Letter to Dr. Hatch

Caturday said:

Dear Dr. Hatch,

I’m writing you to express my concern regarding the men’s basketball team. When I was a student at Wake, basketball games weren’t only a sporting event but a time to get away from difficult academics and socialize. The basketball team provided Wake Forest a national stage to tell the country about our unique institution. I can’t tell you how many broadcasts I watched games where Wake’s academics were lauded or the announcers jested about the students being out of class “for once.” Chris Paul wasn’t just the All-World point guard he was the kid I saw running to class who always had time to say hello. Skip Prosser wasn’t just the coach; he was a teacher and part-time philosopher. I feel sorry for the current students as they’re missing what was an integral part of the Wake Forest experience.

I feel sorry for the players. Student-athletes spend much of their week in the classroom or in practice. Game time should be their moment to shine, for all the hard work to pay off. Unfortunately, under Jeff [Redacted], the players have experienced very little of the elation as evidenced by his woeful record. Jeff [Redacted] has acted inappropriately at times as a head coach. No coach should ever engage a fan, let alone curse at him. That’s irreprehensible. On his radio show, [Redacted] is defensive and spends more time blaming the players than looking at his own role in the program. These are 18-19 year old kids; trying to have fun, get better while balancing a strenuous course load. [Redacted] is a 59-year-old man. To throw students under the bus for his shortcomings is inexcusable and he should be held to account by Ron Wellman. But it seems that Jeff [Redacted] is beyond reproach.

Furthermore, in keeping Jeff [Redacted], the school is acting in a financially unsound way. The Joel holds about 14,500, in 2010-2011 the announced attendance was 9200 and I’m sure the gate was much lower. I don’t have the figures for the current year but they must be grim. With a 16 home game schedule, the lost revenue, as our fan base dwindles due to apathy and frustration, mounts. We’re looking at million dollar losses here Dr. Hatch. For an athletic department that breaks even, our flagship sport can’t be in the red for an extended time. We can’t afford another year of Jeff [Redacted] at the helm.

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wakephan09 said:

I can't wait to look back at all the absolutely ridiculous shit people said during the dying days of Bz' s tenure.

I'm astounded to see him undergoing a reputation rehabilitation that rivals that of George W Bush in the age of Trump

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coredeac said:

Spent all night thinking of something clever? Total fail.

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wfu22fan said:

Bzz can coach defense.

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mebanedeac said:

Bzz would do more with our current talent than DM. But he would never be able to recruit our current talent.

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Complacent Deac said:

Buzz had one thing Manning never had and never will have: Charisma!

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RJKarl said:

I sent the following letter to Dr. Hatch- is email is hatch@wfu.edu :


Dear Dr. Hatch,

What’s happening with the basketball program is a disgrace of a national level!

The reality is if he stays more players may leave and the incoming class may request waivers.

Coach [Redacted] must be fired immediately! If Athletic Director Wellman won’t do it, then he should be terminated as well.

The concept of us not having the funds to do the right thing reminds me of Ben Franklin’s admonition of “penny wise and pound foolish”. Keeping the coach for even one more week will cost the program far more in prestige and dollars then ballasting him.

Our attendance is down close to 5000 people per game from when Skip Prosser was our coach and won’t get back to those levels for as long as Coach [Redacted] is at Wake. Thinking strictly dollars and cents, if we lose another 2000 ticket sales per game, that easily equals over $700,000 per year from ticket sales alone. Advertising revenue and concessions will also fall.

Conversely, hiring an exciting coach should create a positive atmosphere and fill The Joel again. This will more than make-up for the additional costs.

Inaction will make wake Forest a national laughingstock for the next five years. Not only will the athletic department directly lose millions of dollars unnecessarily, but all aspects of fund-raising will be impacted.

Don’t be penny wise and pound foolish!

With true sadness,

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Biff Tannen said:

Did you ever hear back ?

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