Inevitable – “Chris Pollard led App State to a school-record 41 victories and to the program’s first NCAA post-season appearance since 1986 this past season. Now, he’ll take over the program at Duke. Pollard was named head coach of the Blue Devils today. He replaces Sean McNally, who resigned after 7 seasons. Pollard had been ASU’s coach since 2005, when he took over a program that had 8 straight losing seasons.”
Pollard named head coach at Duke 52 comments - (Comments are closed) |
|
|
|
Copyright © 2006 - 2013 AppFan.com™ - All Rights Reserved Web Hosting provided by Streamline SEO |
||
Another one bites the dust. Good luck coach.
damn…hate to hear this news. Bigger and better opportunities out there. Good luck coach.
Congrats Coach Pollard. Can't blame a man for bettering himself I guess. Well, it is what it is.
Judas!!! I'm all for a person bettering their self. But man, Duke? Geesh!
The reality of mid-major success. It's a hard knock life for us.
Pollard did a great job
The man we nEed now is Carl Lancaster ,long time head Coach at Mount Olive college,he is another Mike Fox, he won the NCAA DIV II national championship a couple of years ago ,and has come close several times,if I'm not mistaken he is an App State grad and ex mountaineer baseball player
Thanks for everything you've done for the program Coach Pollard. You will be missed. You have laid the groundwork. Hopefully someone can jump right in and keep it rolling.
Man, I hate this but Congrats. Duke is probably a real potential ACC power. They win in all of the other "white people" college sports…lacross, soccer, tennis, golf. They should be able to win in baseball.
Congrats to Chris. It's the reality of the pecking order. Willing to bet he tripled his salary. App is losing a good guy who just happens to be a very good coach.
Coach Pollard, good job! Couldn't happen to a better guy. Still hate Duke (well basketball anyway), but he's in a great situation.
Thanks Coach. Good luck…still hate Dook!
Hate we could not keep Pollard but Cobb wanted to give more money to his wife than to Pollard. In the end, it was an easy decision to leave.
This is the reality of being a mid level program. Anyone who has success will get offers to move up the ladder. Maybe if we didn't have 20 sports we could fund programs like baseball better, and keep good coaches around a little longer. Either way we can't compete with the ACC in the $$$ department.
Love seeing all those embarrassing app grad tar heel fans talk about how theyre happy for pollard but they still don't like Duke. So pathetic. Have a little pride in yourself.
Good luck to him. Caught the interview following the final loss to OU….he seems like a classy gentleman.
We've been fortunate with Coach Moore in that he had success at ASU at a point in his career where he was a bit too mature to be hired away by a larger program.
Oral Roberts
We’ve been fortunate with Coach Moore in that he had success at ASU at a point in his career where he was a bit too mature to be hired away by a larger program.
What you see as fortunate….many others see as unfortunate. I just hope I see the day that he can no longer hold the football program hostage for his own personal benefit. If he gave a damn about the school and the team he would have resigned after the embarrassing 2011 season and sonny boy's documented indiscretions at the end of it
It is embarrassing and sad that we are in this position. For some unknown reason he is just like a bad habit…you just can't get rid of him!
You may see it as unfortunate but I wouldn't say that "many others" see it that way. The vast majority of ASU fans that I know are behind him. Coach Moore has done a lot for ASU. I just do not understand how you can hold such hostility towards him. He has made mistakes like everyone else but I believe that he genuinely wants what is best for Appalachian.
You have said before that all the success Appalachian football has seen is not due to Coach Moore. Yet, when we have a sub par season, it is all of a sudden due entirely to him. When the assistants are doing well and the team is winning, no credit to Coach Moore but when they are not doing well on or off the field, the blame falls on his shoulders. Nobody says you have to like him and obviously you don't, but you do have quite the double standard for him.
If you are going to blame all of ASU football's problems on Coach Moore, he deserves some credit for all the positives as well. In my opinion, the negatives are far outnumbered.
As for the topic at hand, congratulations to Coach Pollard! He deserves all the success he achieves and I'm sure he did what he thought was right for him and his family.
Coach also left Appalachian baseball in a much better place than he found it. We should certainly be able to find a qualified replacement who will have talent to work with as well as the facilities and buzz around the program to bring in more.
No surprise. He did right by us. Wish him well. Leave it to the banal posters here to turn this into a football discussion.
yosef82 will take every opportunity he can find to prove he is at the bottom of the IQ scale.
Not only does ASU owe Chris a great deal for the solid program he built, but for also transforming what was once a dead end job into very attractive position.
How could anyone possibly say "no" to a head coaching position at Duke?
Congrats to Coach Pollard. A great new opportunity that is well earned.
like this, "no."
haha but in all seriousness, thanks for everything you did for app coach pollard, you've earned this career move.
Congrats to Pollard. Duke has a lot of top-tier baseball competition in the Triangle with UNC & NCSU. Looks like they want to turn things around.
Has any news been announced on a successor? I worry that some of our recruits may change their minds about coming to App.
Pollard won with some good players. They were/are seniors and juniors so whoever becomes coach will need to rebuild again.
The job is not as attractive as one might believe. After all, they have bow before Cobb and his wife.
Good luck at Duke Pollard. You will do well.
such a venomous vendetta. thats right murray. you're bile is so off base that only an alliteration can describe it.
Appthunder please stop using words incorrectly like "alliteration." What vendetta does Murray have for Cobb?
Nobody knows what his vendetta is but he certainly takes every opportunity to bash Cobb. He has suggested that Pollard left because he would rather pay his wife than Pollard. He has now suggested that the job is unattractive because a candidate will have to 'bow before Cobb and his wife', whatever that means.
There is a lot of talent returning on this team and a great recruiting class coming in, along with the opportunity to play in a very strong baseball conference. If we bring in a coach that can hold onto the recruits, our future still looks bright. Pollard did great work in his time here and we have a solid foundation to build on with a good hire.
To Amy the hypocrit-
"venomous vendetta"
http://grammar.about.com/od/terms/g/alliteration….
Thanks for playing.
What has all this crap about Cobb and his wife and Coach Moore got to do with this ,and Pollard is now a blue devil not a mountaineer ,and oh by the way App beat them twice this year , Now for the task at hand,I'm telling you Carl Lancaster is the man for the job
And oh by the way Lancaster has a Masters degree from App and was also a graduate Asst on the baseball team , has an apps 850-390 win /lose record at Mt olive collegeand has won theCAA div IlI national championship there
That's the NCAA Div II National championship
My Opinion:
Congrads to coach Pollard for a well done job after 8 seasons or is it really a great job, his final news conference after the loss to Oklahoma he makes all these statements about how proud he was of the team and how he was looking forward to 2013 and beyond, whether or not he knew about the job offer at Duke and accepting it was not warranted in my opinion, sure what he said was all true, but let's do some of the math after 8 seasons of coaching at ASU he was only 244-210-2 not the best percentage overall for sure but he sure did take us to new heights over the past 8 season and 2012 was the best for sure since 1986? I just hope we can move forward and not call 2012 a huge "fluke" when everything is said and done in 2013 only time will tell!
I am sure he doubled or tripled his salary but think about it Duke is no where as competitive as the other power houses in the ACC and I do not think he can turn that program around like he did Appalachian? Duke's former head coach had been there for 7 season and had not done so to date, so why does Pollard think he can do any better? The quality of players do not want to attend Duke University to play baseball only Basketball and just because Pollard will be there will not warrant turning that team around it will take years to do that and I just do not see Duke giving him 8 years to do that? I could be wrong because they gave the former head coach 7 years to attempt to do that?
Be difference in Appalachian and Duke in regards to the last 8 seasons in relation to the baseball records and achievements? If Cobb did not want to pay Pollard then shame on him for letting Pollard slip away! We need to step up and pay our coaches what they are worth!
Coach Pollard did a great job at Appalachian but realistically that "senior" class of leadership really turned 2012 around in my opinion! What I do not understand why is all about money, granted Pollard had done so much in 2012 why not build on that in 2013 and beyond, did he think that was not possible, or was it really about the money and not about the university, alumni, students or Cobb, I am sure a lot of factors played into his decision to leave, I just wonder what Duke offered him and for how long, we beat Duke 2 of 3 games in Boone so what did he see that warranted him to think he could turn that team around in 2013 and beyond! I wish him all the best but from an athlete's perspective that played baseball and football at Appalachian from 92-95 I just feel he sold Appalachian out when everything was said and done!
As far as the football issues, of 2011 I think coach Moore could have stepped up and done more over the incidents that occurred on and off campus, the coaching staff, the new hiring of coaches I think will do wonders for the team in 2013 and beyond, I always say if it is broke then you need to fix it and the issues that were going on within the team and coaching staff needed to be dealt with and I think have been, hiring Satterfield back as an Assistant Head Coach was a great choice for the team now and in the future!
?
Appalachian95, It is my understanding Duke's interest really didn't come about (as far as contact) until after ASU's season ended. You talk about Pollard's winning percentage being not so great, but if you played baseball at ASU in the mid 90's you, of all people, should have known what pathetic shape our baseball program was in when he took over. How you can say Pollard "sold out" ASU is beyond me. Although they have not been very stong lately Duke has a good baseball tradition and plays in the second rated conference in the nation. He can now pay assistant coaches a decent salary instead of what amounted to minimum wage. ASU's current pitching coach is a volunteer who is paid ZERO! Duke's previous pitching coach held the same position in the Chicago White Sox's organization. You beginning to see the difference? Pollard's teams will now fly to games in place of taking long bus rides. He won't have to send his team out in 5 year old patched up uniforms or depend on some former players and other supporters to provide his team with home unis and dugout jackets. Chris would have been a fool not to take that job. I wish him all the best, except when they play ASU, and in his move up the coaching ladder.
Appman I agree to some extent to what you are saying but sold out I guess that was a little extreme salary assistant coaches salary can be a perplexing temptation for sure, but I disagree about the uniform issues that was not a concern as they had great looking uniforms home and away and jackets that the school provided, the bus rides, the long drives to and from games, I am sure if we would have more than one season of what just transpired in 2012 we would have got more support from the university, the plane rides would have come, but 8 years and the turn around that Pollard provided was a godsend in my opinion, our program was not that great, I played under coach Morris and I know we always did not have the best record but we were always provided with clothing, or whatever was needed, now if we wanted to upgrade our gloves, tights, sliding pants at that time that was up to us, now all of that is included in the uniforms, so times have changed, Pollard did what was best for his family and they come first, but all the talk at the end of the season about the accomplishments and what he planned on doing in the years to come were and I agree the offer could have came after that interview with David Jackson, and that is fine but for what he accomplished at Appalachian in 8 seasons is great, and warranted he will have more to work with at Duke, I just don't think the caliber of players will attend Duke that will attend a Florida State, Clemson or Virginia, just my opinion and that is all it is?
I wish Pollard the best but I hope that 2012 will not turn out to be a fluke in 2013 and beyond! It will be difficult to match the feat we just accomplished in 2013 but I could be wrong I sure hope not because I want to see the baseball team back to it's prime again!
Just to the left of the question mark/ backslash button is a useful little key that types a period. FYI.
App95. Just fyi, the school did not provide the jackets. Also, sliding pants and gloves are not part of the uniform. Players this year still had to buy those things themselves. The app baseball 2012 success can be directly attributed to good old fashioned hard work, plain and simple. It was the culmination of an athletic dept (and alumni) that paid for facility upgrades, several good recruiting classes in a row, an experienced starting lineup that was 80% upperclassmen, great team chemistry, great senior leadership, and a refuse to lose attitude by everybody in the dugout. Its not often that mid major teams have the success App baseball had this season. And its about once in a decade or two that a team can do it the way in which it was done this year. With a quiet confidence and relaxed demeanor, which allowed the fans to feel a part of the fun.
FYI.
Nathan Hyatt and Tyler Tewell have been assigned to Atlanta's Rookie-League team, the Danville (Va.) Braves, to begin their professional careers. They will play in the Appalachian League.
Jeremy Dowdy has been assigned to the Bristol White Sox also of the Appalachian League. He will play for manager Pete Rose, Jr.
The Rockies sent Ryan Arrowood to the Tri-City Dust Devils, their Short-Season A Team. He will be in Pasco, WA.
The Marlins sent Seth Grant home after team doctors found he had a torn labrum.
Best of luck guys.
Seth Grant should have coach Pollard get him an appointment at the Duke sports medicine department. They did my rotator and I was 100% in about 5 months.
I hate to see Pollard leave as much as anyone but the fact is, he has two kids to put through college in the next decade and was making around $65K from what I understand. A 2-3X pay increase and additional perks of working for Duke are no small matter. It is a serious loss for our baseball program and hiring a good replacement will be very important but let's not pretend that he owed it to us to stay in Boone instead of doing what is best for him and his family.
You put the job before family and I have no respect for you. He did the right thing and is in a great place. PLUS if he stays there his kids can go to Duke tuition free.
I agree with you Slider, however if the players could not pinch in and make certain purchases then that is there fault, when I played we had to purchase some items but you would think the jackets would be part of the team uniform, sure the students and alumni paid for the upgrades to the entire damn campus and that is great that could happen the better the facilities the better the team I always say, let's hope the 2012 baseball team will not falter in 2013 because Pollard is not there, some of the keys players like Nathan Hyatt and Tyler Tewell have decided to go "Pro" and I think that will make a huge difference in the leadership in 2013 that the team needs, let's hope we can find a great replacement for Pollard, who has to think about his family first or is it the benjamins first, who knows he deserves the opportunity to turn another team around in a highly competitive league that sure a league ahead in where Duke needs to be right now? I wish him all the best and I hope he can turn that program around in less than 8 years, noted he did a lot for Appalachian State Baseball in the 8 years he was here but I thought is overall won/loss percentage would have been a lot better than 244-210-2?
Appalachian95, The school did not buy the home white uniforms or the dugout jackets. A good friend, former player from the early 70's, headed up the effort and many of us stroked a check to pay for them. Also, a group of parents started conducting a raffel several years back and designated the proceeds be used to put the team up in better hotels and have less guys sleeping in a room. This kind of stuff is what high schools do, not D-I programs. As an FYI, the Dugout Club was started as a way for supporters to help the team purchase additional items not covered in their budget. That money is now being considered a part of the total baseball budget. Sad, very sad.
Good Luck Pollard. And GW, two things; you're right about Lancaster, and there are a few people here that use nearly anything to attack the current administration.
You guys need to do some simple google searches to get some of your info right.
from: http://www.wral.com/news/local/page/5910134/
————————————————-
ASU Baseball Coach Chris Pollard
Contract: July 1, 2007 – June 30, 2011
Annual Salary:
2007-08: $64,400
2008-09: $73,900
2009-10: $84,900
2010-11: $89,145
Bonuses/Perks:
Coach shall have the opportunity to engage in sports camps through ASU. Compensation for participation will be dependent upon receipts of the camp and will be paid through the university payroll system.
———————————————–
All employee's at State Universities salaries are public information.
Think we can all agree Pollard did heck of job turning the program around. With the success of football comes $ and with $ comes nice facilities. The only small NC school with nicer facilities is probably UNCG.
Anyway, who is going to get the head coaching job?
-Assistant Chris Moore
-South Carolina volunteer Sammy Espisito(by the way im sure he makes plenty of $ if he gets any part of camp money)
-Notre Dame assistant Joe Hastings
-who else
Carl Lancaster is another Mike fox waiting to go DI ,if you dont try to get him you're missing the boat
This guy should be seriously considered. Lots of similarities with Pollard. Head coaching experience, successful and extremely well liked by the high school coaches in NC.
http://landerbearcats.com/sports/bsb/coaches/Smit…
who is the front runner? With all the excitement surrounding the program this year why is there not any info on who its gonna be? They able to keep it on the down low this long?
If the rumor about Sam Esposito from South Carolina being a candidate has legs, I doubt we hear anything until after the CWS. I do hope they find a replacement quickly so he can get to work on keeping the incoming recruits on board and getting a full staff in place.
"With all the excitement surrounding the program this year why is there not any info on who its gonna be?"
Wait, no transparency from the ASU athletic department? You're kidding!? That never happens.