Statement from Royce Engstrom

[justanotherfan]

Haters gonna hate. No amount of common sense will ever change that, I guess. :roll:

someone thinks very highly of themselves and their opinion.....

Whatever. I just prefer accuracy to inaccuracy. If one is going to suggest that Engstrom wasn't at the BB game, it would probably stand to reason that you had a clue about whether he was or wasn't.

This is not about hate...it's about competency.

The University of Montana deserves better!

 

[coreytrevor]

Haters gonna hate. No amount of common sense will ever change that, I guess. :roll:

someone thinks very highly of themselves and their opinion.....

Whatever. I just prefer accuracy to inaccuracy. If one is going to suggest that Engstrom wasn't at the BB game, it would probably stand to reason that you had a clue about whether he was or wasn't.

Wow, Engstrom was at the game? BFD... Guess what? There are plenty parts of my job I despise doing, but have to anyway. Attending games is one of those things for Roy Boy. He doesn't give 2 sh!ts about UM, especially athletics. If he did he never would have handled the firing of Pflu and O'day like he did. He never would have told the group of stunned asst coaches to "Figure out who they wanted to coach the team next year". Probably wouldn't have signed off on the farce that was Jordy's U Court trial either.

The guy is an ignorant boob with ZERO leadership skills. His letter in this issue of the Montanan about leadership was a total joke. Right down to the "Go Griz" salutation. Sadly he has managed to hire enough lackeys that his position is probably secure for the foreseeable future. If this guy was a leader he wouldn't have fired half of campus to thwart away attention from his many blunders, i.e. the Saudi incident.

Just because you probably hold some volunteer position on campus doesn't validate your opinion or give you any kind of importance... So I would suggest everyone ignore your condescending "haters" comment.

 

[MissoulaMarinerFan]

What I find regrettable is that Mick Delaney and/or Kent Haslam have not stepped forward to support the players. I know Engstrom is the mouthpiece but if I were the head coach or AD I would certainly want to weigh in on this. Maybe they are afraid of being fired if they say anything? Just curious.

Umm, you did see what happened the last time the football coach and AD stepped up for the football players right? If you didn't, their asses got canned for no better reason than "change of direction." If I was Delaney and Haslam, I'd keep my damn mouth shut too. All that matters is that the players know they have their backs. Which, I'm guessing isn't all totally based on what is said on the teevee and the crappy local news-paper. :twocents:

 

[Richard Cranium]

He didnt write that himself, someone else did....

I thought the same damn thing as I read the statement.

 

[GrizFan2011]

What I find regrettable is that Mick Delaney and/or Kent Haslam have not stepped forward to support the players. I know Engstrom is the mouthpiece but if I were the head coach or AD I would certainly want to weigh in on this. Maybe they are afraid of being fired if they say anything? Just curious.

Umm, you did see what happened the last time the football coach and AD stepped up for the football players right? If you didn't, their asses got canned for no better reason than "change of direction." If I was Delaney and Haslam, I'd keep my damn mouth shut too. All that matters is that the players know they have their backs. Which, I'm guessing isn't all totally based on what is said on the teevee and the crappy local news-paper. :twocents:

Check my last sentence before "just curious." Tongue in cheek. Of course I saw what happened to the last football coach and AD. I also know that the coach has said nothing to the players about supporting them in light of Williams' comment. And, yes, I asked a few players if they had received any comment from the head coach. The answer was "no." Now, it could have happened since I talked to them yesterday. At any rate, the head coach and AD being afraid of being fired should say something about the strangle hold Engstrom has on them. That's some way to run a University.

 

[MissoulaMarinerFan]

What I find regrettable is that Mick Delaney and/or Kent Haslam have not stepped forward to support the players. I know Engstrom is the mouthpiece but if I were the head coach or AD I would certainly want to weigh in on this. Maybe they are afraid of being fired if they say anything? Just curious.

Umm, you did see what happened the last time the football coach and AD stepped up for the football players right? If you didn't, their asses got canned for no better reason than "change of direction." If I was Delaney and Haslam, I'd keep my damn mouth shut too. All that matters is that the players know they have their backs. Which, I'm guessing isn't all totally based on what is said on the teevee and the crappy local news-paper. :twocents:

Check my last sentence before "just curious." Tongue in cheek. Of course I saw what happened to the last football coach and AD. I also know that the coach has said nothing to the players about supporting them in light of Williams' comment. And, yes, I asked a few players if they had received any comment from the head coach. The answer was "no." Now, it could have happened since I talked to them yesterday. At any rate, the head coach and AD being afraid of being fired should say something about the strangle hold Engstrom has on them. That's some way to run a University.

Bahahahahah! My bad, man. Reading goes so much quicker when you don't take the time to comprehend! :mrgreen: It's too bad about what you found out from the players. I think we may be in for a loooonnnnngggggggg year.

 

[zirge]

Got this just now via the campus wide communication program:

I want to reaffirm that The University of Montana values highly the many contributions of our student-athletes. As a group, they work tirelessly to achieve excellence on the court or playing field, in the classroom, and in the community. Our student-athletes bring countless hours of enjoyment to members of the University, to Missoula, across Montana, and to Griz fans around the world. Athletics is a part of the fabric of the University and it enriches our learning environment. Our student-athletes are students first, recently achieving their 15th semester in a row of a grade point average above 3.0 and the highest graduation rate in the Big Sky Conference. Last fall the student-athletes had the highest collective academic performance since the University began recording. Are there individual problems on occasion? Of course, and we address those promptly and effectively through a recently revised Student-athlete Conduct Code. The actions of individuals do not characterize our student-athletes in general any more than they do for other groups of people on campus. Our student-athletes are supported by hard-working coaches, support staff, and faculty. Let's congratulate our student-athletes and thank them for their hard work and their role as representatives of The University of Montana.

Go Griz!

Royce C. Engstrom
President
The University of Montana

So, then why was it necessary to fire the athletic director and head football coach, and try to destroy an icon football program?

The University of Montana deserves better!

Good point! also this non-characterization he speaks of...........does this apply to the hard working coaches as well?

 

[GoosetownGriz]

Haters gonna hate. No amount of common sense will ever change that, I guess. :roll:

Exactly.


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[PTGrizzly]

Well this thread de-railed quickly.

I understand that people have criticisms for what Royce did in the past, but there was nothing wrong with the letter that he wrote.

Also funny to see certain people say Royce doesn't do certain things (like go to basketball games), then get proven wrong, and then try to avoid the issue that they were wrong.

I guess some people never learn.

 

[coreytrevor]

Well this thread de-railed quickly.

I understand that people have criticisms for what Royce did in the past, but there was nothing wrong with the letter that he wrote.

Also funny to see certain people say Royce doesn't do certain things (like go to basketball games), then get proven wrong, and then try to avoid the issue that they were wrong.

I guess some people never learn.

I don't think anyone is questioning that Royce goes to games. The president is surely required to as part of his job duties. But to suggest he actually cares is insane. That Moron probably couldn't pick a basketball out of a line up of all basketballs. He likely spent the entire game on his iPad watching Jimmy Neutron or texting Everett Griz about some really important campus business of which his input was desperately needed.

 

[EverettGriz]

CT, I challenge you to actually have a 5 minute conversation with the man about his knowledge of Griz basketball (or any UM sport) and then come back and post. Be a man and take up my challenge. I think you'll be pleasantly surprised by his knowledge and passion of UM's sports.


(and yes, this ridiculous conversation begun because posters insinuated that Waded was attended the BB game and Engstrom did not).

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[grzz]

Well this thread de-railed quickly.

I understand that people have criticisms for what Royce did in the past, but there was nothing wrong with the letter that he wrote.

Also funny to see certain people say Royce doesn't do certain things (like go to basketball games), then get proven wrong, and then try to avoid the issue that they were wrong.

I guess some people never learn.

I don't think anyone is questioning that Royce goes to games. The president is surely required to as part of his job duties. But to suggest he actually cares is insane. That Moron probably couldn't pick a basketball out of a line up of all basketballs. He likely spent the entire game on his iPad watching Jimmy Neutron or texting Everett Griz about some really important campus business of which his input was desperately needed.

I'm not defending Engstrom, or the firings. However, some of the assumptions make are ridiculous. And if you read up this thread, questioning whether Royce goes to games is exactly what some posters are doing...I would be shocked if attending basketball games is part of job requirements. I don't know about the rest of you, but I got to a lot of basketball games and I don't think I ever once saw King George there, at least down amongst the people. Royce sits court side every game he is town, which seems to be quite a few. And he certainly seems to understand enough to be a good fan.

Again, I am not defending Engstrom or his actions, but he could walk into the Athletic Department tomorrow and write a personal check for $1 million dollars towards a new weight room, and many of you would find reasons to bitch about it or make blanket statement without actually knowing whether you are accurate or not.

I am glad he made the statement, it is much better than nothing at all, and I think he called out a sitting regent as much as you could expect a sitting University President to do.

 

[Ursa Major]

Well this thread de-railed quickly.

I understand that people have criticisms for what Royce did in the past, but there was nothing wrong with the letter that he wrote.

Also funny to see certain people say Royce doesn't do certain things (like go to basketball games), then get proven wrong, and then try to avoid the issue that they were wrong.

I guess some people never learn.

I don't think anyone is questioning that Royce goes to games. The president is surely required to as part of his job duties. But to suggest he actually cares is insane. That Moron probably couldn't pick a basketball out of a line up of all basketballs. He likely spent the entire game on his iPad watching Jimmy Neutron or texting Everett Griz about some really important campus business of which his input was desperately needed.

I'm not defending Engstrom, or the firings. However, some of the assumptions make are ridiculous. And if you read up this thread, questioning whether Royce goes to games is exactly what some posters are doing...I would be shocked if attending basketball games is part of job requirements. I don't know about the rest of you, but I got to a lot of basketball games and I don't think I ever once saw King George there, at least down amongst the people. Royce sits court side every game he is town, which seems to be quite a few. And he certainly seems to understand enough to be a good fan.

Again, I am not defending Engstrom or his actions, but he could walk into the Athletic Department tomorrow and write a personal check for $1 million dollars towards a new weight room, and many of you would find reasons to bitch about it or make blanket statement without actually knowing whether you are accurate or not.

I am glad he made the statement, it is much better than nothing at all, and I think he called out a sitting regent as much as you could expect a sitting University President to do.

Great post Grzz! For future reference could you try and be more black and white in your posts. Many here don't take kindly to anything going off script (i.e. RE is the antichrist). I tend to believe a person can do good things and bad things. But what do I know.

 

[EverettGriz]

Good posts by both Grzz and Ursa.

I don't think any poster would suggest that they support every decision that has been made. But fairness and accuracy matter, even when they conflict with preconcieved ideas.

 

[Grisly Fan]

I don't think I have read many complaints about what was said but that there was a delay in saying it. It probably isn't every day that a regent publicly makes the kinds of statements that PW did. I am sure it caught everyone by surprise and probably at least part of the delay was spent trying to figure out what kind of response was possible and appropriate. The last thing you would want as RE is to step in it the way PW did. Certainly there would have been a few phone calls, probably to other regents, maybe a discussion with the university's attorney, and definitely with PR to craft just the right response. Had a RE known in advance this would come out in print, all of this would have been in hand ready for a quicker response. I can only infer that RE was caught flat-footed like everyone else.

 

[zengriz]

The last thing you would want as RE is to step in it the way PW did.

...one thing about ol' rollz royce...
...he knows how to keep hiz mouth shut...
...still don't know what happened to o'day/pflu...

... ...

 

[NikeGrizz]

Here's "Student Supports For Student Athletes"

Dear Editor,

In light of current events, including the Johnson trial and recent high profile comments made by one of our Regents about student athletes, it would be easy as students to get swept up in negativity. After all, we have experienced some troubling issues in our community and on our campus over the last year relating to sexual assault and the conduct of an isolated few student athletes. But all too often, our culture gets caught up with problems rather than solutions. We highlight people who are doing things wrong in our community and too often miss the chance to recognize those who do things right. We write as student leadership to take a stand in support of our student athletes at the University of Montana. The actions of a few will not marginalize our perspective on the group as whole.




Every day, there are people doing things in this community that would make us all proud, if only we all heard about them. And a surprising number of these people are student athletes. For example, we have both taken classes with Jordan Tripp, UM football’s All-American linebacker. Mr. Tripp is a celebrity of sorts on this campus, and we see him consistently going out of his way to treat his professors, classmates and fans with gratitude and respect. That is excellence from a student athlete. Brock Coyle, another Grizzly linebacker, is a second prime example. Brock has been the man of his house since he was in middle school, a loving and supportive son to his single mother and a wonderful big brother. Someday after college football, we have absolutely no doubt that he will be an incredible husband and father. We look up to Brock for the great guy he is. Josh Denard is yet another football player who takes great pride in representing our University the right way—with humility, dignity and hard work. Between the weight room, the playing field and the classroom, these are some of the most dedicated, hardworking and upstanding people we have ever met.

UM student athletes frequently visit classrooms around the community and interact with kids in our community, inspiring them to work hard in the classroom and on the playing field. And they practice what they preach. Our student athletes lead the Big Sky in graduation rates and average GPA consistently. From our perspective, these are absolutely people to look up to, and we are proud that they represent us in the community.

As students, we share this place with some incredibly talented, intelligent and hardworking peers. Many of these peers are football players, track athletes, volleyball players or basketball players. These fine individuals are students first, and their ability to juggle academics, community service and athletic competition at the Division I level is commendable. So let’s take a collective step back and remember to recognize excellence, instead of only pointing at negative behavior from a select few individuals and making generalizations. Our UM student athletes aren’t “thugs” — they are our brothers and sisters, friends and classmates who carry the name and reputation of our fine institution on their back every day. As fellow students, we are behind them 100 percent. Go Griz!

Zach Brown & Bryn Hagfors

ASUM President and Vice President

http://www.montanakaimin.com/opinion/letters_to_editor/article_8a894806-766b-11e2-bf95-001a4bcf6878.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

 

[BDizzle]

Awesome write up. Just wish they would have spelled Dennards name right.

 

[PlayerRep]

A letter to the editor from today's Missoulian:

"Our former U.S. Rep. Pat Williams has once again opened his mouth and shown what a despicable person he really is. We have seen how this desperate individual will stop at nothing to garner some attention to himself as he lay on the trash heap of washed-up politicians.

When the University of Montana is working tirelessly to attract students to our campus, we have this washed-up egomaniac contacting the New York Times. And if that’s not enough, he is on the Board of Regents stating that our coaches are recruiting thugs. Has he ever taken the time to look at the 99 percent of our student athletes who are excelling in the classroom and on the playing field? No. The coaches, staff and athletic director of the University of Montana are, from top to bottom, beyond reproach.

Williams has repeatedly shown his disdain toward our student athletes and I feel is on a one-man show to harm this fine institution.

When the truth is really out it wouldn’t surprise me to see his name as leading the assault against Jim O’Day and Robin Pflugrad; by the way, two wonderful gentlemen.

Williams, if you have an ounce of dignity left you will do the right thing and resign from the Board of Regents.

I love this university, and yes we have had our trying times and we will work through this and be better in the end. But who in their right mind would allow a one-man wrecking ball to destroy the reputation of the University of Montana?

Larry Ashcraft, Polson"

http://missoulian.com/news/opinion/mailbag/board-of-regents-williams-resign-over-comment/article_fcc8aca4-76b6-11e2-8ac1-001a4bcf887a.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

 

[GrizPony]

The last thing you would want as RE is to step in it the way PW did.

...one thing about ol' rollz royce...
...he knows how to keep hiz mouth shut...
...still don't know what happened to o'day/pflu...

... ...

Or the Saudi.....