Fred Oien article

[TeaJackrabbit]

Re: Fred Oien article

Jacks#1fan - I drive a 02 Suburban w/ about 150k on it. Wife drives a mini-van. Both are paid off and will be driven til the wheels fall off. I totally understand someone not needing to have a Mercedees and Audi in the garage.

Nidaros - Sorry that I upset you. I was specific, simply sharing an opinion, and knowing many would scold me for it. I went back and forth about not even posting it, knowing the reactions some would have. I was just being honest. As I have stated numerous times before, I am very thankful for Dr. Oien and Miller and what they have done for the athletic program. This is a opinion board and we're not always going to agree.

[TeaJackrabbit]

Re: Fred Oien article

My folks have been very successful. Recently retired they never in the past nor in the future have to worry about money. They own a nice house and a large RV used for escaping the SD winters to do missionary-type work down south. They drive older vehicles as well and I've known many "well off" people who don't feel the need to drive a Hummer. I used to have a job serving civil papers (evictions, protection orders, garnishments, subpeonas, etc) and I can't count how many times I would go serve a garnishment or eviction to someone living in a trailer or run down house and they had one or two new or newer cars out front.

The observation I made about Fred's car wasn't b/c it simply was old. It was the condition it was in. The inside looked very, to be polite, unkept
shall we say and the outside matched. Heck, I don't even remember the make or model, it was just the condition of the thing.

I knew I would recieve some replies on here from people who read what I wrote and scratched their heads (possibly thinking I'm insane). Very understandable. Being a good judge of character is one of the few things I am good at in life and I'll say this, I didn't know about Fred's "issues" the day I passed judgement on him b/c of the condition of his vehicle.....but.....it appears the judgement I placed on him was accurate.

[LakeJack]

Re: Fred Oien article

I think Fred drives a Chrysler 300

[boxerboy]

Re: Fred Oien article

This may or may not be relevant or fair or whatever. I remember an event I attended in Sioux Falls 5+ years ago that Fred was at. We happened to be leaving at the same time and were parked near each other. I was surprised to a successful "Dr" and AD driving a, well, junker. I'm not a real materialistic person but it just stood out and I've never forgot it. I thought back at that time that he must have some "issues". I come from a car family background (used to be a manager at a dealership, father and brother owned/own car lots, uncle owns a lot, etc) so I guess I think I can usually tell alot about a person by what they drive.

Like I said, this might not be fair or make sense but it just stood out to me and when discussing Freds "issues" my mind always goes back to that date.

Not relevant. Sam Walton used to drive a beat up ole pick up truck.

[Nidaros]

Re: Fred Oien article

This may or may not be relevant or fair or whatever. I remember an event I attended in Sioux Falls 5+ years ago that Fred was at. We happened to be leaving at the same time and were parked near each other. I was surprised to a successful "Dr" and AD driving a, well, junker. I'm not a real materialistic person but it just stood out and I've never forgot it. I thought back at that time that he must have some "issues". I come from a car family background (used to be a manager at a dealership, father and brother owned/own car lots, uncle owns a lot, etc) so I guess I think I can usually tell alot about a person by what they drive.

Like I said, this might not be fair or make sense but it just stood out to me and when discussing Freds "issues" my mind always goes back to that date.

What exactly are you saying? Be more specific or shut your pie hole. Personally I dont have much love for car dealers new or used, they certainly look out for themselves, so what ever they say think does not mean a whole bunch to me.

[Jacks#1Fan]

Re: Fred Oien article

I'm deeply disappointed at the posts on this thread...and I will tell you all that I'm madder than hell at the Argus Leader for digging and digging, looking and looking, and six months after the fact, dumping on a person with a top of page story, supported by such thin accusations. As for Terry, I think he is a great writer and an entreprenurial sports reporter, but I will personally ask him what the heck he means when he starts the "story"...towit, paragraph one -- a time of excitement for SDSU...and starting paragraph two with "But it is also a team for healing."

Now I'll appreciate the other posters on this thread telling me exactly how this article leads to "healing"? I share a journalistic background with JJ, and while I can understand "prolonging the story", it sickens me to let this kind of story go unchallenged...and I'm not sure I will. I don't know who got any "healing" out of the publication of this story. Surely not Dr. Oien, and certainly not President Chicoine or President Miller, who were basically slandered by the story where the implication of other paragraphs in the story were that Dr. Oien had "issues" which were investigated and SDSU never took any action on those "issues".

And I would say that in 18 years of being in a visable and challenging position, the fact that only three disgruntled individuals could be quoted to support this flimsy story (along with a five-year old story on a personal situation which has two "sides" to the problem as most difficulties of this nature do...and which hardly needed dreging up again) tells me volumes. Can people be found who didn't like Dr. Oien? Well hell yes -- including hundreds of Brookings residents (and around the state) who were mad at the decision to go to move to NCAA D-1.

As for the three individuals quoted in the story, here's my take, all with personal knowledge of the situations: I was very pleased when Scott Underwood was replaced...as a former track athlete, I believe he was a very good Cross Country coach, but that was all he wanted to do, and the track program (once a dominant program) was relegated to the cellar (and is just now resurfacing thanks to the hard work of the current coach). I know Mike Daly and Dr. Oien had an up-and-down relationship, which I don't find unusual, and Mike's comments were basically only that (from his viewpoint) things could have been handled differently. As for Micah Grenz, I had some issues with Micah and don't view him as any more "true Blue" than any of the other SDSU athletic personnel, all of whom are overworked...mainly because all program "expansion" money has gone into the scholarship and coaching needs of the athletic program, with the staff having to suck it up. I'm personally disappointed he was willing to trash his former "boss", which is not very responsible in my opinion.

Finally (and I know this is long...but less than half of what I have to say about this subject), the comment on judging an individual on what he/she drives is about as ridiculous as anything I've seen on this board. I will show my bias by noting that I drive a 1992 Nissan with 198,400 miles on it because they are (and have been) basically free miles, enabling me to use my money to make annual donations and buy season tickets for mutliple SDSU sports, while getting me where I need to go.

[CatchEmAll]

Re: Fred Oien article

This may or may not be relevant or fair or whatever. I remember an event I attended in Sioux Falls 5+ years ago that Fred was at. We happened to be leaving at the same time and were parked near each other. I was surprised to a successful "Dr" and AD driving a, well, junker. I'm not a real materialistic person but it just stood out and I've never forgot it. I thought back at that time that he must have some "issues". I come from a car family background (used to be a manager at a dealership, father and brother owned/own car lots, uncle owns a lot, etc) so I guess I think I can usually tell alot about a person by what they drive.

Like I said, this might not be fair or make sense but it just stood out to me and when discussing Freds "issues" my mind always goes back to that date.

Fair to assess, but does not make sense to judge Fred by the car he drove. You'd have to make bad judgements about many that work or have worked in the athletic department who drive "junkers". Fred wasn't alone in that regard and I would put it more on a reflection of where they came from and not putting material things as part of their public persona. I remember a certain head football coach who drove an older pickup with a 10 speed thrown in the back so he could ride around campus. Goes by the name of Stig. For what it's worth.

Won't comment on the Fred article. No need to IMO. What's said is said. Time to move on with the new AD.

[JackJD]

Re: Fred Oien article

...I come from a car family background (used to be a manager at a dealership, father and brother owned/own car lots, uncle owns a lot, etc) so I guess I think I can usually tell alot about a person by what they drive.

Like I said, this might not be fair or make sense but it just stood out to me and when discussing Freds "issues" my mind always goes back to that date.

Good to see you concede your measure of a person by the vehicle they drive may not be fair or make sense. I think you're noting that it seemed a little incongruous for Dr. Oien to be driving the car you saw. I won't offer you a ride in the vehicle I like to drive (soon to be a classic)!

[Jacks99]

Re: Fred Oien article

This may or may not be relevant or fair or whatever. I remember an event I attended in Sioux Falls 5+ years ago that Fred was at. We happened to be leaving at the same time and were parked near each other. I was surprised to a successful "Dr" and AD driving a, well, junker. I'm not a real materialistic person but it just stood out and I've never forgot it. I thought back at that time that he must have some "issues". I come from a car family background (used to be a manager at a dealership, father and brother owned/own car lots, uncle owns a lot, etc) so I guess I think I can usually tell alot about a person by what they drive.

Like I said, this might not be fair or make sense but it just stood out to me and when discussing Freds "issues" my mind always goes back to that date.

I know I have had thought similar thoughts when seeing someone driving a "junker". However it may be an example of someone being a good steward with what they were given. There are some that spend more annually on charity than on their homes and vehicles combined.

On the other hand it could mean they are bad at managing their money. Either way it's not a good basis for character judgment. Some may argue that someone in his position needs to drive a respectable vehicle in regards to appearance, but I would disagree.

[zooropa]

Re: Fred Oien article

Just have one observation: Having a 'high pressure' job does not excuse losing your temper so frequently as to have a reputation for doing so.

Nothing in this article seemed all that surprising to me... Including the possibility that Chicoine didn't know if one of his direct reports was being investigated by the university's personnel office.

[rcjacks]

Re: Fred Oien article

This may or may not be relevant or fair or whatever. I remember an event I attended in Sioux Falls 5+ years ago that Fred was at. We happened to be leaving at the same time and were parked near each other. I was surprised to a successful "Dr" and AD driving a, well, junker. I'm not a real materialistic person but it just stood out and I've never forgot it. I thought back at that time that he must have some "issues". I come from a car family background (used to be a manager at a dealership, father and brother owned/own car lots, uncle owns a lot, etc) so I guess I think I can usually tell alot about a person by what they drive.

Like I said, this might not be fair or make sense but it just stood out to me and when discussing Freds "issues" my mind always goes back to that date.

Your statement regarding the vehicle he drives indicates that he "must have some 'issues'" is totally off base. Who cares what kind of car he drives? I know many successful people who drive beaters simply because of the fact that they aren't materialistic or buy into American culture that one must drive a new, fancy car to be considered successful. Warren Buffett drives a 2001 Lincoln Towncar with a vanity plate that says "Thrifty." Does that make him any less successful?

[TeaJackrabbit]

Re: Fred Oien article

This may or may not be relevant or fair or whatever. I remember an event I attended in Sioux Falls 5+ years ago that Fred was at. We happened to be leaving at the same time and were parked near each other. I was surprised to a successful "Dr" and AD driving a, well, junker. I'm not a real materialistic person but it just stood out and I've never forgot it. I thought back at that time that he must have some "issues". I come from a car family background (used to be a manager at a dealership, father and brother owned/own car lots, uncle owns a lot, etc) so I guess I think I can usually tell alot about a person by what they drive.

Like I said, this might not be fair or make sense but it just stood out to me and when discussing Freds "issues" my mind always goes back to that date.

[jackrabit1]

Re: Fred Oien article

It's funny you mention this because someone asked TV during his recent live chat if he was working for SDSU as a PR writer. I guess this story shoots down that allegation.

But I'll toe the line with everyone here. It's over, it's done, it's time to move on. Thanks, Fred, for helping us get to this point in Division I athletics. Justin, we wish you all the best as you strive to push us even further.

[BitsTD]

Re: Fred Oien article

I have read the article and have to agree with JackJD. There was nothing in there that most people didn't know about.

AD is a very high profile and stressful job. Passionate people who expect much from those around them are successful and that is how I would categorize Dr. Oien. I am not saying his actions were right, but I would have rather had that than someone layed back who didn't care as long as he/she got a paycheck.

I just want to remind people who blame TV for this article that he is the SDSU beat writer not the PR writer for all things good at SDSU. I don't blame him one bit and I agree with the above posters that said read the article and move on.

[filbert]

Re: Fred Oien article

My reaction to the article: Shrug.

/enter snark mode
Seems to me it's all wrapped up with a bow on it now.
/leave snark mode

We go forward.