Coach Braine,
Thanks for your service to GT. It has been a good nine years despite some significant problems. We've seen upgrades to all of our facilities and an expansion of our entire sports programs. BDS is larger, Russ Chandler is a jewel, and improvements have happened for our other sports. Your coaching hires and successful retention of those hires have been outstanding (baseball, basketball, softball, etc). GT's continual improvement in that Athletic Director's cup is testimony to this. Furthermore, graduation rates have climbed to the point that they now match or exceed that of the general student body. I am excited to see the budget for academic expenses exceed that of any other ACC school per student athelete. Your commitment to Dr. Homer Rice's total person concept has been noted and copied around the nation. Your leadership in securing our future in a strong conference through expansion was also critical to our schools future. Though there are other accomplishments, I just wanted to express my appreciation for what you have done--beyond all the hype. Yes there have been problems. But there have also been many gains. What is perhaps most telling is that despite the problems--despite the continual carrion calls of those who want GT to be a semi-professional sports school instead of a school devoted to education, you have preserved and fought to secure the status of student atheletes as students first at Georgia Tech without succumbing to the pressures of those seeking the lower standards which would deprive capable student atheletes of the education that GT can provide for them. Thanks for your service. A toast to you and whoever is to follow you....
Thank you.
(If you want to complain, don't hijack this post.)
Thanks for your service to GT. It has been a good nine years despite some significant problems. We've seen upgrades to all of our facilities and an expansion of our entire sports programs. BDS is larger, Russ Chandler is a jewel, and improvements have happened for our other sports. Your coaching hires and successful retention of those hires have been outstanding (baseball, basketball, softball, etc). GT's continual improvement in that Athletic Director's cup is testimony to this. Furthermore, graduation rates have climbed to the point that they now match or exceed that of the general student body. I am excited to see the budget for academic expenses exceed that of any other ACC school per student athelete. Your commitment to Dr. Homer Rice's total person concept has been noted and copied around the nation. Your leadership in securing our future in a strong conference through expansion was also critical to our schools future. Though there are other accomplishments, I just wanted to express my appreciation for what you have done--beyond all the hype. Yes there have been problems. But there have also been many gains. What is perhaps most telling is that despite the problems--despite the continual carrion calls of those who want GT to be a semi-professional sports school instead of a school devoted to education, you have preserved and fought to secure the status of student atheletes as students first at Georgia Tech without succumbing to the pressures of those seeking the lower standards which would deprive capable student atheletes of the education that GT can provide for them. Thanks for your service. A toast to you and whoever is to follow you....
Thank you.
(If you want to complain, don't hijack this post.)