That was my point. We managed to hire a successful coach with a strong track record in spite of a President that did not support our athletic department.
Robert William MacVicar did not become President of Oregon State until after Ralph Miller had been hired. Miller was hired in Roy Alton Young's year as President between James Herbert Jensen and MacVicar. MacVicar was a thorn in the side of the athletic department (football, basketball, baseball, track and field, etc.) until he retired. And John Vincent Byrne, who replaced MacVicar, was not much better.
Andros wanted to hire Dennis Erickson (or Sam Boghosian, who had been Andros' OC in 1973 and 1974) in 1984 after he fired Joe Avezzano. Byrne overruled him on both counts. And personally hired Kragthorpe instead. And fired Andros for his trouble. Hiring a clear up-and-comer like Erickson could have really turned the program around. A retread like Kragthorpe was just never going to get it done.
It should also be pointed out that the AD's office was a mess after Spec Keene retired in the Summer of 1964. Slats Gill took over, but he was only in the position for 21 months before he died of a stroke in 1966. James G. "Jim" Barratt took over. Gill had hired Andros. Andros and Barratt never really got along, and Barratt did not get along with MacVicar. Everything was very dysfunctional. Oregon State's entrance requirements for athletes were higher than almost every other school in Division 1, which was the very first thing that Andros got MacVicar to back down on as Athletic Director. If MacVicar's public statements are to be believed, Barratt had basically stopped actively putting any effort into athletics for the last 1+ years of Barratt's tenure.
The three finalists for the AD's job in 1975 were Andros, Sam Jankovich and Clay "Stud" Stapleton. Stapleton was the assistant head coach of Oregon State in Prothro's first three seasons before coaching Iowa State. In 1975, Stapleton was the AD of Vanderbilt and was seen as the frontrunner.
Jankovich was probably the best of the three. Jankovich was Jim Sweeney's defensive coordinator at Montana State and Washington State before transitioning into the AD's office, where he was assistant AD. After not receiving the Oregon State job, he took over as AD a couple of months later at Washington State. He expanded Martin Stadium in 1978-1979 and built Bailey-Brayton Field in 1980 and the Mooberry Track and Field Complex about the same time. In 1983, Jankovich took over as Miami's AD. He built the Tom Kearns UM Hall of Fame Building, the Golden Cane Football Office Building, the Hecht Athletic Center, the Ron Fraser Baseball Building and the Neil Schiff Tennis Center. Of most import, he was able to quadruple the athletic donations to the University of Miami during his tenure, which made a lot of the upgrades to coaching and facilities possible.
Jankovich hired both Jimmy Johnson and Dennis Erickson. In his seven years as Athletic Director at Miami, Miami won three National Championships and would have won a fourth, absent the jobbing they received in South Bend in the 1988 Catholics v. Convicts game (and then Notre Dame chickening out of a rematch). Miami almost won a fifth in the 1987 Fiesta Bowl. The Canes had the ball, second-and-goal at the six, but, in what would be considered roughing the passer today, Tim Johnson was able to sack Vinny Testaverde by the helmet. Testaverde's third down pass was incomplete and his fourth down pass into quadruple-coverage, despite another receiver being wide open, was intercepted at the one with 14 seconds left and returned out to the 11.
Miami actually did not have a basketball team, when Jankovich arrived. The University had eliminated the program in 1971 to save money. Jankovich was able to convert the Knight Sports Complex into a basketball arena and start up the program in 1985, his third year as AD. He hired Bill Foster and Leonard Hamilton consecutively as the head coach. Hamilton would coach Miami to three straight NCAA Tournament appearances and a Big East Championship and Sweet Sixteen appearance in 2000. Foster would help Virginia Tech win an NIT Championship and would also take the Hokies to the Tournament and win a game in 1996, Virginia Tech's lone Tournament victory between 1980 and 2007.
In baseball, Miami went to five College World Series and won the National Championship in 1985.
In addition to the major sports, Miami won two tennis National Championships and a golf National Championship.
