Worst athletic department in the country?

[Jake_Taylor]

I'm curious if anybody else has covered an athletic department that was as bad overall as this one high school in my town.

This year the football team went 0-10, closest game was a 28-point loss.
The volleyball team had it's best season ever, went something like 7-15.
Boys cross country was last in the league. Girls had four runners.
The boys basketball team is 0-22. Girls are 2-20 and haven't won a game in league play.
Boys and girls winter track teams finished last in the league, no first-place finishes in any event.
Wrestling and swimming teams are winless.

I'll be surprised if any of the spring sports teams do much better.

 

[JBHawkEye]

We have one in our area that a couple of years ago, the boys basketball team won one game and the girls team went winless, the football team went winless, and the baseball team won three games. The soccer team went to state, though, the only success they had.

 

[write then drink]

why is this on the journalism topics board?

 

[Jake_Taylor]

I was asking other journalists if they have ever covered a school that bad.

 

[slappy4428]

True story: After Western Michigan fired Jack Harbaugh as football coach several years ago, Bo Schembechler labeled the WMU athletic department with that very phrase. Actually, it was "That is the worst athletic department in the entire United. States. of AMERICA!"
A few months later, a higher-up in the U-M athletic department applied for a job as WMU's AD.
As a reference, the person put down -- wait for it -- yes, Bo Schembechler.

it's all I got...

 

[Jeremy Goodwin]

If we're lucky, someone from ESPN is reading this, will pitch this as a concept and we will see a state-by-state rundown during the summer.

 

[MidwestSportsGuy]

If we're lucky, someone from ESPN is reading this, will pitch this as a concept and we will see a state-by-state rundown during the summer.

... And Bill Simmons will take credit for the idea.

But seriously. JT, do you drink at work? If not, I think it'd be perfectly acceptable to start.

 

[Shifty Squid]

I'm curious if anybody else has covered an athletic department that was as bad overall as this one high school in my town.

This year the football team went 0-10, closest game was a 28-point loss.
The volleyball team had it's best season ever, went something like 7-15.
Boys cross country was last in the league. Girls had four runners.
The boys basketball team is 0-22. Girls are 2-20 and haven't won a game in league play.
Boys and girls winter track teams finished last in the league, no first-place finishes in any event.
Wrestling and swimming teams are winless.

I'll be surprised if any of the spring sports teams do much better.

Oh, I've got one.

- Football was 0-10 this year, has lost 28 straight games and lost by scores of 76-0, 63-0, 66-7, 56-0, 55-0 and 52-0.
- Boys basketball team is 1-20
- Girls basketball is 0-19
- Volleyball was 0-8
- Cross country teams finished last in the region for both boys and girls.
- Baseball team was 1-18 in 2008 and doesn't look like it'll be improved.
- No softball, swimming, tennis, golf or lacrosse teams. Soccer teams are no good, but not sure what their records were.

 

[Taylee]

Local school has football, boys and girls soccer, boys and girls cross country, girls volleyball, girls tennis and boys golf in the fall and recorded one victory in 2006. Big school started playing lower-division schools in non-league and think they combined for five wins last fall.

 

[Cosmo]

Alcorn State.

NEXT!

 

[slappy4428]

Alcorn State.

NEXT!

Savannah State

 

[Jeremy Goodwin]

I'm curious if anybody else has covered an athletic department that was as bad overall as this one high school in my town.

This year the football team went 0-10, closest game was a 28-point loss.
The volleyball team had it's best season ever, went something like 7-15.
Boys cross country was last in the league. Girls had four runners.
The boys basketball team is 0-22. Girls are 2-20 and haven't won a game in league play.
Boys and girls winter track teams finished last in the league, no first-place finishes in any event.
Wrestling and swimming teams are winless.

I'll be surprised if any of the spring sports teams do much better.

Oh, I've got one.

- Football was 0-10 this year, has lost 28 straight games and lost by scores of 76-0, 63-0, 66-7, 56-0, 55-0 and 52-0.
- Boys basketball team is 1-20
- Girls basketball is 0-19
- Volleyball was 0-8
- Cross country teams finished last in the region for both boys and girls.
- Baseball team was 1-18 in 2008 and doesn't look like it'll be improved.
- No softball, swimming, tennis, golf or lacrosse teams. Soccer teams are no good, but not sure what their records were.

What kind of volleyball season is 8 matches? You should be able to get that in two weekends early in the season at tournaments.

 

[John Kaltefleiter]

Are SIDs included in this thread? If so, I'll throw my dart at South Carolina. Clueless is putting it nicely. Those folks in Columbia, with the exception of their baseball pointman, Andrew, were always in utter disarray.
I once saw a fellow writer (and former co-worker from a sister shop) get into a shouting match with one of their female skeezers following a night football game. She promised to bring out so-and-so and reneged last minute. That was the same night the SID's wireless network and ethernet repeatedly petered out during the game and of course keeled over right on deadline.
But that's nothing.
A good friend of mine and former colleague drove over there from Georgia to do a one-on-one interview with two players from the home state. He'd called on Thursday before game week to set it up and the South Carolina SID said, "Sure, c'mon over Monday and we'll get it done."
Well, he showed up Monday early afternoon to conduct the interview and head for home when he was informed last minute that the players wouldn't be available until the Tuesday presser. So, he booked a room for the night and figured he'd be westward ho sometime after 1 p.m. the next day.
He arrived at the presser early and still, the players he requested were no where to be found. The main football SID apologized and asked for the writer's cell, assuring him that they would call. The writer wound up camping out in his car outside Williams-Brice Stadium and at one point saw the two players walking into the stadium for practice. Three hours later, an hour after practice, the call finally came and the interview got done -- with the writer melting in his car on the cell phone in the stadium's parking lot.

Like I said, no-talent assclowns are prevalent in Columbia.

 

[Shifty Squid]

I'm curious if anybody else has covered an athletic department that was as bad overall as this one high school in my town.

This year the football team went 0-10, closest game was a 28-point loss.
The volleyball team had it's best season ever, went something like 7-15.
Boys cross country was last in the league. Girls had four runners.
The boys basketball team is 0-22. Girls are 2-20 and haven't won a game in league play.
Boys and girls winter track teams finished last in the league, no first-place finishes in any event.
Wrestling and swimming teams are winless.

I'll be surprised if any of the spring sports teams do much better.

Oh, I've got one.

- Football was 0-10 this year, has lost 28 straight games and lost by scores of 76-0, 63-0, 66-7, 56-0, 55-0 and 52-0.
- Boys basketball team is 1-20
- Girls basketball is 0-19
- Volleyball was 0-8
- Cross country teams finished last in the region for both boys and girls.
- Baseball team was 1-18 in 2008 and doesn't look like it'll be improved.
- No softball, swimming, tennis, golf or lacrosse teams. Soccer teams are no good, but not sure what their records were.

What kind of volleyball season is 8 matches? You should be able to get that in two weekends early in the season at tournaments.

If I remember correctly, they played a non-region schedule because the program is still in its infancy, even though the school has been there forever. Not that I've been paying a whole lot of attention to their volleyball team. Nor any of their other teams, for that matter.

 

[dixiehack]

From my first job, the exploits of Failtown High. A lot of this I've covered in previous posts.

• Football team begins the year guaranteed a playoff berth, because it is in a 2-team area. Gets boat raced in first five games or so, gets blown out by the other team in its area, then has everyone from the sophomore class up quit the team. Failtown skips a week, comes back to play homecoming with freshmen and junior high kids, loses, then calls off rest of season.
• Boys basketball loses every single game, with exception of opening round of district tournament. Best player is 5'6" kid built like Corky from Life Goes On who can make an occasional trey. Coach refuses to grant interviews or provide team's record. Possesion arrow busted in home gym, official scorer moves empty paper cup back and forth as needed.
• Girls basketball and softball are only two sports with (slightly) winning records. Both coached by same guy, who married a former player within a year of her graduation. Girls basketball team has no cheerleaders. Boys basketball has cheerleaders once girls finish their game, shower, and change into cheer outfits.

 

[slappy4428]

From my first job, the exploits of Failtown High. A lot of this I've covered in previous posts.

• Football team begins the year guaranteed a playoff berth, because it is in a 2-team area. Gets boat raced in first five games or so, gets blown out by the other team in its area, then has everyone from the sophomore class up quit the team. Failtown skips a week, comes back to play homecoming with freshmen and junior high kids, loses, then calls off rest of season.
• Boys basketball loses every single game, with exception of opening round of district tournament. Best player is 5'6" kid built like Corky from Life Goes On who can make an occasional trey. Coach refuses to grant interviews or provide team's record. Possesion arrow busted in home gym, official scorer moves empty paper cup back and forth as needed.
• Girls basketball and softball are only two sports with (slightly) winning records. Both coached by same guy, who married a former player within a year of her graduation. Girls basketball team has no cheerleaders. Boys basketball has cheerleaders once girls finish their game, shower, and change into cheer outfits.

Hoover?

 

[e_bowker]

Alcorn State.

NEXT!

Savannah State

Savannah State has nothing on Alcorn right now. Alcorn is not only bad in just about everything, but the athletic department is dysfunctional to boot.
First-year football coach goes 2-10 this year, but is competitive in five or six of the losses (two losses were blowouts to FBS schools). Coach is watching TV over the Thanksgiving break and finds out seven of his nine assistants were fired by the AD, apparently without his knowledge. They came back from the break and had letters in their mailboxes.
A few days later, the coach sues the AD, the university and the university president for breach of contract. The assistants are reinstated not long after (by the president, who seemed to go over the AD's head), but the coach is fired and then reinstated -- apparently pending an appeal. Over the course of the next month, the coach continues recruiting. Until mid-January, when his appeal is denied and he is, in fact, fired.
Meanwhile, the assistants are working on a month-to-month basis. One of them is now the interim head coach, but there's a search going to find someone else.
And the now-former coach's lawsuit (asking for $3 million in damages, a sum that's probably twice the entire athletic budget) is still pending. And because of that, every time you get the AD on the phone and ask him about the situation he gives you 43 different versions of "no comment".

So, yeah, my vote goes to Alcorn State.

 

[Jake_Taylor]

If we're lucky, someone from ESPN is reading this, will pitch this as a concept and we will see a state-by-state rundown during the summer.

... And Bill Simmons will take credit for the idea.

But seriously. JT, do you drink at work? If not, I think it'd be perfectly acceptable to start.

I haven't started drinking at work...yet. Actually the school across town has had a pretty good year, although some of our readers seem to think that's a result of some kind of conspiracy I'm involved in. One of the basketball teams on the fringe of our coverage area went to 22-0 tonight, so it's not all bad around here.

The awful school is the closest to our office and the biggest in our area, so at times I wonder how to handle the coverage. There are only so many ways you can write about teams that bad.

 

[GlenQuagmire]

I'll take "Any school in the SWAC" for $1,000, Alex ...

 

[times38]

Alcorn State.

NEXT!

hey you took mine