Holder discusses OSU football
Published: 9/18/2007 12:48 PM
Last Modified: 9/18/2007 12:48 PM
With the Cowboys off to a 1-2 start, with a 21-point setback at Georgia and an 18-point loss at Troy, Oklahoma State athletic director Mike Holder discussed the football program with Tulsa World sports writer Bill Haisten:
Since the Troy game, have you received many calls or e-mails about the outcome?
Holder: "Most of the people that have responded to me are not season-ticket holders or donors. They're just what I would call casual fans. They watched the game on television and didn't like what they saw. I can't imagine that anyone would watch that game and like what they saw.
"When I'm at the game, I'm just like any other fan. I want to see the Cowboys do well. I want to see them win. We didn't play well on Friday night. Anybody could see that. But an explanation as to why it happened? I can't tell you. I believe the coaches are coaching hard and I believe the athletes are working hard. It just didn't happen for us Friday night."
Can one terrible loss represent a setback for the entire OSU football movement?
Holder: "No. It's just one game. People need to understand that you have to be patient. We basically neglected our football program for over 50 years. You're not going to change it overnight. The football stadium – the west end zone – is still under construction and won't be finished until 2009. People can see that something exciting is happening, but it's far from being completed. The same can be said about our football program. It's an important game, sure. Every game is important. But it's just one game. Keep it in perspective. There's another one this coming Saturday. The best way to put (the Troy loss) in the rear-view mirror is to win (over Texas Tech)."
Your fans always seem disappointed when OSU loses, but they seem angry with the Troy result.
Holder: "Everybody wants to speculate and conjecture. That's what fans do. That's what reporters do. You wouldn't have a job if you didn't do that. But coaches, athletes and administrators have to be a little more practical about the job in front of us. Anybody that's been around here very long understands that what we're trying to accomplish is unprecedented here. We've never really been competitive in football. If I remember correctly, we were co-champions one time (1976) in the Big Eight, and we've never been in contention in the Big 12. We would like to be competitive in the Big 12. That's a big leap from where we were.
"Let's figure out how to win the (Texas Tech) game on Saturday. You play it one play at a time. … Everybody is upset. No one is more upset than the players and coaches. Hopefully, our players are resilient enough to put the game behind them, learn from the mistakes they made, and let's put a better product on the field Saturday."
You watched the Troy game from the sideline. Was there a lack of effort?
Holder: "We didn't do anything right. I'm not second-guessing anybody. I'm just making an observation that if something could have gone wrong, it did go wrong Friday night. We're not that bad a football team. Our offense has got to play better than that. Our playmakers have got to make plays. I look at that as the strength of our team – our offense."
What is your status report on the development of the OSU football program?
Holder: "I consider winning to be winning championships. I've been here since 1966, and I haven't seen them win an outright conference championship in football. We've won lots of championships in other sports, but not football. We weren't committed to football. We didn't give our coaches the resources or the opportunity to be competitive. We expected them to win, but it wasn't a realistic expectation. We're making a commitment to facilities right now, but we still haven't addressed the operational budget. We're still at $40 million, which is about ninth in the conference. We haven't generated any new revenue to help football. That money out there in the west end zone is about a facility, but we're not using (the facility) yet. There's nothing that has gone into the coffers for the football program or any other sports program here. There's nothing different until we starting selling more season tickets and fill that west end zone and start generating more revenue. We haven't done anything other than talk about doing better in football."
What is your message to Oklahoma State fans?
Holder: "Better days are ahead. You've got to believe that way. Otherwise, why even enter the race? Keep the faith. Do everything you can to help the cause. Talk positively about the team. If you can afford to, buy season tickets. If you afford to, make donations. If you can't do either one of those, watch us on television and read about us in the newspapers. When you talk to your buddies, talk in positive terms about your university. It's a lot easier to do when you've had a big win than when you've had a loss like Friday. I've seen a lot of great things that came out of disappointments."
Written by
Bill Haisten
Sports Writer
