On the same day Mississippi State announced the resignation of Athletic Director Greg Byrne, Byrne granted an exclusive interview to The Reflector. Sports editor Bob Carskadon visited with Byrne Friday morning for his first interview with the local media. The highlights of the interview are printed here, and the full transcript is available at reflector-online.com.
The Reflector: What did you plan to do here that you didn’t have time to accomplish?
Greg Byrne: As I spoke to one person in college athletics who I trust a lot, I was struggling a lot with this decision. He said, “Greg, there’s never a finish line until you retire. There’s always going to be continued projects and items that need to be addressed.” But the facility masterplan is really important. Looking at Davis-Wade Stadium and address the north end zone and the west side of the stadium. And Dudy Noble and everything that takes place there. And at The Hump &mdash there are some issues there as well. Even across the board there are a lot of sports that have significant needs, and such that are going to have to take place. Some have already been addressed and some will need to be addressed in the future. But, the reality is, obviously, when you get done with all those, there will be next steps after that. You’ve gotta continue to reinvest in your success, no matter what you have.
R: How much of a change have you seen in this program during your time here?
G.B.: I think there’s been a lot of positive change that has been accomplished because of the work of our staff, our coaches, our fans, the support from the university and Dr. Keenum. I don’t know if I’m the best the best one to judge it because I obviously have a lot of bias, but I think if you talk to Mississippi State fans on the street there’s a lot of excitement for the future, and that’s good. There’s a belief we can accomplish great things here.
R: What characteristics will your replacement need?
G.B.: You need tremendous energy. As I tell every person I meet with who’s interested in this, it’s a lifestyle not a job. You need somebody with vision to where the university can go with its athletic department. You need somebody who has relationships out there both regionally and nationally. You need somebody that has a backbone and can stand up and making challenging decisions that not everybody’s gonna like. But if you do what you think is best for the athletic department and the university and the student athletes and the fans, and try to balance those things out, and being able to listen to people around you and decide what you need to listen to and what you don’t need to listen to. Then somebody that cares about the people here. Regina and I both genuinely, genuinely cared about the student athletes, the people in this athletic department and our fans.
R: Will you be involved with the search for the new Athletic Director?
G.B.: Obviously, this is Dr. Keenum’s decision, and I know he’s going to make a great decision, and I’ve really enjoyed my working relationship and my personal relationship with him. As far as I’m concerned, he and Ronda are friends for life. I just told him I’ll help as much as he wants me to, and I’ll help as little as he wants me to, but I got all the faith in the world that he’ll find a very good Athletic Director for Mississippi State.
R: Is there anybody you have recommended to Dr. Keenum for the position?
G.B.: Obviously, I have some thoughts, but I know that Dr. Keenum is going to do a great job in finding that right person for the job.
R: Moving to the big three of coaches, how would you evaluate what John Cohen has done to this point?
G.B.: I have so much confidence in John Cohen and his ability to lead Mississippi State to a national championship in NCAA college baseball. And to where he’ll have us in a position to get back to Omaha, and sooner, rather than later. He does such a good job, both on the field developing the game and coaching the kids, then off the field with academics and social responsibility. John is doing a great job and is having great success here at Mississippi State.
R: How would you evaluate the direction Dan Mullen is taking the football team?
G.B.: He’s doing a great job. He has such a good grasp of his role as head coach. He’s brought an energy level that we felt we needed. He’s done a wonderful job recruiting in-state. When I spend time around the student athletes, they have bought in to what’s being demanded of them: the accountability of the weight room, the accountability to their teammates, and what’s expected for them both on and off the field. He is absolutely the shot in the arm that Mississippi State football has needed. He’s done such a remarkable job working with the football team to get them in the position to where they were competitive in almost every game, and to where you went in there feeling like we got a shot to win this thing. I don’t see that doing anything but improving.
R: Did you have concerns hiring Mullen as a first-time head coach?
G.B.: Anytime you’re hiring somebody, especially when it comes to a high profile job like that, yeah, absolutely there’s concerns. But you could bring in the best coach in the world and you wonder how they’re gonna fit. There is no sure bet. You have to have the information, do the research, understand where you are and what resources you have to work with, then do everything you can to make the best decision possible.
R: Do you think Mullen is here to stay, or looking for a bigger job one day?
G.B.: I don’t think he’s looking at all. He and I had some very constructive talks when the whole Florida thing was going on. The thing I think that is good, you want stability, that’s important, but to have people here that are in demand elsewhere means they’re doing a good job and they’re capable. I’d much rather have somebody on my staff that people are coming after, because that means they have a good reputation and they’re doing a good job. If we can have good people at Mississippi state that are mentioned for other things, just because of the job they’ve done, that means good things are happening here at Mississippi State.
R: Mullen and Cohen were your hires, but Rick Stansbury was here long before you. Did you ever think about hiring a new basketball coach?
G.B.: Well you always have to have some thoughts about it. As the old saying goes, in case your coach gets hit by a bus, you have to be ready for that. But I had absolutely no thought process at any time saying I want us to have a new basketball coach. Coach Stansbury has done an excellent job, gets us to postseason, almost every year. He puts us in a position to go the NCAA tournament. He’s done a really good job working with our basketball program both on the floor, and our academics have continued to improve. He does a wonderful job with our fans. I’m a big believer in what he’s done for our basketball program.
R: What have your thoughts and impressions of Stansbury been since you came here?
G.B.: I don’t know if my thoughts have changed so much, my relationship with him has changed. I think he and I trust each other tremendously. He and I had a very good working relationship. We’ll disagree on some things, but that’s a part of having a working relationship. You ask him the question, I think he would say that he and I both had the best interest of Mississippi State and our basketball program and the athletic department, in decisions and things that we did. He’ll be a guy that I’m sure we’re gonna stay in touch with for a long time. Obviously, I’d like to say with Sharon fanning, I’m proud of the job she’s done to get our women’s basketball program to the Sweet 16. That’s been a heck of a run for us. I’m very excited about what that means for our university.
R: Having grown up in the West and having a majority Pac-10 background, what are your thoughts thoughts on the SEC and Starkville?
G.B.: I can tell you very honestly, if you would have told me 15 years ago that I’d be living in Starkville, Mississippi, I would have said, ‘There’s no way.’ And I love it here. I love the people. I love the university. I have a passion for the school. I think that the people are as genuine and caring about their institution as much as any place you’ll ever find. So I have a much different perspective and appreciation for the south then I had before, and we’re going to miss it here. At the same time, too, we’re going to a place that has a real appreciation and passion for their university. At the University of Arizona, it’s the only game in town. Population of almost one million, they have a large alumni base. We’re excited about this new opportunity, but we’re also very appreciative of our time here and we’re gonna miss the people here.
R: Many fans worry they will never keep successful people. Is MSU a desirable job?
G.B.: Absolutely. To be at a place where there’s so much passion for their university. Being in the Southeastern Conference. In a place where there’s tremendous student athletes you can recruit for most of your sports within a four or five hour radius. To be in a town of 25,000 people and see a football stadium that seats 55,000, show you the passion there is for this. To be sold out in men’s basketball, and to often lead the country in baseball attendance. This is a prime, prime spot. For us we saw it as a place we’re going to raise our family and we’re going to be here. We were not expecting this, and felt strongly that we’d be here four of five years from now, and maybe even longer. Did not have a time frame set up in our head, whatsoever. Yes, I believe Mississippi State is and will be a desirable spot.
R: Is MSU a hard place to win?
G.B.: You’re going to play an underdog role a lot of times, just because it’s such a great league. But that’s OK, there’s 85 scholarships everywhere you go. There’s enough student athletes around for you to be able to get your share and compete. If you’ve got the right leadership, the right coaches, and you put it all together, then you can win championships here.