• Art Jahnke

    Senior Contributing Editor

    Art Janke

    Art Jahnke began his career at the Real Paper, a Boston area alternative weekly. He has worked as a writer and editor at Boston Magazine, web editorial director at CXO Media, and executive editor in Marketing & Communications at Boston University, where his work was honored with many awards. Profile

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There are 16 comments on BU Athletic Director Steps Down

  1. Too bad the only thing people will remember about him is that he made the unbelievably stupid decision to cut wrestling. Maybe he was good at some point, but his lasting legacy is one worth derision.

      1. The wrestling program was not a drain. Schools support developing students in both mind and body. Athletic programs are cutting sports because they don’t bring in money. I thought college athletics were about sportsmanship, learning, developing skills, and maintaining health. Universities are about learning—they’re not businesses.

      2. Carl Adams’ wrestling camp brought in quite a large sum of money to BU; additionally, many of Carl’s campers became BU students, most of whom were on no scholarships or athletic teams, paying BU’s steep tuition. Wrestling requires little $ for equipment, unlike the (2-12) lax team’s equipment needs. Wrestling is also one of the most economically accessible sports for all populations, something I thought BU would support.

    1. Often a person leaves a position because of other opportunities. Surprisingly, no reason is given why Lynch is leaving? Time will tell.

      Also it is interesting to hear a senior vice president, senior counsel, and secretary of the Board of Trustees comment that Lynch inspired countless Boston University student-athletes to excel both on and off the playing field. I wonder how much interaction between Lynch and the student-athletes, he witnessed. It is a tragedy how Carl Adams and the wrestling program was handled. Coach Adams really showed his class by assuming a “high road” and not being adversarial in public. The alumni will remember these things.

  2. I want to thank Mr. Lynch for making the Hockey games at Agganis an event that I can take the grandkids. The “F”bombs are gone. Each game is enjoyed for the passion and the athleticism, without concern for the what the youngsters hear or observe in the stands.

    Thanks MR. Lynch for this and the many successes you brought to BU sports, and good luck in your future endeavors.

    1. My son, a BU wrestling alum, met with Mike in 2008 and asked why the wrestling team did not appear on any posters or advertisements. Mike responded that unlike hockey or basketball, wrestling didn’t bring in enough money to warrant more marketing. He said that my son had to understand the ‘business’ behind this. Is dollars/cents the value of a student athlete? Or is citizenship, community service, a perfect graduation rate, and a sterling reputation among the athletic community the value of a student athlete? I wonder..

  3. My family and I wish Mike the best of luck in his future endeavors. You have been an inspiration to others. You will be missed by your BU family.

  4. Mike called his wrestling team “mediocre at best” as a means of justifying an unjust decision. People will not forget the way in which the wrestling program was cut, and how Carl Adams–a BU coach of 30+ years–was not informed until after the decision had been made public.

  5. Charming, tenacious, high energy advocate for athletic excellence at BU. A few discordant notes. But overall a spectacular 10 year legacy of accomplishment. His passion was infectious. Not easily replaced.

    1. Take 10 years, multiply it by 3, then add a few more years, and you have the legacy of Carl Adams, a legacy Lynch showed little care for when cutting the wrestling team without informing Carl until after the decision was finalized. How can the inexcusably distasteful way in which this was carried out be overlooked?

  6. its amazing how those see only what they want to see. its obvious that Mike did well in many aspects and is to be commended for those. but he also failed miserably at other aspects. they hockey players and the atmosphere they surrounded themselves with, and the sexual predators within that program. the institutional discipline was not there in that program and the AD appears to have looked the other way. I wonder if the victims of those sexual assaults think highly of Mike? how about a 10 year pattern of abusive behavior by the women’s basketball coach and how she was rewarded with raised and contract extensions while this was going on? I wonder if those victims thought highly of mike and the job he did? toss in his callous cutting of the wrestling program and there is a lot of negatives about Mike and the job he did. maybe that is why he resigned? it seems some of the teams don’t represent BU in a positive way and as AD and a Veep of the school, he bears that responsibility.

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