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Yesterday we explored the evolution of Clemson's commitment to facilities, a process that was painfully slow at times as the school and athletics department struggled to shake free of a reactionary and frugal mentality.
The same mindset brought some explosive private moments between Katie Hill, the CFO under Terry Don Phillips, and angry coaches.
One longtime athletics department staffer recalled a blowup between Hill and basketball coach Oliver Purnell over Purnell taking his wife to the Final Four on the company dime.
"Oliver had always taken his wife to the Final Four, even before he came to Clemson. That's where the basketball coaches convention always is. Katie had the nerve to stick a yellow post-it note on his office phone saying: 'We're not going to pay for your wife to go to the Final Four.'
"I remember Oliver coming up to me with that note stuck to his finger and saying: 'Who in the f&%@ is the AD around here?'"
Phillips ended up overruling Hill and paying for Purnell's wife to make the trip.
Yesterday we explored the evolution of Clemson's commitment to facilities, a process that was painfully slow at times as the school and athletics department struggled to shake free of a reactionary and frugal mentality.
The same mindset brought some explosive private moments between Katie Hill, the CFO under Terry Don Phillips, and angry coaches.
One longtime athletics department staffer recalled a blowup between Hill and basketball coach Oliver Purnell over Purnell taking his wife to the Final Four on the company dime.
"Oliver had always taken his wife to the Final Four, even before he came to Clemson. That's where the basketball coaches convention always is. Katie had the nerve to stick a yellow post-it note on his office phone saying: 'We're not going to pay for your wife to go to the Final Four.'
"I remember Oliver coming up to me with that note stuck to his finger and saying: 'Who in the f&%@ is the AD around here?'"
Phillips ended up overruling Hill and paying for Purnell's wife to make the trip.
