FOOTBALL

USC Morning Buzz: Was It Really Worth Alienating A Booster?

Did USC really need to alienate booster Brian Kennedy to the point of Kennedy filing a lawsuit?

Let’s review: For more than 25 years, USC has had two football practice fields. Howard Jones Field and Brian Kennedy Field.

After the construction of the new football building and expansion, it still has two football fields. One is still called Howard Jones Field. So why isn’t the other one still called Brian Kennedy Field?

Did USC want to charge Kennedy twice for the same practice field? Or does it think it could find another donor to pay for his name on the field?

The athletics project — including the new Dedeaux Field — still needs to raise another $25 million for completion. No one is banging the door down for their name on a football field. Or the baseball stadium clubhouse or dugout (which are for sale).

So why alienate a booster who already paid and would probably keep donating, if you treat him right?

I can say this: Kennedy had USC written in his will. I highly doubt that remains the case given the rancor caused by all of this.

Since the death of Wayne Hughes, USC doesn’t really have a super booster any more. So it doesn’t make sense to alienate one.

  • USC held its Beach Blanket Bingo in Hermosa Beach yesterday. Did you go? You know who I didn’t see there? Lincoln Riley.

To paraphrase Claude Rains in Casablanca, “I’m shocked! Shocked to find that Lincoln Riley was not there.”

12 thoughts on “USC Morning Buzz: Was It Really Worth Alienating A Booster?”

  2. wow, wolfman, that’s some hard hitting reportage!! i could see it becoming an exhibit in Kennedy’s civil trial!! you may even be called as an expert witness!!

    astonishing Lil’ Lord Riley is too uppity to attend a beach fan meet ‘n greet, can you imagine Chesney blowing it off completely?? not saying he would play in dodgeball in the sand but he would absolutely shake some hands.

    #HumiliatingKickToFans’NetherRegions

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  4. KAM: Well of course Wiley wouldn’t be on the beach playing around

    DON: He’s busy plotting out how to beat Oregon 2-months hence

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    1. Lincoln and I WERE in Hermosa –at our “Special Us” table in Tower 12 Bar [reenacting the drinking contest scene form Indiana Jones and the Ark of The Covenant]…

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  5. Scooter,

    Because you have Jen Taco Lita Cohen in charge. She is a complete moron. She has no clue on how to run a athletic dept let alone an ice cream stand. Haden or Mckay would have had a few belts with Kennedy and all would be forgiven. Cohen, who maybe Irish needs to invite Kennedy to Mastro’s and have a few belts and dinner and reassure him it was a misunderstanding and that they are keeping his name on the field. But she is a Maroon and she doesn’t get it.

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  6. Scott, are you Brian Kennedy’s estate lawyer or part of his family? How do you know that USC was in his will and for how much. His name was on the field that he helped to purchase for 25 years according to you, and now the field and the football scoreboard are being replaced; so, if he wants to continue with the naming, he needs to pony up for the new facility. I’m sure that Brian Kennedy is an honorable man, but I would not hazard a guess about his ability to finance athletic improvements at USC. As for Beach Blanket Bingo, LR is being paid about ten million a year to coach the team not meet and greet with fans on the beach unless that is part of his contract. I wouldn’t care if he ever shook anyone’s hand including yours or mine if he can beat Oregon and Ohio State, have at most a one loss season and play deep into the playoffs. That is what he is paid to do. And, I really don’t compare him to the UCLA head coach who has to hustle boosters for money because of the pathetic state of their program. You do what you have to do. Fight on, Dan, Class of 1962

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  7. Much to unpack. The concerning thing about LR is he does not want to show up for these events, which are a scheduling certainty with boosters in attendance. But he does appear at events of which the outcome is definitely uncertain, such as our games against Oregon and Ohio State. The tendency to avoid boosters seems to speak to a lack of ownership of the full coaching role in its entirety by LR. Which by now should surprise no one. But on the Kennedy Field matter, that is just an Athletic Department self-inflicted faceplant-level epic fail. And its not that Kennedy is right or wrong in his lawsuit, or even if he wins or loses – USC loses because it is an example for all other boosters that they could, and probably would, be treated in a similar manner to a loyal donor with deep ties and history. As such, this behavior is not exactly conducive to receiving more funds from donors, USC. Very poorly played. But again, by now, given the current staff running the Athletic Department, totally unsurprising.

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