Nov. 20, 2006

Pocatello, ID --- On Monday afternoon at 4:30 pm, Director of Athletics Paul A. Bubb announced that Larry Lewis was terminated as the head football coach at Idaho State. He was joined by ISU President Dr. Arthur C. Vailas. The following are quotes from the press conference.

Paul A. Bubb, Director of Athletics - Opening Statements
"Earlier today I met with Larry Lewis to inform him that I had recommended to President Vailas, and he concurred, that we would make a change in our football coaching staff. Effective today, Coach Lewis and his staff have been put on administrative leave, notified that their contracts will not be renewed, and we will begin a search immediately for our new football coach."

"Someone once asked me what the most challenging part of being an athletic director is, and without a doubt, making changes like this is certainly at the top."

"While I have a great deal of respect for coach Lewis and the many things that he has accomplished, the record over the past three years, including our disappointing season that just concluded, has led me to this decision. On the positive side, I want to thank coach Lewis for the back-to-back eight-win seasons, the conference championship, the academic progress, and the involvement in our community, which has increased under his leadership. I believe the program is in better shape now, then what he inherited when he came, and I want to thank him for that."

Dr. Arthur C. Vailas, President, Idaho State University - Statements
"I support Paul's recommendation 100%. I think it's time we had some change in the football program, and his recommendation has been well thought out, and he has a very good plan. Basically, as I mentioned earlier in the year, that ISU really is a road to excellence, and we expect that in academia as well as in athletics. This plan, and the plans for the Bengal Village, is an opportunity for everyone to support ISU and the Bengal Village vision, and to support our athletic programs.

Paul Bubb on the process of hiring a new coach
"Hopefully by 5:00 this afternoon we'll have the job posted on our website as well as with national advertising groups, such as the Black Coaches Association, the NCAA News, and other trade publications. I will also begin making phone calls to people I've known over the years, asking for any recommendations they may have on people that we may need to be in contact with."

"I also have a list of names I plan to contact to judge if they have an interest in the position at this time, and then of course just receiving applications from people. I do not anticipate doing any on campus interviews before two weeks, but at the same time we'd like to have this wrapped up by the time the Division I Football Championship is held, which is December 15. If this goes until the end of December though, I think we're still OK with that."

On the money owed Larry Lewis
"Granted you have to take into effect the financial considerations, but I think that if you let that be the sole determining judge, you don't always make the decision that needs to be made. Certainly with Larry he has two more years remaining on his contract and an annuity clause in there that had he remained the head football coach for the entire four years there was an annuity payout. That annuity will be pro-rated over the period of time that he was the head coach and we will pay that, and we will continue to pay his salary over the next two years up until the point when he decides to take another job.

On if success in other sports played a part in the decision
"I've said all along that I want all of our programs to be in the top third, and I wouldn't say because we had a coach come in and do well with soccer that that's a reason to make a change in football. I'm someone that believes there are a lot of intangibles out there to winning, and I think you can have blips on the radar and recover from those, but for whatever reason this is a little bit more than a blip."

On the type of candidate he has in mind
"I think any time you can find someone with head coaching experience, that's a real plus, and I've hired several football coaches in the past, and I've looked at coaches that have come as coordinators, I've looked at coaches that have junior college experience, although I know that always raises an eyebrow when I use those two words together."

"I think that you go out and look for the most experienced candidate that you can find, but the other thing you look for is the fit, and someone that fits here in this community and someone who can keep this program going the way we want it to go. So am I looking for a guy that's this age that's done this with this type of experience? Not necessarily, but certainly someone that has college experience would be important, but this is a wide-open search and I'd be willing to entertain all applicants."

On if winning the finale vs. Weber State would have made a difference
"No, I think it would have made us all feel a little bit better maybe, but I'm not certain it would have been a determining factor in this."

On the conversation with Larry Lewis
"It wasn't a lengthy conversation, it wasn't a short conversation. I've found Larry as someone that I've enjoyed working with, and I've found him to be professional at all times with me. If I've ever had anything I've asked him to do he's done it and he's responded and he's been good to work with to be quite honest. He was very professional in our discussions today. He understands that this is a business, and sometimes business decisions aren't always the way we'd like them to turn out, but I do think he understands.

On the timing of the upcoming search
"There's never a good time, there's never a bad time....it's time and you just go on. People talk that right now recruiting is critical ... recruiting is critical well in this day in age all year round. Does it mean that if we don't have someone in soon or because we have a break in continuity that we are going to lose something? Yeah, we will, and I don't think there's any question about that, but when coach O'Brien came on board he made the most of the time he had and I'll expect the football coach will make the most of the time he has."

On if a new coach will recruit Idaho players
"You know a few years ago we did a study of schools in the state of Idaho, and Idaho State University has more student-athletes on our rosters from within the state of Idaho than Boise State or Idaho. We will continue to work to find the best local talent that can play I-AA as it's been known in the past, now Division I Championship Football that we can. I feel that our coaches have done a good job recruiting locally. I think there's ... I'm not saying it's a myth, but I'm not sure what numbers people are looking at there. Can you find me players from this area that have gone on to play at other places? Certainly, but at the same time we've recruited and had a number of players from the state of Idaho play right here, so for someone to think that our roster should be 90% Idaho student-athletes, no I don't think that will happen.