ODU's Selig on Larry: "I never intended it to play out in the media"

Dave Fairbank of the Daily Press sat down with ODU director of athletics Wood Selig recently, and the result was a fascinating interview on a range of subjects, including the contentious end of Wendy Larry's run as the Lady Monarchs women's basketball coach.

Said Selig: "If there's one regret, it was the way that all played out. I never intended it to play out in the media. I never intended to play out publicly. The conversations that Wendy and I had privately were intended to be just that — private. But it got way too public, way too quickly. I do regret that. In my heart of hearts, I was hoping that Wendy would stay one more year — the final year of her contract — and take a kind of farewell victory lap around the league and around the country, and then move into an administrative and fund-raising role."


Here's what we wished had happened. Selig and Larry agree on a three-year extension, but one that could be bought out at the end of next season for relative peanuts, say, $50,000. The extension serves as a public vote of confidence and gives Larry the power to recruit. The low buyout is a private acknowledgment that there are issues within the program (recruiting, academic performance, etc.) that need to be addressed quickly. The pressure would have been on Larry in 2011-12, but we've seen her rise to the occasion before. If successful, Larry re-launches her Hall-of-Fame career. If not, she gets to "resign" with full honors and the school isn't on the hook for mucho dinero. The public never knows about the buyout.


Simple, no? But since when is life simple?