OSU President (Drake) will not make the final decision on Urban Meyer
Instead, the Board of Trustees (BoT) will.
Kyle Lamb per Twitter “The press release yesterday stated that the BoT would be convening and going into executive session”. According to Lamb, if this is indeed the case, the Board of Trustees would have the final say in reinstating Urban Meyer and not President Drake like many seem to believe.
August 18th, 2018 at 10:20 PM ^
Well Brandon sat in on film sessions, etc. (a very bad move), but he did not say to Hoke 'Sorry Brady but I decided who the starting QB will be.'
August 18th, 2018 at 10:14 PM ^
Perles wanted the AD job but DiBiaggio passed him over. Perles then initiated a power play by threatening to leave and the BoT offered him the job. DiBiaggio left shortly thereafter to become president at Tufts.
August 18th, 2018 at 10:17 PM ^
O.k. so the MSU BoT was a disaster back then too...
August 18th, 2018 at 9:52 PM ^
He even specifically stated that it's just his opinion.
The release does state Drake will announce decision in consultation from the board but trustees have the power to make the decision if they want to do so. I do not believe the BOT will go into session just to let Drake truly make his own choice. That's JMO. Will be a team call.
— Kyle S. Lamb (@kylamb8) August 18, 2018
August 18th, 2018 at 10:15 PM ^
Looked at the Kyle Lamb tweet. Lamb's opinion/interpretation of the press release is that the BoT has the final say.
But he did not link the press release in that tweet or give a word for word quote from the press release. And given Lamb's bias on this issue, his interpretation cannot be trusted as objective. Seems like he is reading into it what he wants it to say.
But if it does turn out that the BoT takes the decision-making power away from Drake, then Drake should resign.
Any University Pres would share the report with the BoT and hear their reactions.
But a situation where the BoT effectively says 'Sorry Pres. Drake, but this ain't your call'... If that happens, Drake should resign.
August 19th, 2018 at 9:49 AM ^
Typically you would think that the BoT will have their say and they absolutely should. But only as recommendations to the President who has the final say. You cant make a decision like this by committee.
August 18th, 2018 at 10:34 PM ^
Didn’t the PSU BoT fire Paterno?
August 18th, 2018 at 10:51 PM ^
University President Spanier himself was implicated in wrongdoing so it was not really possible to leave Spanier in charge of deciding what to do with Paterno. A unique circumstance. With Spanier conflicted out, the BoT had to take on the decision.
August 18th, 2018 at 11:43 PM ^
lol. You must not have any experience with the Boardroom. The President answers to the Board, not the other way around. They are effectively his boss.
So while it may be his "decision" they will tell him what they want. If he goes against them, they could force him out.
August 19th, 2018 at 12:02 AM ^
Your ignorance is showing.
August 19th, 2018 at 12:53 AM ^
What did he say that was wrong?
August 19th, 2018 at 8:33 AM ^
A properly functioning board does not make managerial decisions. It hires and determines compensation for the president as well as overseeing the company's strategy.
August 19th, 2018 at 10:38 AM ^
Try again. This isn't a publicly held company. Universities don't work that way.
August 19th, 2018 at 8:27 AM ^
The Board likely will have the final say:
1. They hire and control the President of any university
2. The President’s biggest just is to be the big fundraiser for the university. His or her initiatives only matter so much as they are economically beneficial.
3. Call me a slightly pessimistic academic when It comes to the big time programs.
Be only thing they have going for them is that the loudest defenders are those who likely not alumni, but grew up as fans. Hence, donor money may not go away.
August 18th, 2018 at 9:42 PM ^
If this is indeed the case, what is the role of the president? Why have one? Serious question
August 18th, 2018 at 10:17 PM ^
He's trying to stay alive long enough for the amherst presidency to open up.
I'm being serious. He's placating this shitbags while still trying to maintain his career by passing the buck.
August 19th, 2018 at 12:02 AM ^
The President manages day-to-day operations including hiring and firing. The Board is responsible for setting the tone, protecting the institution, long range planning. The President does report to the Board. It could be argued that making a $38M decision rightfully belongs under the purview of the BoT. The President may ultimately fire him, but if that puts the University on the hook for a $38M buyout, he had better alert the BoT. They have ultimate fiduciary responsibility for the institution.
August 19th, 2018 at 8:33 AM ^
All correct. So it would be normal and expected for there to be a BoT meeting to discuss and confer on the report, and even for President Drake to hear the thoughts of BoT members.
But, if there were a situation where Drake wanted to fire or suspend Meyer, and the BoT wanted to retain with no suspension and effectively absolve Meyer, and the BoT were to overrule Drake and take the final decision away from Drake...that would not be normal at all.
It is squarely within the job of a University President to make this decision (after sharing info and hearing the thoughts of the BoT).
So if the BoT were to take the decision away from, or overrule, or even strongly resist Drake's decisions to fire/suspend Meyer, then Drake would have to resign.
August 18th, 2018 at 9:47 PM ^
It’s a potentially $38M decision. That’s why the Board needs to be involved.
August 18th, 2018 at 10:24 PM ^
Depends on what you mean by 'involved.'
BoT has the final decision? No.
August 18th, 2018 at 11:53 PM ^
The BoT has fiduciary responsibility for the institution. Boards will typically let Presidents deal with day-to-day management of the University, but I suspect there is a threshold amount where the Board acting as fiduciaries has to make the decision. The President would be aware of this upon taking the job.
August 19th, 2018 at 8:44 AM ^
No, at a normal university the BoT does NOT make this kind of decision.
The amount of money involved is large, so it is normal for the President to inform and consult with the BoT, and for the President to factor in what he hears BoT members say in a meeting about the report, etc.
But that is very different from the BoT discussing and then taking a binding vote on what to do with Meyer.
At any normal university this would be a decision for the President to make. At any normal university of the BoT were to take the decision away from President or overrule the President, the President would resign.
August 19th, 2018 at 10:04 AM ^
The President resigning over this would be a very bad look for the University. In a lot of ways worse than the original scandal because it calls into question the integrity of the entire University hierarchy. An organization can not operate effectively if their integrity is in question. Of course that is temporary with todays never ending news cycle and short attention span. People find the next outrage du jour and move on (see MSU or todays political and social landscape).
I can see the BoT overruling the Presidents decision to fire only if there have found they can not fire for cause and his buyout comes into effect. With the information we have, firing with cause looks to be the likely and reasonable outcome.
August 18th, 2018 at 10:57 PM ^
Just to show that they care more about the dollars, but lack the common cents to do the right thing!
/I will leave now
August 19th, 2018 at 10:42 AM ^
It is potentially much bigger than $38M as it could impact donations to the school and maybe even have Federal funding implications if title IX violations were involved.
August 18th, 2018 at 9:49 PM ^
If you actually read Kyle Lamb's Twitter feed, he specifically states that this is his OPINION, not a fact. Maybe he's right but he's probably guessing. The guy only has about 3,000 followers and he's from a media base that is renowned for being unapologetically biased towards the team it covers. This doesn't tip the scales for me
August 18th, 2018 at 10:27 PM ^
Exactly. Lamb is in the 'how could Meyer know?; Carano deserved it; never happened anyway; and that Drake guy better STFU' crowd.
August 18th, 2018 at 9:50 PM ^
Is the OSU BoT as completely shit ridden as the MSU BoT?
If so, Meyer will get a raise after this.
August 18th, 2018 at 9:53 PM ^
Brett McMurphy just rolled up his sleeves and cracked his knuckles.
August 19th, 2018 at 12:21 AM ^
I'm hoping so bad that he has the big one to pull out. If McMurphy is smart, he will have saved something for the encore! I cant fucking wait. Oh man oh man oh man!!
August 19th, 2018 at 10:07 AM ^
If he really cares about this issue and isnt using it for purely personal gain, he has something.
August 19th, 2018 at 1:23 AM ^
If Meyer is reinstated and then McMurphy drops another bombshell, will they investigate him again?
August 18th, 2018 at 9:55 PM ^
That’s the sound of Threat McMurphy loading another round in the chamber...
August 18th, 2018 at 9:56 PM ^
This is to spare Drake the wrath of Buckeye Nation.
August 18th, 2018 at 10:13 PM ^
This seems very plausible. Also nobody wants to make a 38 million dollar mistake, alone.
August 18th, 2018 at 10:10 PM ^
As others have said, if the Board dictates to Drake what he must do about Urban, Drake should resign.
Normally, I would say that would never happen. But now that I think about it, yeah, I could see that happening at OSU.
August 18th, 2018 at 10:13 PM ^
The report of the committee investigating the matter will presumably become a public record upon its delivery to the school. Some media outlet will request it. OSU will refuse to produce it, and a court will eventually tell the school to do so. If the report contains damning information about Urban, the school will not be able to sweep it under the rug. Having an executive session of the BOT to review the report with the administration seems routine, and I don’t think there are any conclusions about the ultimate decision maker to be drawn from that fact.
August 18th, 2018 at 10:15 PM ^
What lond of spineless piece of crap is thos President. He works for you not the trustees! So you ate leaving it up to people who need votes to keep their position. What a joke!!!!
August 19th, 2018 at 12:55 AM ^
The OSU Board is appointed by the Governor. They are not elected.
August 18th, 2018 at 10:24 PM ^
My Dad was a college president and I can confirm it is very common for the President to be interacting with a few key Board members about a decision such as this throughout the process. They will then hold a full board meeting to review what has already been decided and give everyone a chance to provide any fine tuning insights/recommendations about the decision. It’s basically a courtesy and CYA. This process is similar in large corporations as well.
August 18th, 2018 at 10:27 PM ^
I'm not entirely sure this is true. Seems like it's his opinion moreso than fact. I'm sure President Drake will meet with the BoT to discuss the findings of the investigation, but I don't see them overruling Drake if the investigation shows he should be let go.
August 18th, 2018 at 10:30 PM ^
Dr Drake is clearly afraid of the pitchforks. Rightfully so, can you imagine being the guy on campus that fired or suspended Urban Meyer ? Yikes, that guy would be toast. And this deflects the "I don't have the ethics to stand up to the immoral football program" for his future career away from OSU - he can just blame the "committee". But I can assure you he is going to leave that OSU rathole ASAP.
August 18th, 2018 at 10:41 PM ^
Every time I hear "Dr. Drake," I think of Dr. Drake Ramorey.
August 19th, 2018 at 8:40 AM ^
I think of beats headphones.
August 18th, 2018 at 11:49 PM ^
Yep. This is the school where if this had happened to John Cooper, it would’ve been the excuse to fire him. But Meyer has never lost to Michigan and won a title so unless he’s been murdering babies in their sleep he’s not losing his job. And even then he’d have fans defending him from the media that’s clearly “out to get him.”
OSU is a good school. Far better than where it was 30-40 years ago. But athletic perception still rules the day in Columbus.
August 18th, 2018 at 11:50 PM ^
I think the types of positions he would move on to after being the President of a university the size of OSU would look down on the fact that he would let a BoT over rule him and force his hand on something like this. If the report drops and it's obvious Meyer needs to be let go but isn't, it will look bad on Drake even if he does blame the BoT
August 19th, 2018 at 8:45 AM ^
No one will look down on him if the board oversteps their bounds. The president has no control over that. Where it could have blow back on the president is if the board oversteps their bounds and he sits idley by.
August 18th, 2018 at 10:30 PM ^
He's not going anywhere. He was never going anywhere. I mean seriously, i don't even know why we're still debating about this.
August 18th, 2018 at 10:54 PM ^
Just give us an answer!!!!!!!!! The suspense is killing me.
August 18th, 2018 at 10:34 PM ^
The decision will be made by a committee consisting of David Boston, Andy Katzenmoyer, JT Barrett, and, oddly enough, Urban Meyer.