Lonnie Tinkle embarrassments

[Drebin]

I was talking to a buddy earlier about how far we've come from the LT days. Thank God for Fogelsong and Byrne. But we were thinking....what were some of the biggest embarrassments of the LT era? They can range from the grandiose (the hiring of Croom) to the miniscule (the placement of a cheap high school scoreboard on the face of the Seal building).

Let's stroll down memory lane.

 

[Optimus Prime 4]

was he the bi-plane one? That was impressive. Also the baseball deck collapse, right?

 

[dawgphd]

Polk II

Polk II

 

[#Hailstate16]

Yes, because going to Omaha in 07 was such an embarrassment**

 

[RobbieRandolph]

Breesus, not this all over again**

 

[SwampDawg]

I'm not sure, but wasn't he the one to schedule all but two of our home games in Jackson? Also our home games with Florida to be played in Florida?

 

[patdog]

That was more on McMahon than Polk. The rest of Polk II wasn't that good. And Polk III was a disaster.

 

[patdog]

Playing home games in Jackson started before Templeton was even born. He was actually the AD that got us away from that. He did sell the two Florida home games though.

 

[esplanade91]

Playing home games in Jackson started before Templeton was even born. He was actually the AD that got us away from that. He did sell the two Florida home games though.

To be fair I would sell a home game to Alabama just to make our schedule balanced. LSU and Alabama away on different years.

 

[Shmuley]

A bit obscure, but embarrassing nonetheless .....................................

It is alleged that he used his influence with the board of the MSU Foundation to have that body cause $1,200,000 of its funds transferred or assigned or loaned (not sure which) to the Bulldog Foundation for the purpose of paying part of either jackie's (or his staff's) buyout or part of crxxms' contract. The problem with this maneuver is that the MSU Foundation charter does not authorize use of its funds (consisting of charitable contributions from corporations or individuals) for any purposes other than scientific and/or educational pursuits. The use of funds donated to the MSU Foundation to pay off fired coaches (or hire the new guy) was wholly improper (even if it was a "loan"). By apparently listening to Tinkle and authorizing the transaction, the MSU Foundation Board put the tax exempt status of the MSU Foundation in jeopardy.

Think about this the next time you hear one of the "down in fronters" proclaim that "at least Larry Templeton kept us in the black!" You have to understand the depths the MFer would go to keep things in the black.

 

[HammerOfTheDogs]

Voting against the Cowbells....the only SEC tradition that didn't have to be repealed by the 14th Amendment, 1965 Civil Right Act, or the 1929 Hague Convention on Treatment of Prisoners of War.

 

[patdog]

Yeah, that really pissed a lot of people off, me included.

 

[Nugdawg]

This space isn't big enough for me to list

all of the things he did or didn't do to embarrass us. However, just to clear the record....it was Jackie that demanded we stop playing games in Jackson. LT had very little to do with anything affecting the football program in Jackie's early years....hell, the man was trying to hire Larry Lacewell away from Arkansas State to replace Felker!

Anyway..I have several LT stories, some of them firsthand, but one of my favorites that just kinda sums up the man that he was is this. While attending a State home game several years ago, I was in the restroom on the 100 level Westside. I am standing in line at the urinal (the uppity kind where you don't piss on your shoes) and two guys are having a conversation next to me. One asks the other, "man, I see you sitting in those chairback seats over there...when did you pony up and get those?" The other guy leans in to him and in a whispering voice says something like..."well, when you do a little free landscaping for the A.D. it's funny what you can come by." And THAT sums up Larry. The day he left, it set our athletic department free, not that it's perfect by any stretch now, but it has a chance to be much better.

 

[patdog]

it was Jackie that demanded we stop playing games in Jackson.

That's interesting considering we started moving away from Jackson a few years before Jackie was hired. We cut back from 3 Jackson games to 2 in 1987 and then moved the USM game to Starkville in 1989, leaving only 1 home game in Jackson 2 years before Jackie was hired. The decision to quit playing in Jackson was made when we expanded Scott Field to 42,000+ in 1986.

 

[engie]

Think about this the next time you hear one of the "down in fronters" proclaim that "at least Larry Templeton kept us in the black!" You have to understand the depths the MFer would go to keep things in the black.

The hilarity of this to me is that Templeton raised $60 million over his entire tenure...from the second page here: http://www.tuscaloosanews.com/article/20080621/NEWS/67221482?p=2&tc=pg

Byrne raised $17 mil in his one year....

Stricklin has raised $70 mil in his 2 years: http://hailstatebeat.wordpress.com/...years-nearly-70-million-toward-msu-athletics/

 

[Drebin]

was he the bi-plane one? That was impressive. Also the baseball deck collapse, right?

The bi-plane flyer was Doc Fogelsong, our short-lived president. He challenged the status quo...and took out the trash. Got rid of LT and brought in the ninja, who liberated us from Croom and Polk. He was also famous for removing daffodils. Managed to piss off a large portion of the academia at State, but will forever have a special place in my heart because he is single-handedly responsible for, or was a catalyst for, any and all athletic success at State over the last five years, as well as the change in attitude that you see on billboards, etc. He is a big reason why MSU doesn't "know our role and keep our mouths shut" anymore.

As for the deck collapse, yes, that was under the LT reign.

 

[BiscuitEater]

I have always been under the impression that it was ...

That's interesting considering we started moving away from Jackson a few years before Jackie was hired. We cut back from 3 Jackson games to 2 in 1987 and then moved the USM game to Starkville in 1989, leaving only 1 home game in Jackson 2 years before Jackie was hired. The decision to quit playing in Jackson was made when we expanded Scott Field to 42,000+ in 1986.

Jackie who demanded that we play 'Mississippi' in Starkville. Correct me if I'm worng.

 

[patdog]

You are wrong. As I said before, the decision was made back in 1986 when we expanded Scott Field. It took a few years to gradually move all the games to campus (much like it did for Bama and Auburn to abandon Birmingham). But the decision was made long before Jackie was ever even a candidate for our job.

 

[thunderclap]

Sly Croom. Followed by hugging and crying with Sly Croom every six weeks...

when Croom actually managed to win a 17ing game.