I recently read a blog post from a good friend of mine (below) and would like to echo his sentiments. Jim O’Day was a class act, a great man, a leader among leaders, a HUGE asset to Grizzly Athletics and created a legacy that will continue for many many years to come. You will always be a Griz and you will never be forgotten! Thank you for everything you have done for Grizzly Athletics, the University and the Missoula community.
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From the blog post by Brent Reser
Last Thursday was a very dark and sad day for my place of work, a day that negatively impacted myself and every single employee in The University of Montana Athletic Department. In what seemed like the biggest punch in the gut one could get, we learned that morning in a last minute mandatory meeting that our athletic director and head football coach had been let go. To see two outstanding individuals ousted so fast sickened us all. I will not address the reasoning (or lack thereof) or my opinion of the terminations in this post because I have absolutely no business doing so. However, what I will address is my admiration and respect for Jim O’Day, the man who served as athletic director for Grizzly Athletics for eight years. In this tribute to Jim, I want to share why he was such a great boss and an even better person.
Continued at http://dontblink-brent.blogspot.com/2012/04/thanks-jim.html
This post and the blog referenced are correct on all counts. There is no need to repeat what has already been said but I have to say that Jim O’Day is and was an absolutely stellar individual in every fashion. He will be sorely missed by UM Athletics, The University of Montana and the Missoula community. He is not replaceable.
The authors of this article and blog are related to The University of Montana and accordingly cannot ask the obvious question or respond critically to this event. But I can.
The obvious question is what are “they” thinking? To terminate someone of this caliber without explanation other than “a new direction” is reprehensible. This rings completely hollow, and is unforgivable to the supporters of UM academics and student-athletes. To leave this vacuum only suggests that whoever “they” are have little regard for us minions who contribute heavily, in many ways, to all facets of campus.
There is something rotten in Denmark and it is not Jim O’Day I do not know what it or who they are but I hope it/they are identified and rooted out. UM has no place for chickens who will not stand up and take responsibility for their decisions.
We are going to miss you Jim. Take care and the best of luck with Cliff, you deserve to have your name cleared.
Ted Delaney