I didn’t grow up in Western Pennsylvania. The WPIAL doesn’t hold any special meaning for me, other than being a vital part of Pitt recruiting. So I don’t stay up on all the intrigue and battles over transfers within the league. I would have no idea who coaches which teams if someone asked. But from the very beginning of this blog, there has been one exception. One coach and one program that even I kept some glimmer of awareness. Gateway and Terry Smith.
Smith and Gateway were very successful on the field. More importantly to this site, he would regularly turn out not just Division 1 recruits, but highly sought D-1 recruits. And while Smith was a former Penn State wide receiver, he was always looking out for his own players interests. Not trying to steer them to PSU or away from Pitt.
So to see tweet late yesterday night that Smith could be fired from Gateway was a stunner.
It is a month or so before practices begin for high school football. The idea that Gateway would wait until now to make a move is unbelievable.
As at most schools, there are budget issues at Gateway that seem to be the primary issue.
The Gateway School District has been struggling with declining enrollment, rising employee costs and loss of state revenue.
In all, 15 elementary school classrooms and 27 teaching positions will be eliminated. The district will also adopt a pay-to-play sports program for the middle and high schools.
The athletic director’s position was also reduced to part-time. That decision that will likely mean Terry Smith, who is also the school’s football coach, will leave the district.
Terry Smith is the school’s athletic director. Last year he made around $95,000 in the position plus an additional $10,000 as the football coach. His salary would be roughly halved as a part-time AD. There aren’t many quad-A schools with only a part-time AD.
While Smith hasn’t said anything publicly about the situation, there have already been charges of racism in the decisionmaking. That always keeps things calm.
No one is sure what the outcome will be. At this late date, Smith would be unlikely to find a new job for the upcoming year. So maybe he finishes this final season. At the very least, because of the kids. That is if the school board decides to keep him at all after Wednesday. There is a question that his presence might be considered too much of a lightening rod for for the school. But that would also have them scrambling to find a coach (and even a part-time AD) for the coming year.
After the season, there is no doubt he would be highly sought by other schools in the WPIAL. Or even as a college assistant. He’s no doubt had the opportunities.
One way or another, it looks like there is a major shift happening in the WPIAL.
Yes, there is a good case that the schools have a bad set of priorities, but for Terry Smith, the salary is about right. He could easily get that kind of money as a D-1A assistant. And he would be in demand given his ability to coach, ties to the WPIAL and how well he has gotten players to transfer to Gateway.
The fact that they are trying to make this a race issue is absurd! There were close to 40 people who lost their jobs, the majority of which were white! They are pointing to the fact that Terry & one other person are the only 2 black administrators and are the only 2 being let go is why it is racist. How many of the other 38 people losing their jobs are also black though? At least a few I am sure.
This is a personal vendetta between the Terry Smith supporters against the School Board. For every story I have heard of how good he was for the kids and their scholarships I have heard one for how bad he was for other kids in other sports outside of football.
NOTHING involving a black person and a white person in this country can happen without someone crying racism.
If the black dude gets screwed, black people will say it was racist. If the white dude gets screwed, some white people will cry reverse racism.
It’s ridiculous.
let us get back on to all things pitt and off this quicksand.
Don’t worry, camp isn’t that far off now.
I don’t like to wish summer away for everyone, but other than a vacation at the sure, I’m not that big on summer. Especially when it’s over 90 degrees, or 100 lately.
No, I don’t like January or February either, but, sticky hot ain’t my bag either!!!
It’s coming Frank!!
Shore, obviously.
It is just that politics and race are not for this site to go there is to walk in quicksand
how mutch the AD at pitt makes is fair game.
or should we have a tail gate site .
but not race or politics.
that could be used as a recruiting tool.
first round for pitt larry fitzgerald
darrelle revis
jonathan bldwin
jeff otah
second round kris wilson
lesean mccoy
jabaal sheard
shawntae spencer
who from penn state is irrelvent .
Everytime they post a PSU related pic, they often caption it “we are.” and I want to complete that with obvious jokes begging to be made. where’s the line? “Pedophiles”, “Enablers”, or just leave it be? I really feel urge to taunt them as the ysomehow persist to be an obnoxiously proud fanbase despite everything.
After Tom Corbett was elected, his Education Department warned the PA school districts that the stimulus money would not be replaced and that more money was not coming. Gateway is in Monroeville. Monroeville has been rather hard hit by the recession. There are a LOT of empty commercial buildings in Monroeville. Six years ago, Monroeville was doing fine. Not to mention, the new hospital, UPMC East, is not eligible to be taxed, as UPMC is a tax exempt organization (yeah, right).
However, it seems most of the other large Pittsburgh area school districts have not been as hard hit.
I would photoshop some nice bright orange uniforms or some blue pin stripes with a seven digit number instead of the basic one or two on a jersey. Just some suggestions.
It was also never mentioned that the field had just replaced at a significant cost. Perhaps a delay in that or a repair could have left enough in the budget to retain a full time AD.
There were cuts made that impacted educational issues severly that night as well, Gateway once was a Blue Ribbon District and has fallen from that position, we should care more about that than the impact on athletic dept. cuts.
Not in my world.
Believe it or not, some parents view drama, voice, etc… lime some parents view sports. Anyone stopping them from transferring? Nyet!
Lots of kids move to my school district to live with their aunts. So what. A kid is supposed to stay poor.
I wasn’t born and raised here either, but the view I have of the WPIAL governing body is as follows. Male, stale and pale.
i went over the whole team and adding in last years recruits i can say we need DT and LB the most not OL men.
we have only 4 DT on the team if you count the one
that commited this year the one who went to prep school then it is 5 no depth at all.
LB not counting SR we have 8 that is with the 2 we signed last year this year we have signed none.
OL men not counting SR we have 12 and will have for two years counting the commits that have not signed yet we have 14.
People here give you a lot of leeway with your absolutely horrendous typing, grammer, and complete lack of punctuation. I myself tend to skim past your comments the majority of the time because they make my eyes cross. But I still recognize your right to post them. You should do the same. You see something you don’t want to read……skim on by…..
2nd, you mention Smith was not asked to take a pay cut, but one the Pgh papers (I believ the Trib) writes today that they are cutting the AD salary from $95,000 to $43,000.
From what I know about ADs, and I know 2 active ones and one ex, I will guarantee you the average AD salary is much closer to $43k than $95k .. a no-brainer.
Lastly, I lived in the South Hills for many years … and while I don’t think racism plays a part in this incident, I WILL GUARANTEE YOU THAT IT STILL EXISTS … in fact there was 2 WPIAL basketball incidents just last year (one including a U Cincy recruit.)
If they were starving for money, they would not have agreed to pay over $500,000 to repave parking lots in March and $230,000 for new locker rooms in May for the middle school. If your getting rid of teachers and making classrooms sizes biggers, not not wait for cosmetics.
The fact is that it’s a personal issue. Don’t Guarantee me about the salary, Show me.. I’m not talking about single A, I’m talking about Quad A. Show me one Quad A school with a Part Time AD. Central does not cound because they don’t have womens sports.
If not personal, when he took on the part time position, attempt to remove him from being a coach one month before the pads are on?
And Chas, Gateway doesn’t have big crowds at their home games anymore because half of the players are from the city of Pgh. and have no connection with the local community.
