Jan. 30, 2002
Georgia Tech President Wayne Clough announced the formation of a sub-committee of the Tech Athletic Board to review the circumstances surrounding the hiring of two assistant football coaches and to make recommendations to Athletic Director David Braine.
The backgrounds of the two coaches–Tommie Robinson (wide receivers) and Rick Smith (defensive coordinator)-are in question, along with procedures followed by the Athletic Association in releasing their biographical information. members of the Athletic Board appointed to the sub-committee are:
Trey Childress, President, Graduate Student Government
Turner Warmack, Retired
William Wepfer, Associate Chairman, School of Mechanical Engineering
The sub-committee has two directives:
Review the policies, procedures and execution for reviewing coach and staff credentials in the Athletic Association and how that information is disseminated publicly, and
Review the circumstances surrounding the hiring of coaches Robinson and Smith and determine whether any personnel action should be taken as a result of those circumstances. Upon completion of their review, the group will make its recommendations to Dave Braine, Georgia Tech’s Athletic Director.
“It’s important that the integrity of our process and our people are reviewed to ensure that something like this never happens again at Georgia Tech,” said Dr. Clough. “This is a new environment, one in which we have to be much more careful about the backgrounds of our people and how we disseminate that information. I’m confident that this sub-committee will make solid recommendations to Dave Braine, so that we can move forward with confidence in our people and our procedures.”
