Members of UA track team take to Internet in support of Booth
Posted on Saturday, June 21, 2008
Online and offline, Arkansas'track athletes are trying to get the attention of athletics director Jeff Long.
A hiring decision to replace John McDonnell as Arkansas' track and field coach has not be made, but people identifying themselves online as McDonnell's former student-athletes are trying to make the selection an easy one for Long.
A petition in favor of promoting longtime Arkansas track and field assistant coach Dick Booth to head coach hit the Internet earlier this week. Arkansas senior Mychael Stewart allegedly started the petition and began promoting the movement on the social networking Web site, Facebook.
Stewart's University of Arkansas e-mail address matched his profile page registered on Facebook, which links to and promotes the petition.
Nine persons identifying themselves as Razorback track athletes, including Stewart, have signed the petition as of 6 p.m. Friday. The ongoing petition at www. ipetitions. com had 33 signatures total.
Signatures credited to freshman javelin star Luke Laird and athletic trainer Jeff McGee included written comments on the Web site.
Kevin Trainor, UA associate athletics director / external affairs, said Long was aware of the petition and that it was the AD's expectation that the athletes whom Booth coached would support his candidacy for the head coaching position. Trainor added that Long respected the student-athletes feelings and that the UA's first-year athletics director hoped their desires would be expressed in an appropriate manner.
Long has stated his goal is to hire the best coach to insure the Razorbacks' continued success in track and field and cross country.
The petioners firmly believe Booth is that man.
"It would be foolish not to hire a coach with the experience and background of coach Booth, besides the fact that anyone I've ever heard from has said coach Booth is the obvious and most deserving person for the job," Laird wrote on the Web site. "Being an athlete on the track team, I know that we want no one else but coach Booth."
Nkosinza Balumbu, according to the petition Web site, also signed in support of Booth.
Balumbu showed support for Booth at the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships on June 14.
"Everyone is pulling for coach Booth to get the job," Balumbu told the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette. "If he doesn't, I know it's going to be a curveball to a lot of people.
"I'm not sure what's going to happen if he doesn't get the job. I don't know if a lot of people will stay, leave, I'm not sure. "
In the Facebook group, The Official Unofficial Coach Booth Fan Club, Stewart wrote that he intends to present a copy of the petition to Long.
Booth has already interviewed with Long in hopes of becoming the next head coach. Other candidates for the position have not been made public, but a report in the Des Moines (Iowa ) Register confirmed June 14 that Northern Iowa track and field coach Chris Bucknam was contacted by UA officials.
Bucknam has coached the Panthers for 25 years. Along with coaching two individual NCAA champions, he has been named coach of the year on the conference level 28 times.
Sources say former Razorback All-American and Canadian Olympian Edrick Floreal is also in contention for the position. Floreal, who competed in the 1988 and 1992 Olympics, is the director of track and field / cross country at Stanford. Booth was the former long and triple jumper's position coach with the Razorbacks.
McDonnell entered retirement June 15 after Arkansas finished tied for 17 th at the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships in Des Moines, Iowa. McDonnell announced his intention to retire during a press conference April 21.
The Ireland native won 42 national championships and 83 conference championships in track and field, and cross country.
Booth, who is in the UA's Hall of Honor and coached alongside McDonnell for 27 years, coached or recruited every Arkansas school record holder in field events. He has also coached UA athletes to 46 individual national championships during that time.
As a head coach, Booth led the University of Louisiana at Lafayette to two individual NCAA championships from 1984-1988.
Times sports editor Terry J. Wood also contributed to this article.
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