Sean Frazier UNC-Asheville

[MikeR]

one of 4 finalists for AD job (http://cgi.citizen-times.com/cgi-bin/story/sports/52165)
UNCA narrows list of athletic director candidates to four
By Keith Jarrett, Staff WriterMarch 25, 2004 10:06 p.m.
ASHEVILLE - UNC Asheville has four finalists for the athletic director's post recently vacated by Joni Comstock.

Each of the four will be on campus next week for interviews, and the school hopes to fill the job by early May.

The candidates include:

-- Janet Cone, the assistant athletic director at Samford (Ala.) University. The only finalist with a local connection, Cone was head women's basketball coach at Mars Hill (1986-90) and Western Carolina (1990-93).

-- Tim Downes, director of athletics, physical education and recreation at California Institute of Technology.

-- Sean Fraizer, director of athletics and recreation at Clarkson (N.Y.) University.

-- Howard Gauthier, president of Gauthier Sports Consulting in Idaho and former athletic director at Idaho State.


Search committee chairman Scot Schaeffer estimated receiving more than 70 applications to replace Comstock, who spent four years at UNCA before leaving in December to become AD at American University.

"The candidates will be on campus next week for interviews, and the committee will send a recommendation to the chancellor by the end of next week," said Schaeffer, the school's director of admissions and financial aid.

"This was a very good process. We had real good involvement from the faculty, students and the community," said Chancellor Jim Mullen Jr.

"We had a very diverse pool of applicants and have a very strong list of finalists."

[CUKnight]

Is it me, or is it ever since Fraiser came to clarkson he has been trying to leave? I appreciate his work (whatever he had to do with it) with regards to Prop 75, but I would be very happy if he moved on.

[Chaz]

I agree totally. He has worked hard regarding the Prop 65 situation but he has also given me the impression that he just does not want to be here any longer. Hopefully he does land this job so we can replace him with someone who will bring a more positive energy to the program(and university). His repetative job searches must be sending a strong message to the university. We will probably never know the real reason he is so interested in leaving but that is his business. As far as I am concerned, he is somewhat of a lame duck. JMO

[Goldie Knight]

Saturday, March 27, 2004 10:15 AM

Mike, you continually and constantly amaze me with your internet research. When do you find time to work?:)

I know that Shawn worked with great diligence in the battle to overcome John McCardell's proposal. Poor John, he and his pathetic proposal were just doomed to failure because there were too many kind, caring, and decent people in Division III who voted against it. It was indeed a victory for our University, as well as for St. Lawrence, RPI, and Colorado College. Thank goodness, I believe we have seen the last of those alarming attempts to deprive Clarkson of its hockey scholarships.

Kudos to President Tony Collins who is the most supportive individual of Clarkson hockey of all Clarkson Presidents we have ever known. We have also known President Gallagher and President Brown. Tony made a magnificent speech commending the Golden Knights and the Clarkson coaches at the post-game party at Pagliacci's Ristorante. All of us are encouraged by his strong support.

What do you folks think of Odgensburg native, Jimmy Howard, Maine's best goalie, allowing Harvard all those goals last night? Maine possessed the fortitude to overcome a huge Harvard lead and finally win the game.

WE ARE PROUD OF OUR KNIGHTS!

[petal]

well, I can't say I'd be sorry to see him go. It would be great if we could find someone to come in and really be enthusiastic and committed to our sports program. His work to defeat the proposal was nice, but it has seemed like ever since he arrived he's been trying desperately to leave....*shrug*

[vicb]

Originally posted by petal
well, I can't say I'd be sorry to see him go. It would be great if we could find someone to come in and really be enthusiastic and committed to our sports program.


There is already someone at Clarkson who is committed to and enthusiastic about the program, Steve Yanoukos. And when (NOT IF BUT WHEN) Frazier leaves, if he gets screwed a second time in not getting the job well shame on the University.

Did anyone notice that in the staff directory for athletics, Frazier's email address is not available. All the other major coaches at the University have their email address published but not him. :confused:

[CUKnight]

Amen vic. Stevie Y definatly deserves that job! (oh, and get nuker back to announcing the games...)

[MikeR]

Goldie...it's rather easy using the Google News alert service (http://www.google.com/newsalerts?q=clarkson+university&hl=en) , which sends stories to your email.

Here's Sean Frazier's email from the
student affairs site (http://www.clarkson.edu/studentaffairs/contacts.html).

My take on the situation: Mr. Frazier aspires to be in charge of a larger D-1 program, if possible in the southern states. A common path to get an AD position at a bigger D1 program is to prove your qualifications at a smaller school.

In business, one can choose between a Fortune 100 (D1) or start up (D3) company out of college oftentimes. Not so in the academic world.

Regardless, I doubt he wants to stay in Potsdam forever, does the administration want the highest qualified person, regardless of future aspirations or maybe one not quite as qualified that will stay with the program forever? Occasionally, it works out that a smaller school can get both.

[JustMyOpinion]

First of all who's NUKER and why does CUKnight what him back as an annoucer. I thought Bobby and Josh do a spectactular job.

As far as Jimmy Howard goes, he is the pride of the North Country. I love CU hockey but Jimmy is a home boy.

Thirdly, Stevie Y is the best option and has been the best option for our athletic program.

And once again who is NUKER?

[CUKnight]

I absolutly do not want to replace bob and josh, and to be fair I have been away from campus a while, so things may have changed. Former dean, and current VP for alumni and parent relations, Steve Newkofsky, used to announce AT the games (i.e., introduce player lineups, announce goals, etc.), and was great at it. After he left (i think it was his own doing), they couldnt find anyone worth their salt to take over. Like I said, i havent been back to cheel in about 3 years, so its possible they found someone good at this point, but Nuker was great...just a trip down memory lane, thats all :)

[vicb]

Originally posted by JustMyOpinion
First of all who's NUKER and why does CUKnight what him back as an annoucer.

I at first thought that NUKER was some nickname for Josh so I did not say anything. Josh has not been doing much color commentary lately. He seems to be never on the road games and has been sporatically covering home games. No offense to Gary Mikel who does a great job as the SID but I really miss Josh's insite into the games. Bob Ahfeld IMHO is the best announcer in the ECAC.

[Goldie Knight]

Sunday, March 28, 2004 8:45 AM

CU Knight is correct about Steve. Everyone we know thinks Steve is an absolutely terrific person. In the 1990s, Steve was in charge of Residence Life. From there, he moved on to be Dean of Students. And now, he holds the position of Assistant Vice President of Alumni and Parents Relations. He has a warm and cordial personality. He volunteered to do the announcing at the games, and as was mentioned, his work was very well done.

For one year, we had a replacement who was a member of the CU faculty--I don't remember his name. But I do remember his inviting fans to come to Cheel on Sunday and "skate with a Saint." He obviously meant to say, "skate with a Knight." An unforgivable error in the minds of many.

For the past few years, we have been fortunate to have a very articulate and inspiring public address announcer at Cheel. His name is Tom Pinkerton, and he is from Ogdensburg. Tom does an awesome job and is well respected by Clarkson fans.

Bob, Josh, and Gary do the radio broadcasting, and yes, they do a great job too.

Mike, thanks for revealing your trade secrets. It does nothing to discredit the time and energy you display in writing on the Roundtable though. You keep us very up to date with what is going on in the world of Clarkson hockey, etc.

Vic, I forgot to mention something about that Clarkson hockey pin I described: I think it is on another thread. I would assume it is basically for women, as they are the only ones I have ever seen wear them.

WE ARE PROUD OF OUR KNIGHTS!

[RSTuthill]

In defense of Sean, when the guy that hires you leaves, you simply have to start looking yourself. You folks who are well into your careers should know that.

Ask yourself two questions: did he have a significant role in hiring George Roll? Has the women's hockey program gotten off to a strong start? Has he adequately supported the skiing program which has won back to back D-3 championships in Nordic skiing and is becoming a force in Alpine skiing?

If the answer to any of those questions is yes, please get off his case.

Clarkson will alway do best by hiring the best and brightest who will use their stay in Potsdam as a steppingstone to a bigger challenge at a major university. Clarkson is simply too small and isolated to hold folks like that for a lifetime. Ceglarski and York are prime examples from the coaching ranks. The same applies to AD's. Frazier's possible imminent departure is simply part of a natural process and does not reflect on his personal ethics in any way.

[petal]

Willi Steinrotter has been the force behind the ski team for many years. They have had strong team and have been getting stronger since I started ski racing in the early 90s. I've known Willi for a long time(going on 15 years now) and he has worked tirelessly recruiting and coaching and has been the backbone of that team. The ski team was/is an afterthought and I don't believe they got much support from any AD's. They have had success in the past but most people don't follow ski racing at any level. As far as the women's hockey team getting off to a strong start, I feel that was in the works before Frazier got here and all he had to do was play along. It just seemed to me about a month after he showed up at Tech he started looking for a new job. At least stay a couple years. When I started my job a few years ago I too was looking to "move up" at some point but I didn't start looking shortly after I arrived, which it seems to me he did. Being involved in sports means being invested. I guess I've just felt it's been luke warm/tepid. Just my opinion, folks. I've never really been too impressed with this guy from the beginning. Sorry if I have stepped on any toes. It's just my 2 cents for today. How about those Red Sox? ;)

[RSTuthill]

Seems like I saw a Derick Lowe fastball sailing over the left field fence on the late news last night. Not to worry, the Yankees have no pitching.

Petal, send me a note at richard.tuthill@pw.utc.com. I would like to take this discussion off line.

[Stemmer]

Dick,

I think I have to largely agree with Petal on this one and also I must disagree with you on your comment re: Len Ceglarski.

The re-establishment of a womens' D1 ice hockey program definitely predates Sean's arrival. I'm not minimizing his administrative skills or ability to grow and run the program but the groundwork started a few years before he took the job. It's quite clear that the success enjoyed by the ski team preceded Sean's arrival as well. I do not deny his right to move on but I think two years on the job is not a long enough period to see some of his initiatives to fruition nor to satisfy the committment that Clarkson has made.

With the increased mobility that many professional people actively seek and have these days, is it any wonder why Clarkson has traditionally looked to within the Tech family for coaches, specifically hockey coaches, and ADs whenever possible to increase the liklihood that they'll stay in the North Country? And yes, another reason for doing so is that it has always been somewhat difficult to attract "outsiders" to the North Country.

In Coach Ceglarski's case, this wonderful, highly respected man (I don't know any other D1 coach who has been so universally liked and respected, btw) gave Clarkson and the Potsdam community 15 or so years of his life. He became a great coach there and raised his family there. I had the pleasure af attending Hockey Homecoming in Fall, 2002, when Lenny was honored along with his two NCAA runnerup teams...'66 and '70. I had seen him only once since he had left Tech nearly 30 years earlier and it was a great pleasure to hear him recall so fondly the years he and his wife Ursula spent at Clarkson in every aspect at that reunion.

Simply put, I think it's grossly inaccurate to say that he used Tech as a stepping stone to a better job. For one thing, he had said back in the 70s when he left Tech when I was a student, that BC was the only job he could take to leave Tech. Remember that for him, he was "going home" to not only his native Mass. but also to BC which is his alma mater. No one begrudged him that! Kinda reminds me of Ray Perkins taking the head football job at Alabama in the early 80s. Secondly, its quite doubtful that BC was considered a "better job" at that time.

Yorkie may be a different matter but frankly, I worked for Jerry as a senior and he never seemed nearly as comfortable in the NC as his predecessor was. He had his share of success at Clarkson and he chose to move on to a bigger stage. I had no problem with that at all. I do wish however that he had said some nicer things about life and hockey in Potsdam! :rolleyes:

Maybe he would have had he ever been able to beat us at Cheel!
:D

[RSTuthill]

Stemmer, did not mean to imply that Lenny left quickly. I was at Tech while he was there so I know quite well how long he stayed. I even got an A off him one semester, if you can believe that. (Well ... maybe that is hard to believe:-) The point is that he moved on.

Didn't Sean hire the women's coach? And didn't he play a central role in choosing Mark's replacement? I don't know for sure as I do not follow things that closely in Potsdam, but seems like I remember both of those to be true. If so, those are significant choices and reflect good judgement.

[Bill]

Sean walked into a mell of a hess...., and we survived it! I do not know how anyone could've done better with the program -- just look at what shape it was in, with the coaching problem, lawsuit, the NCAA D3 mess, and so on an so forth. And now, we have perhaps the best coaching staff going, the recruiting is going well, and team performance at the end of this year was little short of great! I say a pretty good 2 year run for Sean -- best of luck in the future!!! And Vic, I e-mailed Sean a few times for coaching hire input (they did great, didn't they) and received return messages from him each time...???

[RSTuthill]

Have I missed something? Did he accept another job?

[MikeR]

Frazier not selected at UNC-Asheville (http://cgi.citizen-times.com/cgi-bin/story/sports/53908)

[Chaz]

I believe I had just read a week or two ago in the WDT that Frazier had taken his hat out of the ring because Ashville did not offer basketball football or hockey. I was floored when I read this. It's blatently obvious he just wants out of dodge. How could he apply for that job and not know what they offered for sports. The writing is on the wall!

[MikeR]

I believe I had just read a week or two ago in the WDT that Frazier had taken his hat out of the ring because Ashville did not offer basketball football or hockey. I was floored when I read this. It's blatently obvious he just wants out of dodge. How could he apply for that job and not know what they offered for sports. The writing is on the wall!


My bad, I missed that article...
4/23/04
Sean Frazier
It was a number of things: football, basketball, hockey; you name any of them, they (Asheville) didn't have any. A lot of it has to do with the continued support that I see here at Clarkson