We have tried for years, in private, to obtain better leadership for Ole Miss Athletics. The Administration’s “shock” that Forward Rebels went public was disingenuous. Please see the proof below. You will be shocked at our Administration’s treatment of some of our most valuable benefactors.
The Letters
In 2009, after a decade of Boone’s futility, a group of donors who had given over $7,500,000 to athletics and academics sent a plea to Chancellor Jones detailing the problems in Ole Miss Athletics and laying out a clear course for a brighter Ole Miss future.
Upon receiving this critique, and in spite of the fact that this letter came from donors who had given 7.5 MILLION DOLLARS to Ole Miss in athletics and academics, Pete Boone’s assistant said, in effect:
"If you question us, we will do this
without you or your donations."
without you or your donations."
Pete Boone then banned the author of this letter from all athletic privileges, privileges which Ole Miss had contractually promised to this donor in return for him donating over $1,000,000 to Ole Miss Athletics for that specific sponsorship package. This does not even include his and his other benefactors’ other donations.
Can you imagine any person keeping his office after personally rejecting over SEVEN AND A HALF MILLION DOLLARS in donations because he was questioned? This is unheard of.
Think about that. Pete Boone unequivocally rejected millions of dollars in donations because his failures were mentioned. Forward Rebels has verified with these donors that Ole Miss has lost over $5,000,000 in donations from just these donors alone and just since that letter. Forward Rebels has further verified that, if Ole Miss obtains competent athletic leadership, these donations will instantly resume. These donations are completely the charitable acts of generous men, but Ole Miss’s leadership, when questioned, rejects these funds for “insubordination.”
That money was not Pete Boone’s to reject. That money belonged to Ole Miss Athletics, Ole Miss academics, and to the Ole Miss family. This is an unconscionable breach of this public servant’s fiduciary duty to the public, and zero action has been taken for Boone’s astounding arrogance in this matter.
In 2011, another group of 161 concerned and influential Ole Miss supporters wrote a letter to Chancellor Jones trying yet again to get Ole Miss to take action to resolve the countless failures committed by Pete Boone. These donors make up even more millions and millions in donations to the University annually. Much like Forward Rebels, they care so much about Ole Miss that they spent a great deal of personal time organizing and discussing these issues. They stated their concerns clearly and respectfully, and they laid out a clear course for a better Ole Miss.
They went so far as to say that, if there is disagreement on whether or not a problem exists in Ole Miss Athletics (which is a laughable disagreement), that they would support and pay for the hiring of an outside firm to analyze Ole Miss’s Athletics Department to determine how we can get better.
Chancellor Jones responded to these 161 donors by saying:
"Thanks but no thanks."
Can you fathom a leader of a public university spurning such massive number of donors in light of the unequivocally bad performance under one man, Pete Boone? This is unacceptable. Ole Miss has been had.
And, to think, this is but two examples of the numerous withholding that is occurring as our athletic leadership flounders, all from the comfort of a plush skybox.
Finally, Forward Rebels recently put out a call for responses about people who had stopped giving as much or stopped giving completely as a result of lack of confidence in our athletic administration. We have not even had time to go through all the emails. Click the image below to view just a snippet of the messages we are receiving:
Now Forward Rebels?
While Chancellor Jones, Pete Boone, and numerous others waxed indignantly recently about the incivility of raising issues publicly before raising them privately, all of these letters and efforts lay heavy on their consciences… or did they? They should have. This is a personal offense to every facet of Ole Miss.
Now, the real facts are known to you, and there will be no more denying that the Ole Miss family is legitimately fed up. We demand that action be taken to restore Ole Miss and to give her every chance to succeed. In the most practical sense, we demand that Ole Miss athletics and academics stop being held back by a few prideful men. The support is eagerly waiting in the wings for leadership that we can follow. It’s time.
This is not a demand for any individual’s personal preference, and this is not a few wealthy men demanding their preferences. This is a call for the end of the good ol’ boy system at Ole Miss and a call for the beginning of objective, honest hiring that puts Ole Miss in the best position to win. There can be no argument about the demands made here. They have been made in private. They have been made in public. They have been made by individuals. They have been made groups small, medium, and large.
Ole Miss is not Dan Jones’ university. It is not Pete Boone’s university. It is time that we all reclaimed the institution that is so proudly ours.
The Public
Forward Rebels is compiling and verifying an atrociously long list of fans’ statements and withholdings from the University, and all statements, regardless of their individual goals, say one thing, “Not until Pete Boone is gone.” We at Forward Rebels care about “the cap and t-shirt crowd.” They are the backbone of any organization. We are the cap and t-shirt crowd!
Will you listen to the public, Dr. Jones?
The Media
Forward Rebels has no hidden agenda, and we are not arguing for any personal preference. Our statements are common sense, and the facts declare these things with or without us. We are simply giving voice to the silenced.
Click on the image below to view just a selection of the media’s take on Pete Boone.
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The Failures
Pete Boone has verifiably failed Ole Miss in the following items. In parentheses are just one proof of these failures. There are many more.
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What do we do next?
The next step is obvious:
Forward Rebels publicly calls on Chancellor Dan Jones to immediately terminate Athletic Director Pete Boone, sever all ties with him and his ilk, and to hire a professional, outside search firm to begin an open, objective, and nationwide search for our next leader of athletics. Ole Miss must have a new Athletic Director in place prior to making any potential coaching changes.
Click the image below to read our entire press release:
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Conclusion
The next step should be yours, Chancellor Jones.
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