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Dick Harmon: Skousen wore hats well at Y.

Skousen should have followed the management example of Lavell Edwards. Lavell knew how to delegate and share power, without making enemies. The football program was not managed by Groupthink, nor was Lavell making all of the decisions. If Skousen had done the same, he would have avoided most of his mistakes.

Being a "power" in the MWC is an oxymoron. At some point you would think that Fred and BYU would look a little bigger than taking great joy in beating up on the wyomings of the world.

He was nothing more than a little emperor.

The vote's in. Skousen didn't just have a few jerks who didn't care for him, he was a millstone around every AD, and Head Coach. Rondo Felhberg was a superior AD to Val Hale, yet FS made life so hard, requiring so many levels of approval to get anything done, he had to leave. Ask anyone close to the program and they can now tell you how much FS hurt the programs, especially football, then basketball. In his heart he has no love for sports, and barely tolerates athletic programs at the university level. Bateman was his equal and his boss.
I wouldn't wish the yutz's a Fred Skousen or a bateman.

This was a bit of a puff piece, but why should that surprise anyone who reads the Desnews? My family has know Fred for years. He had a hard job and did his best. Not all of his decisions proved to be the best, but that does not take away from what he accomplished. It's time to thank him and move on.

It's remarkable when you look at the Sagarin rankings to realize that the MWC is not the only conference in D-1 that has atrocious teams at the bottom--and not just one. The SEC has traditional cellar-dwellers Mississippi State, Vanderbilt, and Ole Miss to fatten the W-L records of Florida, Tennessee, and LSU. The Big 10 has Northwestern and Minnesota. The Big 12 has Iowa State and Baylor. I can go on. The point is, every conference has bad teams that the top dogs get to beat up on. The MWC is no different. It's just that the top teams in the conference don't get the kind of pre-season respect that the top dogs in the BCS conferences get. In reality, there are maybe a dozen top-tier teams in the country that are consistently in the hunt for the national championship. The next tier has about 50 teams that are consistently good, have winning records, and can occasionally make a run to compete with the top tier. The bottom are the teams that stink. Every conference has teams in the lower two tiers. That's not likely to change, and Skousen has little control over that. Ease up. MT in MD

Sounds like you either hate this guy or love him. What gives? Does he stink, or is he gold? Sounds like another piker from Provo if you ask me. Take the tithing money and run Freddy run!

I think its great that Fred had the willingness to make the tough decisions with BYU athletics. With the Church involved, everyone expects BYU to be a "kindler, gentler world." However, at the same time people expect BYU to be a major athletic power. Thank goodness Skousen had the guts to get rid of Crowton, restructure the athletic department, and lead BYU to another level of excellence. Someone (who is not a General Authority) has to be a lightning rod for criticism, and Fred was willing to do the job. Of course he made some decisions that in retrospect look questionable, but the decisions were made with the best information available and all people make mistakes. But look at the success!! My only question now is "Who will have the guts to make the hard decisions now?" Fred, enjoy your retirement--you've worked hard, done a great job, and you've earned every cent you have. Thanks for your willingness to be the bad guy...someone had to do it. Even at BYU!!!

All I know is that when Bateman took the helm of the BYU athletic department, it went down hill fast. The brotheren did not pull him fast enough. If Skousen was part of this then he should of retired long ago. They trashed more loyal people in such a short time.

i don't think so Tim. Skousen may be a good man etc. but he is not sports minded. he like the rest of the sports department is not that great. if BYU wanted to be dominant in sports then they would start building their extramural programs back to pre-90 levels. then start moving their good programs like LaCrosse and men's soccer into Div 1 levels. also ice hockey needs to be brought officially in. bring back gymnastics and wrestling as well.

Most of you have no clue about the facts surrounding your comments. Its interesting how much you all seem to "know" about the events of his tenure. Go ahead and express your opinions but don't imply that you "know" anything.

The public will never understand how much Fred has done for BYU, BYU Students, and BYU Fans.

A simple Thank You is in order for a man who gave 38 years to the University.

Thanks Fred!

If Skousen had done his job in the proper manner he wouldn't have been such a lightening rod. Glen Tuckett pulled BYU out of athletic obscurity and did it with class and grace. The manner in which Fred fired the former women's athletic director revealed him to be a bully and an intimidator. At another university he would have been fired for that and the law suite against him probably would be still be going.