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Notes, Quotes and Slants
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Pirate
Notebook Special
Monday, June 26, 2002
By Denny O'Brien
Staff Writer and Columnist |
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Q & A about baseball with
Mike Hamrick
In a
wide-ranging interview during the recently concluded season, East
Carolina's athletic director talked about Keith LeClair, 'The Jungle',
the new stadium project, the prospect of Pirate baseball becoming a
revenue sport, and more... |
©2002 Bonesville.net
Since
his arrival in 1995, athletics director Mike Hamrick has seen East Carolina
undergo many changes. From facilities expansion to Conference USA
inclusion, Hamrick has been at the epicenter of a dynamic and exciting period in ECU
athletics.
With the resignation of baseball coach Keith LeClair, Hamrick faces
what is perhaps his toughest task since arriving in Greenville — replacing
the coach who is arguably the most successful in school history, regardless of
sport, when measured in terms of accomplishments per year of tenure.
I had a chance to sit down with Hamrick midway through the season to
talk about baseball, the new stadium, and Keith LeClair. Here's what he had
to say in this Bonesville.net exclusive interview:
Q: What attracted you to Coach LeClair five years ago?
A: I was looking for a head coach that had been successful, had been to
the NCAA tournament, and had won some games. But, I wanted that coach to be
from a program that really didn't have all of the resources necessary to get
to that next level. In other words, I wanted a coach that had
overachieved. Nothing against Western Carolina, but their budget wasn't
where it needed to be. The facility wasn't great. The weather's not great
over there.
But, Keith did such a great job over there, and we recognized that.
After really doing our homework and talking with people and looking at the
success that he had, the people he beat, we knew right away that he was our
guy.
Q: Why has he been able to win the way he has here, in terms of taking
the program to a new level?
A: I think the first thing is that Keith has a vision. The first thing
Keith said to me is "I want to come to East Carolina and I want to try to
get this program to Omaha. Everything he does with the baseball program is
based on taking it to Omaha. He has that vision, he's smart, and he can
judge talent as well as anybody I've ever seen. And to be a successful
coach, when you recruit, you've got to be able to judge talent. He's done a
great job of doing that. He's an extremely hard worker, too. But, I knew
all of this when I hired him because you find all of those things out when
you talk to him.
He's a genuine, sincere person, which appeals to recruits. That really
appeals to recruits' mothers. When I hire coaches, the number one question
that I have to get answered is, 'Can that coach go in a living room with a
mom and a dad, and a17-18 year-old kid, and convince all three of them that,
first, I'm the coach that you want to play for?' And ,secondly, 'I'm going
to convince you to come to my school.' I really believed Keith could do
that. I used my wife as an example. If he could come in and convince my
wife that she wants her son to come play with him, then I think that's the
most important characteristic of a coach. I felt Keith had that.
Q: Has he surpassed your expectations? Did you imagine this type of
success when you hired him?
A: To be honest, I knew we would be very competitive. I knew we would
be successful. But to be real honest, I never thought we would be where
we're at today. We're sitting here (Harrington Field) tonight and there's
going to be 3,000 people packed in here. Five years ago, we were lucky to
get 100 people to a baseball game. We've sold over 1,000 season tickets at
$100 apiece. Five years ago, we sold 100 season tickets at $30 apiece.
Keith has gone way over my expectations, but that's just Keith. That's the
way he's always been. We knew that when we hired him.
Q: How disappointing was it for you as an athletic director to be an
NCAA #1 seed two years in a row, and have to travel down to the bayou?
A: Well, it was disappointing, and I promised Keith after that second
year after Lafayette that we would do everything we can so that he doesn't
ever have to go on the road again if he's the #1 seed. We took care of that
last year. We put together a great package, and we went out, hustled, did
all the politicking, and got the regional and the super regional right here
in our back yard. We're going to do the same thing again this year if we're
in the mix. We've got Kinston for the regional booked and we've got Wilson
for the super regional booked. We're going to put in a very competitive
bid.
But we can only do that so much — we've got to have our own place to
play. We're keeping our fingers crossed that our fans will continue to step
up and help us financially build a stadium so that we can have those
regionals and super regionals right here in front of us — 3,000-4,000
screaming Pirate fans right here in front of us.
Q: So, do you think that those types of attendance numbers could be an
every-night occurrence with a new stadium?
A: There's no question. That's been our dream. That's been our
vision. We have fall football games and everybody comes. Basketball is now
going in the right direction, finally — I'm convinced it is. And now,
baseball. A Pirate fan once told me that after that last football game,
he'd look at that guy beside him and say "Well, I'll see you next fall."
Well, guess what he's saying now. "Well, I'll see you in Minges." And
after that, "I'll see you at Harrington Field."
I think we've changed the mentality from we're a football school to we're
not only a football school, but we've got a good basketball program and
we've got a great baseball program.
Q: Do you think that the new stadium will make baseball a revenue sport
at East Carolina?
A: Yes, absolutely. I think baseball can be a revenue sport at East
Carolina. Even if it just breaks even, that's such a plus for us. These
guys have overachieved with this stadium. You can't be the number four team
in the RPI with this kind of stadium consistently, with this stadium.
They've overachieved. You know, everybody has always said, "Mike, East
Carolina does more with less." And we have. But my philosophy is not I
want to do more with less. I want to do more with more. Pretty soon, I'm
going to be able to look at people and say, "Guess what, we're doing more
with more."
Q: One of the most common questions that is posed regarding the new
stadium is "What about the Jungle?" I hear it, and I know you hear it.
What are your thoughts about that?
A: You can still have the "Jungle" atmosphere in our new stadium, and
we're going to try to keep that. That's a good atmosphere -- it's one we
like. Occasionally, we have a few problems with it, but we deal with it.
The new stadium will have picnic areas. It'll have an area for the jungle.
It will be a stadium that is conducive to a family atmosphere.
But you know what, we didn't have a jungle in Kinston, and we didn't have
a jungle in Wilson. I always remember shaking the hands of the AD at
Tennessee and he told me after the Kinson games, "Mike this is the best
college baseball atmosphere that I've ever seen." I think the new stadium
can accomodate that. I want to make sure that everybody understands that.
Even though the stadium is going to turn around, we're going to still try to
have an area where people can tailgate and socialize and do the things that
they do in the jungle.
A new stadium is progress. There are always people against progress and
change, but this baseball team deserves a new stadium.
Q: How has coach LeClair's battle affected you personally?
A: Well, I haven't really commented publicly on that, but it's
devastating to me. I took some heat from some people when I made this hire
(LeClair). I took some heat from some people when I made a change in the
baseball program with the previous coach, whom I have all the respect in the
world for — Gary Overton. But, the change needed to happen. My credibility
is tied in to Keith LeClair because I went and got Keith LeClair, and I'll
tell everybody that.
To see what he's dealing with right now is just absolutely devastating to
me. It's something that I'm just having a really hard time dealing with.
He's a remarkable person, there's no doubt about that. If I had Keith
LeClairs here in every program, we'd win a bunch of national championships.
He's that kind of guy.
Q: They got so close last year. Do you think this is a program capable
of winning a national championship?
A: There's no question. Now, it's obvious we're in a much more
difficult conference. We'll have to continue to recruit up to the
conference's level. But with a new stadium, and the commitment we're making
to baseball, I'm convinced we can win a national championship here at East
Carolina.
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02/23/2007 01:46:10 AM
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