...
May 3rd, 2012
12:42 pm
Hey Mike Adams, thanks for wasting tons of UGA money, hiring your wife for a privately appointed assistant position, being a total toolbag, and pretty much being hated by everybody from students to faculty to alumni. Go walk your a$$ into oncoming traffic. We can’t stand you and we never could. Good Riddance Biooooooooooooooootch!!!
McDawg
May 3rd, 2012
12:49 pm
he understands the NCAA and the economics better than any AD in the country-his legacy will be a BCS playoff system
Homepage | MrSEC
May 3rd, 2012
1:09 pm
[...] 10. But what will athletics legacy be for the man who forced out Jim Donnan and Vince Dooley, who hired Mark Richt and Jim Harrick, and who long ago for a college football playoff system? Adams has been a controversial figure to say the least. [...]
DirtyDawg
May 3rd, 2012
1:09 pm
I’ve been trying to remember the former coach/athletics dept member (seems to me that he also, at one time or another, was at both Tech and UVA), that wrote an ‘open’ letter, to Adams as I recall, that basically laid waste to Adams’ megalomaniacal management style. One that saw him, Adams, fire the Heads of every School at the University, regardless of their tenure or accomplishments, iover the first year or two of his ‘rule’, and announce to the author of the letter that Dooley was the last one on his ‘hit list’…point being that he didn’t want anybody working for him that wasn’t beholden to him, or in other words, wouldn’t ‘kiss his a$$’.
That’ll be the thing that I’ll always remember about him…along with the fact that if Vince hadn’t enlisted the ‘help’ of Atlanta’s premier PR huckster, Bob Hope, who convinced Vince that pulling embarrassing stunts like pushing a red wheelbarrow full of signatures supporting Dooley in front of the State Capitol and those childish, insulting, outdoor billboards were good ideas – in other words if they hadn’t turned off so many, and along with it make Adams seem a sympathetic figure – Vince might still be AD and Adams announcing his planned retirement from Tennessee. Of course we wouldn’t have Richt and McGarity running he show, which I think is great.
bingdon
May 3rd, 2012
1:10 pm
Glad he’s gone. Seems like the kind of guy who would be very difficult to work around or for.
As far as I can tell, however, he doesn’t play any sports so his leaving will have zero impact on them.
No recruit is going to say, gee, I’m not coming here because Adams is leaving. Like the Billy Payned idea. A lot. I’ll keep my fingers crossed on that one.
YoungDawg
May 3rd, 2012
1:14 pm
OK now we can go SPEND the majority of the Athletic Dept. Budget on FOOTBALL. I’ll continue to repeat 2 things: 1. UGA makes the most money in the SEC so we should spend the most on FOOTBALL. 2. From Board of Regents down to the ball boys if you’re not helping us WIN National Championships then GET OUT! The main person causing #1 which wasn’t helping #2 is leaving so let’s replace him with someone that will do the right & logical thing! Football is paying the freight so for the most profitable Athletic Dept. in the SEC so NO OTHER School should EVER out spend US!!! Let’s get an Indoor Practice Facility built ASAP! Then go renovate Sanford’s concourses into an NFL style stadium like Alabama, Auburn, LSU & Tennessee have! GO DAWGS! GATA!
ATLcracker
May 3rd, 2012
1:15 pm
I agree with concerned 11:30 pm. I think Adams has underperformed. Given the advantage of the Hope scholarship at keeping bright kids in state it’s hard to explain why Gergia is not right there with UVA and UNC. I also think having a third party payer like the Hope gave him very little incentive to control overall tuition costs and priced a lot of Georgia kids out of the game.
His legacy?
May 3rd, 2012
1:33 pm
Mishandling the Dooley affair, the Jim Donnan situation AND OF COURSE, the Jim Harrikc Sr. and Jr. era in basketball. These issues all close together, reall sullied UGA’s Athletic Department.
Glad that he is leaving.
Class of 71 & 73
ATLcracker
May 3rd, 2012
1:42 pm
article about the book Behind The Hedges
http://www.newsouthbooks.com/pages/2009/04/10/controversial-uga-book-behind-the-hedges-receives-community-media-attention/
gdawg
May 3rd, 2012
1:47 pm
Mike Adams has dedicated his life to academics and the last 16 years to UGA. UGA has achieved high marks for academincs & athletics never achieved before. everyone associated with UGA is a part of this performance and every ship has to have a Captain. A ship’s captain commands and managers all ship’s personnel, and is typically in charge of the ship’s accounting, payrolls, inventories and complies with all laws and guidlines set by the appropriate sanctioning bodies. In my personal opinion, Mike Adams is this person. thanks Mr Adams for 16 going on 17 years. all the best to you in the future.
UGASlobberknocker
May 3rd, 2012
1:47 pm
No class scumbag?
UGASlobberknocker
May 3rd, 2012
1:51 pm
It was the Hope Scholarship, not Mikey that caused UGA’s emergence. he was just lucky enough to be here.He was an autocratic imperious boor who people could not stand, even if they had to tolerate him. A whole book has been written about his abuses while in office.
From an athletic standpoint he was a nightmare, treating Dooley poorly, pushing the Harrick and Evans hires, and generally being an obtrusive pain.
good riddance, Doc, please dont come back to visit.
UGASlobberknocker
May 3rd, 2012
1:52 pm
@gdawg
Adams has dedicated his whole life to Mike Adams. ck out the link right before your post. The guy was a borderline felon when it came to state controlled money.
Buckeye
May 3rd, 2012
1:55 pm
He was the leader of the Lady Gym dogs and otherwise mostly wanabee dogs.
Buckeye
May 3rd, 2012
1:56 pm
Bring back Jan Kemp!
BD
May 3rd, 2012
2:01 pm
This is one of the BRIGHTEST MOMENTS in UGA History !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Leye O.
May 3rd, 2012
2:37 pm
Hey boys, I have been a dawg fan for more that six years of my life. During these six years, Micheal Adams has been the president of UGA, and I don’t know about ya’ll, but in these past few years I am not sure if I have ever been more proud of our athletic program. Sure Dr. Micheal dealt with some problems during his administration, but how would you measure ones leadership without a time of crisis. Furthermore, Mike, from a dawg to another, you’ll be missed. God bless.
HeyDawg
May 3rd, 2012
4:51 pm
Had to respond after reading DandyDawg’s comments, what a clueless idiot. Adams was NOT the reason for greatly improved academics at UGA. The improvement occured 3-4 years before his hiring, ad that was because HOPE kept all the good students in-state, and the first choice for in-state schools is usually UGA. Heck, ol’ Zell Miller did that. Adams always tried to take credit for the academics, and would talk that up every chance he could. Adams is a jerk and I’m glad to see his sorry butt go. He will never be remembered fondly among alumni, and there won’t even be a park bench named after him.
crusher dawg
May 3rd, 2012
6:11 pm
Some good things occurred during his tenure while there were several bad things that happened. He tore the heart out of an athletic program by forcing Coach Dooley out. The one person that held the program together. Best thing was he did was hire Coach Richt for which we are thankful. However he caused more controversy than good. Thank him for his service and get him out now………
ugab
May 3rd, 2012
10:30 pm
Drug testing and getting kids suspended// Adams got to go along w CMR
Pitbull
May 4th, 2012
5:24 pm
Michael Adams’ legacy will be the Jim Harrick NCAA basketball probation since the school was forced to hire his Pepperdine buddy and it will be Damon “Red Panties” Evans.
Quite a legacy to be proud of, right Michael?
Pitbull
May 4th, 2012
5:30 pm
Oh and let’s not forget when you were booed out of Sanford Stadium after escorting the Homecoming Queen to midfield after you ousted Vince Dooley. That had to be a highlight for your time in Athens right?
Or how about the time the basketball team walked to your office to ask you to reconsider your decision to keep UGA out of the SEC and possibly NCAA tournaments after your Pepperdine buddy Jim Harrick shipwrecked the program and you called the police on them rather than sit down with them and talk with them like a real man would do? That was a highlight too wasn’t it?
Chris Mike
May 4th, 2012
6:31 pm
Well he is a big reason why Ga did’nt fire Coach Rict. So with saying that good by. We need a person that what to grow young men on the field and off. UGA has been punish for the last decade with coaches and AD’s that look at sports as being secondary. That the the problem UGA fans put sports as primary and as a UGA fan we deserve better.