Old and Maggard: University of Houston AD Retires

Athleticus Directorous

Already having one tribute post up on the site today, why not another?

Right now, Dave Maggard is holding a press conference to announce his retirement, our sources tell us (if you can count “reading chron.com” as a source).   Maggard has been the only Athletic Director we have ever known during our tenure as UH fans/students/alums.  We credit him for the semi-revitalization of the Football and Basketball programs at the University of Houston.  We’re thankful that he put the pieces in place that allowed us winners non-losing teams to cheer for during our years enrolled in college.  He will be missed.

However, one can only wonder if this sudden decision to retire was forced. After scrapping the proposed end-zone facility for Robertson Stadium because of fund-raising woes, Maggard announced a new set of stadium renovations Monday. The Chron reported that Maggard referred to his bosses (President Khator and the Board of Regents) as “major hurdles” referring to this new project.

No tribute is ever complete without the essential biography information.  A quick perusal of the interwebs shows that Dave Maggard’s wikipedia page is severely lacking.  This would mean disaster for many other poorly run satirical sports blogs, but not Fourth and Fifty.

When there is nothing to write about, we make shit up (believe at your own risk):

• Dave graduated from the University of California, Berkeley.
• Dave was on the US National Track team and Olympian in the 1968 games.
• He was the Athletic Director at UC Berkeley and the University of Miami
• Maggard was the Managing Director of Sports for the Olympic Games in Atlanta in 1996.
• DM hired Tom Penders by purchasing matching red blazers for the two of them, however cancelled their appointment to get perms together
• Dave kicked Dana Dimel into a bottomless pit after the 0-11 season.
• He hired Art Briles who brought the football team back from the Land of Suck.
• DM let Briles sell his soul for the money being waved at him by Baylor and promptly hired Sumlin who turned into a more than adequate replacement.
• Maggard broke up with the CBI and would not return their phone calls.

During Maggard’s term, major UH sports went from the crossroads of “terrible and mediocre” to “pretty good”.  I don’t want that to be taken as flippant or derogatory in any way – pretty good for us is damn good.  People who went to good sports schools can’t have proper perspective on how important respectability is.  You can’t truly appreciate something until you’ve experienced its absence.

We were there for the 2001 0-11 football season – every game, in the rain, with about five other people.  Contrast that with our 2006 conference championship win over Southern Miss, which was the singular act of football superiority I’ve witnessed.  Every Cougar fan forgot for one evening that we weren’t UT or Florida – the players, the boosters, the students.  It was indescribable.

Dave Maggard put the major UH sports back on the map, and he did it despite UH being a stepping stool for any coach with a modicum of ambition (damn you, Art Briles).  He also did it through a major regime change on the business and academic side of the university system (and the graduation percentage of UH Athletes rose by over 20%).  Both factors cannot be overestimated in terms of increasing the degree of difficulty for an Athletics Director.

Thank you, Dave Maggard.  We appreciate what you’ve done for the University of Houston.

- Fourth and Fifty

[Picture "acquired" from TheOverbays.net]

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