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Recent update from the depths of Baylor:
Starr to land position at Baylor Law.
Being dead serious. Just rumor for now, but coming from Baylor folks.
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Just put up a billboard with a rape hotline number that goes straight to the schools admissions office.
Or simply, "NO MEANS NO"
quote:Which is ridiculous. Its like having an employee screw up, and then firing his manager because the employee is the boss's son.
I think this "Starr to be fired" rumor was put out by one of the regents to test the acceptance and/or backlash by this move. Maybe they were hoping to avoid a "And Briles should follow him" response.
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Starr's Status: The Real Story. What you're not reading in the paper
Well, guys and gals, Ol' Jett has been away from Baylor ever since Baylor decided to drag their own alumni to court. That didn't turn out so well for Baylor. They had to give the alumni $2 million and three seats on the Board of Regents in addition to basically restoring their status. But that's another, though related story, as I will divulge.
Mrs. Jett and I have been relaxing around Little Reata for a few months. Then this morning my phone started ringing about Ken Starr getting fired.
I've been reading all day all kinds of crazy theories about what's happening and watching everybody wet their pants like the football team had been beaten by Sam Houston State or somesuch.
If you people will bear with me, I'll lay it out for you.
Ken Starr is a fine gentleman and a great legal mind. He is also one of the worst presidents of Baylor ever to hold the office. And it's not all his fault it turned out that way. He was brought here by former regent, Buddy Jones who expected him to be another John Lilley. In other words, "Ken, just look presidential, raise a little money from you rich Washington pals, do what we tell you to do, and you can knock down $1 million a year at Baylor."
Things went that way for a short while. Then Buddy went into full blown megalomania building and borrowing every stadium and building he could dream of. Oh, and declaring full scale war on the alumni and using his stadium as an excuse to wipe them off the face of the earth. He and Dary and Richard Willis told Ken to get out of the way and support their agenda and express support in print, as well. Meanwhile the three regents set about to micro manage every facet of Baylor to suit themselves.
Starr is a smart man and he resisted on more than one occasion.
For all of his legal prowess, he proved to not be a leader nor administrator. He handled everything like a lawyer, which proved to be a detriment. He had a poor record of hiring key staff, especially in the development department, pr department and provost. His record of turnover in those areas was bad.
Meanwhile, Buddy hires an ex-Baptist preacher named Ken Hall to be Starr's replacement. The two Kens, Starr and Hall, had an immediate dislike for each other, especially when Hall started whispering to anybody that would listen that he was the next president.
Buddy and his henchmen planned a palace coup to kick Starr upstairs but Starr caught wind and outflanked the three stooges by taking the Chancellor job they gave him and then turning on them and informing them that he would also retain the president's job.
From that moment on, Buddy Jones and Ken Starr were mortal enemies. Starr fired Ken Hall and Karla Leeper who was Starr's chief of staff and very loyal to Buddy, Willis and Ken Hall. The mystery is why he didn't fire Buddy's most loyal insider, Tommye Lou Davis, who acted as co-conspirator with Buddy to demolish the alumni building and try to wipe the alumni off the face of the earth. Tommye Lou still serves as Starr's chief of staff. Go figure. Could that be a source of leak?
So that brings us up to where we are today, sorta. Taking a legal approach to everything rather than acting as a real administrator put Starr in a bad light. He let the scandals run all over his campus and basically doing nothing. Are there cover-ups? Probably, but the fact that he didn't take control is what will get him fired.
Now, let's talk about the Chip Brown story. It is widely known since the rumors that flew around the Big 12 realignment six years ago that Buddy and Chip Brown talked to each other on a fairly regular basis. Buddy has bragged that he, his ownself, saved Baylor in the Big 12. Do they still talk to each other? I'll leave you to your own opinion.
Now back to Willis and the BOR. Though no longer on the BOR, Buddy most likely misses the action and the power. Willis is his boy. Willis will step down as chairman on the 31st. If a move is going to be made on Starr it has to be made before then. Otherwise, three avowed enemies of Buddy and Willis will be seated on the BOR on June 1st as the first appointees of the Baylor Alumni Association. There is a good chance the balance of the BOR will shift (for the better we can only hope) when that happens.
Buddy's greatest achievement (in his own mind) is the success of the football team and the shiny stadium. Here's how he and Willis want this to play out. Briles knew of some discrepancies with his players but he followed procedure and turned the matter over to Ian McCaw. McCaw, in turn, turned it over to Starr and Starr bungled the whole deal. McCaw may get the ax also. Buddy doesn't really care as long a Briles stays.
The BOR follows this logic in the fact that if Briles gets fired and the money to fund their $700 million plus debts starts sucking wind.
Another twist. Only Starr can fire Briles or Ian. The BOR does not have that authority because their job is to advise and oversee. The accreditation people will not allow the board to participate in actual operation of the university. By firing Starr, the BOR does not have to take the responsibility of firing anyone else.
My feeling is that Starr has once again outsmarted his board chairman. The overt act of leaking information to a reporter who would spread the news nationwide was meant to grease the process before it could actually be stopped. My feeling is that Starr worked his Board (most of which are followers not leaders) who had never stopped to think where the train was headed.
Will Starr be fired? Most likely. But he it will be on better terms for him. Willis and Buddy will be exposed for what they are. The stink of this whole deal will not go away quickly. I hear there are a few more bombshells out there by ESPN and more that could cause even bigger problems for Baylor. Briles survives for now but nothing lasts forever.
It's also been rumored that there is an opening for a president of Colorado Christian College that Starr might take.
It will take a few days for Baylor to figure all of this out. Once again, Baylor finds a way to look stupid. If they only could get a few ex regents just to go away quietly.
Well, I've worked myself into a real thirst. I think I'll wander over to the 19th Hole and let Alvin pour me a 15-year old Scottish youngster over a single cube of ice. I've got a feeling a few regents and maybe Starr, his ownself, will be joining me for a drink or two.quote:
Last edited by Jett Rink; 05-25-16 at 06:52 AM.
