SIU fired Lowery "with cause" and won't pay contract

[Ace Dad]

Guys, if the Salukis go to the NCAAs the last two years in a row and the academics are the same, will he had been fired? Cmon man!

[TylerDurden]

Lowery was fired because he didn't win enough. To claim otherwise is silly and completely disingenuous. If he was winning 25 games a season, he'd still be the coach -- academic and off-the-court issues or not.

SIU finally decided they could afford the buyout and are now looking for a way to reduce the sum of the buyout. That's fine, but they're going about it the wrong way, IMO.

Since none of us really know what was in Lowery's contract, could it not be possible he did in fact fall below a specific metric written into his contract concerning academics?

It's very unlikely there is a specific academic number in the contract that would determine a coach's job status. Just like there aren't W-L numbers tied to salary/job status (bonuses, sure).

Coaches who win certainly don't get fired for academics and coaches who lose don't get fired for academics, either. They get fired for losing.

The standards for a coach keeping his job are winning, filling seats and generating money. Do those things (and don't wreck your motorcycle with your mistress on the back or get photographed boozing with coeds on road trips) and you're fine.

At this point, comments about academics are a smokescreen. I know we'd all like to think that academics play an important role for the basketball team at our favorite school, but the reality is that ship has sailed a long time ago. See how long a guys lasts with a team full of 4.0 students that wins 10 games a year. I'm not saying academics are completely irrelevant, but even severe cases can be mitigated by winning. There is no universal truth, but Lowery just didn't win enough.

[havoc]

It's very unlikely there is a specific academic number in the contract that would determine a coach's job status. Just like there aren't W-L numbers tied to salary/job status (bonuses, sure).

Coaches who win certainly don't get fired for academics and coaches who lose don't get fired for academics, either. They get fired for losing.

The standards for a coach keeping his job are winning, filling seats and generating money. Do those things (and don't wreck your motorcycle with your mistress on the back or get photographed boozing with coeds on road trips) and you're fine.

At this point, comments about academics are a smokescreen. I know we'd all like to think that academics play an important role for the basketball team at our favorite school, but the reality is that ship has sailed a long time ago. See how long a guys lasts with a team full of 4.0 students that wins 10 games a year. I'm not saying academics are completely irrelevant, but even severe cases can be mitigated by winning. There is no universal truth, but Lowery just didn't win enough.

It may be very unlikely there is a specific academic number in the contract that would determine a coach's job status, but it is still a possibility, and most likely a growing possibility with recent sanctions being stiffened by the NCAA in terms of APR.

I'll buy that yes, he has fired before of poor on court performance, but I don't think anyone can deny his on the court performance suffered a great deal because of off the court issues. It is very difficult, if not impossible to win many games when you have multiple players being suspended because of academic and/or off court issues. I'm not in any way connected to SIU, but I feel like there would have been more sympathy before Lowery had the on-court performance been the same in the absents off all the off-court issues.

[TylerDurden]

It's very unlikely there is a specific academic number in the contract that would determine a coach's job status. Just like there aren't W-L numbers tied to salary/job status (bonuses, sure).

Coaches who win certainly don't get fired for academics and coaches who lose don't get fired for academics, either. They get fired for losing.

The standards for a coach keeping his job are winning, filling seats and generating money. Do those things (and don't wreck your motorcycle with your mistress on the back or get photographed boozing with coeds on road trips) and you're fine.

At this point, comments about academics are a smokescreen. I know we'd all like to think that academics play an important role for the basketball team at our favorite school, but the reality is that ship has sailed a long time ago. See how long a guys lasts with a team full of 4.0 students that wins 10 games a year. I'm not saying academics are completely irrelevant, but even severe cases can be mitigated by winning. There is no universal truth, but Lowery just didn't win enough.

It may be very unlikely there is a specific academic number in the contract that would determine a coach's job status, but it is still a possibility, and most likely a growing possibility with recent sanctions being stiffened by the NCAA in terms of APR.

I'll buy that yes, he has fired before of poor on court performance, but I don't think anyone can deny his on the court performance suffered a great deal because of off the court issues. It is very difficult, if not impossible to win many games when you have multiple players being suspended because of academic and/or off court issues. I'm not in any way connected to SIU, but I feel like there would have been more sympathy before Lowery had the on-court performance been the same in the absents off all the off-court issues.

I agree with most of that. It's all part of the same puzzle.

It's unfortunate that it has come to this. SIU has essentially forced Lowery to sue them if he wants to get paid. It's a smart and stupid move by SIU all at the same time, IMO.

Hopefully our SIU posters can keep us up to date with the happenings in the legal battle.

[PantherSigEp]

I know that we've all had our fair share of hate and anger towards CL, but today I heard that Chris' son, Kahari, passed away. I believe Kahari has battled through many, many health issues since birth, including failing kidneys and cerebral palsy which contributed to him being confined to a wheelchair. Very unfortunate for the entire Lowery family, although hopefully Kahari has found peace.

http://www.kansascity.com/sports/spt-columns-blogs/vahe-gregorian/article111927877.html

[bigdawg]

Really sad news. Hoping the Lowery family finds strength in this difficult time.

[glm38]

It's a parent's worst nightmare to outlive their child.