We all read the news that Wake Forest’s AD Ron Wellman is set to leave the job on May 1. With that announcement, Wake Forest announced that Wellman’s replacement was going to be Wake Forest grad John Currie. Twitter, as it is want to do, lost it’s collective mind and denounced the hire. The anti-Currie crowd looked at what happened at University of Tennessee as Currie couldn’t make it on the big stage.
While Currie may not have been the correct fit at Tennessee, the more you learn about what was going on there, I wonder if he ever had a chance. The Chancellor of Tennessee (who was Currie’s boss) had just been fired and if you read the termination letter that was published in the Tennessean, she does not come off well. With the big money donors (Jimmy Haslam) being first and foremost on that list, wanting a say, I don’t think Currie was able to handle that. Being unable to handle the big money donors at a huge school like Tennessee doesn’t mean he couldn’t do the job. It just means he isn’t a fit at a huge athletic department.
John Currie’s real skill is taking a middle of the road athletic department and doing the best he can. The Wichita Eagle cited that Currie was able to increase the fundraising and build better facilities at Kansas State. The biggest thing Currie was able to do was to balance the athletic department’s budget. This is the most important job an AD has. As a private institution Wake Forest does not have to report it’s finances. However, if the Jeff Goodman report about Danny Manning’s contract is correct, Currie will have to find the $18 million to fire him. Currie hired Bruce Weber, who’s teams have won 20 games 5 out of the 7 years he’s been in Manhattan.
John Currie might not be able to succeed at a big school with an athletic budget in the $150 million range. However, what Currie has already proven is that he can fund raise and balance budgets. At a school like Wake Forest, that is the most important part of the job.
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