UAlbany's supposed "vice president and director of athletics Lee McElroy," who the NYS Department of State indicated had not sworn and filed an Oath of Office with the NYS Secretary of State when he was appointed, took media on a tour of UAlbany's (Hearst's?) new $24 million dollar or so stadium that they're hoping to expand for an additional $20 million or more. "Four luxury suites go for $150,000 for a five-year contract" No mention in the Times Useless' article of the conflicts of interest involved with the Times Union's history and Times Union publisher and UAlbany Foundation Board of Directors President George Randolph Hearst's history with athletics misadventures at UAlbany, naturally.
"The Times Union will pay $158,000 to the University at Albany for maintenance and security for the 1997 training camp […] The Giants put the Capital Region on the map and hopefully in the big picture it will generate revenues. […] the Giants training camp fell short of economic expectations […] local business owners, who had hoped out-of-town Giants fans would spend money by eating, shopping and drinking locally, said last summer that business was much slower than expected. Many also said fans didn't come from great distances to watch the team practice. […] Because the Times Union covers the University at Albany, its sports programs and the Giants summer camp, there's a possibility for conflict of interest […] "We simply talk about this a lot and do our darndest to prevent it" […] University at Albany President Dr. Karen Hitchcock said no university money will be used to offset the costs to have the Giants train at the university."Bryce, Jill. "Giants camp gets new backers." Daily Gazette [Schenectady, NY]. July 19, 1997: B6.
Maybe Governor Cuomo could take a look at that... (yeah, that'll happen).
In keeping with New York's tradition of foolishly naming things after living people (e.g. the Joseph L. Bruno Stadium), UAlbany has a "Bob Ford Field". Bob Ford:
"In an effort to broaden the scope of the University Police Department’s (UPD) community policing initiatives, the Great Dane Ride Along Program has been created. The concept was put into action by UPD Chief J. Frank Wiley and head football coach Bob Ford. The Program will bring together officers of UPD and members of the University’s football team. The players will ride on regular patrol with the officers in two hour shifts."'The program will expose the students to some of the problems University Police Officers face every day and at the same time will expose the officers to some of our student-athletes,' Ford said. 'This is one of those things that only good can come from.'
"According to Wiley, both the players and the officers are excited about this opportunity and so far, approximately 60 players have volunteered to participate in the program. He added that special planning will be used to ensure that the program will not interfere with the players’ academic schedules. University Police officers assigned to Quad Liaison duties will coordinate the department’s efforts. The program took effect after spring break."
"Great Dane Ride Along Program." highLIGHTS. University Update 20(13). April 2, 1997. http://www.albany.edu/updates/1997/4-2/highlights.html
"nothing can possi-blye go wrong. Er, possi-bly go wrong. Heh, that's the first thing that's ever gone wrong." - "Itchy and Scratchy Land." The Simpsons
"While six sexual assaults have been reported on the UAlbany campus since September, university police contacted Albany County District Attorney David Soares' office for only one - the alleged rape of a freshman woman by the three football players. In the five other cases, the victims declined to press charges. In the case involving the football players, the district attorney's office was called by a television station before receiving a call from the UAlbany police. […] Wiley said university police usually wait until after an arrest, and this was the first time in his 10 years at the school that they contacted prosecutors before an arrest. […] After the forum, Wiley declined interview requests, saying he only conducts interview by e-mail. 'I've been misquoted in my time here. I have been the object of irresponsible, gotcha journalism,' he said. Wiley steered questions to his officers".Crowley, Cathleen F. "Handling of rape case defended; UAlbany police chief says officers followed protocol in dealing with alleged assault." Albany Times Union. October 26, 2006: A1. http://albarchive.merlinone.net/mweb/wmsql.wm.request?oneimage&imageid=6365244
"University Police Department Chief Frank Wiley used to forum to defend UPD's procedure in arresting the two football players, reiterating the fact that they are not obligated to notify the D.A. when making an arrest because there is no set in stone procedure. Each case differs, according to Wiley.
"'There was no lapse in protocol because there is no protocol,' Wiley said at the forum".
Markovetz, Jessie. "Officials respond again." Albany Student Press. November 2, 2006. http://www.albanystudentpress.org/news/officials-respond-again-1.782232
UAlbany athletics' ambitions to emulate Joe Paterno and Penn State, as Bob Ford has explicitly stated in the past (at least he was honest about it):
"What impact do you think Division I athletics will have on the University's relationship with the community? A community as a whole becomes identified with a college or a university that exists within its boundaries. Penn State, as an example, has a community that identifies with that institution. So I think that the City of Albany will eventually identify with the University at Albany, and our intercollegiate athletics program will probably be a source of pride for the city."“Bob Ford on Division I: Community and Campus Pride.” Albany Magazine. http://www.albany.edu/pr/fordnew.html
"Albany has a reputation for grooming young coaches. How do you use your coaching staff? I heard Joe Paterno say, ‘You hire good people, give them a job to do, and don’t look over their shoulders all the time.’ I’d say that’s the way I approach my staff."Coaching Management, 8.4, May 2000, http://www.momentummedia.com/articles/cm/cm0804/qaford.htm
"'I'll miss a good friend and I think we'll all miss a coaching legend,' said Bob Ford, UAlbany's Head Football Coach. […] Ford was a friend of Paterno's, and remembers the coach's life fondly. [...] 'he himself did nothing wrong, but as he said, he wished he did more,' said Ford."
Cruz, Megan. "Locals mourn Paterno." YNN. January 22, 2012. http://saratoga-north.ynn.com/content/your_news/571083/locals-mourn-paterno/
In fact Paterno had done wrong. Ford's belief that Paterno had acted within the bounds of what is morally, ethically, legally right might indicate Ford's own compass takes him the wrong direction. The same might be said of Ford's continued belief that Paterno was a "good friend" (a "good friend" would not have done what Paterno did). Ford's own statements and actions would also appear to indicate football is the alpha and the omega for him, and nothing else matters.
"I talk to this football squad all the time about things that I think are important in life."
Singelais, Mark. "Ford insists UAlbany reputation unharmed; Coach says university should weather arrests of 3 players." Albany Times Union. October 20, 2006: C1. http://albarchive.merlinone.net/mweb/wmsql.wm.request?oneimage&imageid=6364233
His players weren't concerned that Ford would be angry at them for gang raping a woman. Ford was unworried about the impact on the university of his players gang raping a woman... or the impact on the woman. Maybe Ford should start considering not gang raping women to be one of the important things in life and start talking to his football squad about not gang raping women? His continued admiration for Paterno makes that event seem terribly unlikely.
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