General

Fred Hill Could Lose His Job Over Baseball Meltdown

Apr 7, 2010, 8:05 PM UTC

UPDATE: FOX Sports reports Hill is in fact on the way out after this outburst.
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â†µOriginal post: Rutgers basketball coach Fred Hill is 47-77 in four years with theâ†µScarlet Knights and has never finished better than 14th in the Big East.â†µGiven a three-year-minimum stint, he has the worst record in Big Eastâ†µhistory. Popular opinion holds that he, like Maryland’s Ralph Friedgen and Colorado’s Danâ†µHawkins in football, still has his job mostly because the university can’tâ†µor won’t pay his buyout. â†µâ†µThis would be a good time to lay low, smile for the folks around you,â†µand not goâ†µnuts at a baseball game, right? â†µ

â†µâ†µâ‡¥â†µâ‡¥In a bizarre outburst witnessed by several reporters, Hill made aâ†µâ‡¥scene after the Rutgers baseball team beat ranked Pitt 9-8 in a wildâ†µâ‡¥finish Thursday.â†µâ‡¥
â†µâ‡¥â†µâ‡¥In the bottom of the ninth, with Rutgers trailing 8-7, runners onâ†µâ‡¥second and third and two outs, Mike Lang’s grounder to short was fieldedâ†µâ‡¥cleanly, but the throw to first was off the mark, allowing the tying andâ†µâ‡¥winning runs to score. Pitt coach Joe Jordano protested the call atâ†µâ‡¥first base, prompting a huddle by the umpires.â†µâ‡¥
â†µâ‡¥â†µâ‡¥During the huddle, Hill (whose father is RU’s longtime baseballâ†µâ‡¥coach) was on the diamond in front of the Rutgers dugout and launchedâ†µâ‡¥into a profanity-laced tirade in the direction of Jordano and theâ†µâ‡¥Pittsburgh coaches.â†µâ‡¥

â†µâ†µâ†µIn the world of baseball you can launch as many profanity-lacedâ†µtirades as you can muster at an umpire that calls a strike a ball orâ†µvice versa, but that allowance apparently stops when you’re not a coachâ†µand you’re berating one. Pitt complained, Rutgers announced it’s lookingâ†µinto the matter, and now â†µthisâ†µstandard clause in Hill’s contract may allow Rutgers to slip outâ†µfrom under its anchor of a basketball coach:â†µ

â†µâ†µâ‡¥â†µâ‡¥Section 9, Paragraph C states: the athletic director may imposeâ†µâ‡¥discipline, including suspension or termination, for ”“serious orâ†µâ‡¥persistent ... willful misconduct, act of moral turpitude, or any otherâ†µâ‡¥conduct ... that brings shame or disgrace to Rutgers.”â†µâ‡¥

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â†µGoing 47-77 doesn't count but this outburst might, especially when Hillâ†µlied to the athletic director about what took place, then defied anâ†µorder to stay away from the rest of the RU-Pitt baseball series. Hill'sâ†µnext fantastic career move will be to stand outside the AD's houseâ†µblaring Dragonforce. â†µ

â†µâ†µHill’s mere existence as Rutgers basketball coach calls theâ†µdecision-makers in the athletic department into question. It’s one thingâ†µto be terrible at a school that hasn’t made the NCAA tournament sinceâ†µ1991. It’s entirely another when you’ve got a job because your dad is aâ†µbaseball coach and the one McDonald’s All American you managed to lockâ†µdown is bolting school because Rutgers is “hindering”â†µhis chances to play in the NBA. Oh, and you’re the worst coach in Bigâ†µEast history. That bit seems important... and extremely temporary.â†µDollarsâ†µto donuts Hill’s getting hurled into trees inâ†µbeef jerky commercials by this time next month.â†µ

â†µâ†µ(HT: Bleedâ†µScarlet.)â†µ

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This post originally appeared on the Sporting Blog. For more, see The Sporting Blog Archives.

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