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Locke, Lowery react to Willingham's dismissal from Notre Dame

Less than two years ago SIU head volleyball coach Sonya Locke was in Indianapolis, accepting the Black Coaches Association's award for 2003 National Female Coach of the Year.

Beside her was Notre Dame coach Tyrone Willingham, seemingly a juggernaut of a coach who had turned Notre Dame around in a single year, accepting the award in the male category.

Little did Locke know he would be unemployed in a year and a half.

Locke did not know Willingham aside from what happened in Indianapolis, but she came away with a genuine respect for Willingham. When she heard he had been fired, she didn't know what to think.

She, like many others, thought he deserved more time and believed he needed to see his recruits through. In awe of Willingham's class and humility in just one day with him, the Saluki coach was sorry to see him go.

Locke also has a good friend who is an assistant at Notre Dame, and knows it's going to be tough on him.

"You talk about people who have families," Locke said. "You feel sorry for them and you want to help, but there's nothing that I can do.

"You just pray for them and hope they land on their feet."

After three seasons with a 21-15 record, Willingham and his staff were fired. Most coaches are usually given a full recruiting class before judgment, but Willingham's players are only sophomores.

This has spawned racial theories on black coaches, something Locke said cannot be ruled out.

"I think some of that does exist," Locke said. "I'm not saying that exists somewhere there in that athletic department, but let's just face the facts."

SIU men's basketball coach Chris Lowery said it was unrealistic to give a coach only three years, no matter where the school is. Lowery, the first black basketball coach in school history, said being a black coach can be more difficult than being a white coach.

But, as he knows, there is always one overriding factor in coach cannings - wins and losses.

"It all comes down to wins," Lowery said. "I think if you win, then obviously you're the greatest thing since sliced bread."

The real problem at Notre Dame and the reason no one can win there, Lowery said, is its admissions standards. Lowery can get just about anyone into SIU, but if he was at Notre Dame, his options would be severely limited.

In Bob Davies final year, he said, only 33 of the top 100 recruits even qualified to apply as students at Notre Dame.

"If they think they can get guys in there with those admissions standards nowadays, that's not realistic," Lowery said.

The Willingham firing is placing a spotlight on coaches like Lowery, who believe the nation is watching them much more closely than their white counterparts.

Lowery said black assistants at other schools, and athletic directors, are watching him. The assistants hope he succeeds, and the athletic directors are looking to see if he does succeed.

"People are looking at me around the country, and a lot of assistants around the country are looking to see how well I do," Lowery said. "So maybe an AD in the future will say 'I'm going to give this guy a chance, too.'"

Luckily for Lowery, his chance is at a place where he has a great chance to succeed. Notre Dame has not "succeeded" since the early 1990s when Lou Holtz was the coach, and is no longer the football powerhouse it once was.

And based on what Lowery said, it never will be without drastic admissions changes. The Irish, Locke said, are also losing a high-quality person that represents the ideals Notre Dame is supposed to hold.

"He is a class individual, and he was nothing less than that when I met him a few years ago in Indianapolis," Locke said. "He is the epitome of class and humility. He is an awesome person.

"Those of us that know at least that much about him and have experienced it first hand, that's why we're sad about it because he is such a good person. You can't help but want to see those type of people succeed."