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Southeastern, Atlantic Coast, Pac-12 and Big 12 – only Tennessee, Oklahoma State, Iowa State and North Carolina had lower APR scores. Additionally, the program had a graduation rate of 48 per- cent. The numbers were particularly troublesome because of Cal's academic reputation; when the 2011-12 APR report was released, it had just been named the country's top public university by U.S. News and World Report for the 16th con- secutive year. Barron said he contacted Cal chancellor Nicholas Dirks and came away reassured that the problems with the school's grad- uation rates were not due to Barbour's leadership but to budget cuts that im- pacted student-athlete academic support programs. "One of the things he men- tioned to me was that Sandy viewed this as unacceptable and pushed hard for a report in the university that was focused on the 'student' part of the student- athlete; the report that is going to come out early this fall," Barron said. "I asked him if there was any issue in there with respect to Sandy, he said quite the op- posite, and she is a champion for the student-athlete. The university perhaps should have listened to her more closely and they would have been more suc- cessful." The team's APR jumped 46 points to 969 for the 2012-13 season, an improve- ment that Barbour attributed to "changes in the support structure and academic culture within the athletic department" according to the Contra Costa Times. Barbour fired Jeff Telford, who coached the football team for 11 seasons, two days after a season-ending 62-14 loss to Ore- gon State in 2012. The Golden Bears fin- ished 3-9, their second losing season in three years. Telford told the Contra-Costa Times that he believed the football team's poor graduation rate factored into the decision but that the problem was not football players flunking out. He told the newspaper many left after their senior season and did not return to finish their degrees. In a letter to donors and season-ticket holders, Barbour wrote of the firing that during a conversation with Telford, "it Humanity has been trying to fit square pegs into round holes since the beginning of time, and nowadays, facts and history are the square pegs. We've seen enough "good hires" fail and "questionable hires" succeed to know Sandy Barbour shouldn't be doomed by her past, especially one not complete- ly in her control. This is a candidate who met all the check- marks to run a major athletic department, oversee not one sport but 31 and present a positive plan for the future. Hardly sounds like the clueless hire many around Happy Valley are fearing. DONNIE COLLINS THE SCRANTON TIMES-TRIBUNE In Barbour's decade in charge, Cal won 19 national team ti- tles. Non-football sports seem in good hands here. Of course, everyone knows how Barbour's tenure ultimately will be judged. How many seats will be filled at Beaver Stadium? What will her relationship with James Franklin be? Will the place be free of scandal? Penn State's new football coach will push for upgrades across the landscape, as all coaches do, and she'll obviously have to decide when to be his strong advocate and when to hold the line. Note that Cal had gone to bowl games in seven of her 10 years as AD before spiking down the last two seasons. MIKE JENSEN THE PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER Barbour and Franklin spent some time together on Satur- day morning, at Barron's home. With the start of the 2014 season only five weeks away – and Barbour set to begin work Aug. 18 – the session went beyond the typical meet and greet. They forged a small agenda, and outlined some imme- diate steps for the two of them and the football program. It was the start of something that all of Penn State needs to be something big. Franklin has made it work before, seemingly possessing a secret sauce that has made him the king of rela- tionships – especially when it comes to working with his bosses. In some ways, she's a new recruit. And that, more than even his never-ending flashing of No. 1, is Franklin's forte. MIKE POORMAN STATECOLLEGE.COM PSU's new AD must be a forward thinker when it comes to marketing and generating revenue streams. Barbour will di- rect 31 varsity sports and oversee an athletic budget of ap- proximately $115 million. And yes, she will be working closely with Franklin. Barbour must lead him. And she also must lis- ten to him. BOB FLOUNDERS PENNLIVE.COM I'm not familiar enough with the issues at Penn State, beyond the Sandusky-related mess, to know whether her strengths fit with what the Nittany Lions need at this moment. She has shown an aptitude for hiring Olympic-sports coaches and is staunchly in favor of student-athlete welfare. She'll speak her mind in meetings with longstanding Big Ten ADs. At the same time, she hasn't distinguished herself with the three Fs: fiscal matters, fundraising and football. Then again, maybe James Franklin proves to be so good that football runs itself for the next decade or two. JON WILNER SAN JOSE MERCURY NEWS The last hire that brought this much immediate criticism was Bill O'Brien. That choice turned out pretty darn well, if you ask me. ALEX ROBINSON ONWARDSTATE.COM WHAT THEY'RE SAYING

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