http://cjonline.com/sports/2012-03-26/fissures-ran-deep-martin-currieTwo years ago, Frank Martin sat behind a microphone, eyes puffy from tears, and marveled at the kind of country where a Cuban kid from Miami could grow up to be a millionaire.
Sitting to his right was John Currie, the athletic director who had just signed Martin to a long-term contract at Kansas State.
“I told John from Day One, I said, ‘I want to be the guy that grows old with you here,’ ” Martin said. “I told him that I didn’t want him to offer me a contract because it’s en vogue. I want to do it because you believe in me.
“It just goes to show that if you try to do right by people and do your job, good things can happen to you.”
Even in that picturesque moment, though, fissures were forming. Currie said during the news conference that he would meet with Martin later to determine salary increases for K-State’s assistant coaches. When the numbers came in, Martin believed the assistants had been promised more money during contract negotiations.
That was one of many times Martin didn’t see eye-to-eye with his athletic director during the three years they worked together at K-State. As a result, South Carolina will stage a different kind of news conference Tuesday morning, where the school is expected to introduce Martin as its next basketball coach.
Even before Martin’s move to South Carolina became imminent, sources said it was clear the relationship between Martin and Currie had been damaged beyond repair.
“The description of the toxic nature of Currie and Martin, I can’t imagine how you could salvage it with money or years on the contract,” said a source familiar with the relationship. “Somebody would have to swallow hard.”
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K-State hired Currie in 2009 in the wake of financial scandals that left fans craving responsible leadership. The previous athletic director, Bob Krause, had resigned amid revelations of expensive buyouts given to former employees, including the so-called secret agreement drafted for football coach Ron Prince.
Charged with cleaning up K-State’s image, Currie stressed a platform of transparency and fiscal accountability. The buttoned-down approach was at odds, however, with the rough edges that endeared Martin to many Wildcat fans.
If the relationship wasn’t strained at first, conflict was inevitable.
“There was the predictable playing nice together in the sandbox until the F-bomb dropped in the game or something ran afoul of something Currie was all about,” one source said.
Currie’s emphasis on branding and public relations didn’t square with Martin’s regular-guy persona. The tension manifested itself in myriad ways, from lectures on sideline decorum to Currie straightening Martin’s tie before a postgame news conference.
Martin resented what he viewed as micromanaging, sources said, and became suspicious of Currie’s motives. Neither Currie nor Martin returned repeated phone calls and text messages from The Capital-Journal.
“It’s been a constant fight,” said a source close to Martin. “Frank had to bite his tongue to be there as long as he did.”
Among Currie’s early moves was the hiring of Jamie Vaughn as associate athletic director for compliance. Currie gave K-State’s compliance office far-reaching authority to interpret NCAA rules, sources said, which led to more disagreements. Some were minor, like the implications of donating an autographed basketball to the Boys & Girls Club.
Others were more substantial, including the incident that proved to be the tipping point for Currie and Martin.
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K-State had just finished a film session the night before the Wildcats were to face No. 1 Syracuse in the NCAA Tournament. That’s when Currie approached Martin and, according to sources familiar with the conversation, informed him senior Jamar Samuels wouldn’t play after accepting a $200 wire transfer from a former AAU coach.
Martin was upset by the decision, the timing and the fact that he wasn’t given a chance to voice his opinion. After K-State lost 75-59 to Syracuse the next day, Martin didn’t hide his displeasure during the postgame news conference.
“He has, in my opinion, done nothing wrong,” Martin said, referring to Samuels. “You always have to err on the side of caution and not do something and look back on it and then regret your decision.
“Please don’t ask me any questions on it, because I had nothing to do with the decision. Any questions pertaining to this matter, please direct to John Currie, my boss.”
Currie and Martin later had a heated exchange regarding those comments, a source said, which may have been the end of a strained relationship.
Soon after K-State’s season ended, Martin emerged as a candidate for South Carolina’s coaching vacancy. Saturday, while Martin was in New York doing studio commentary for CBS, university president Kirk Schulz emailed members of the Kansas Board of Regents to tell them South Carolina was interested in speaking to K-State’s coach.
K-State had made overtures to Martin during the season about a contract extension, but there was no concerted push to counter South Carolina’s offer, sources said.
Martin flew directly to Columbia, S.C., to meet with university officials Monday and hasn’t returned to Manhattan. Martin wasn’t in attendance when K-State’s players gathered Monday night at Bramlage Coliseum.
Currie will meet with reporters at 10 a.m. Tuesday to address K-State’s basketball program. The immediate future likely will entail a coaching search, Currie’s first in any sport at K-State.
The public nature of Currie’s rift with Martin could impact K-State’s ability to attract a top-flight coach, said one athletics source. But K-State also has made a significant commitment to basketball during Currie’s tenure, raising money for a $17 million training facility currently under construction.
“If I was a coach and I was looking for an athletic director, I’d be a big John Currie fan,” said Ed McKechnie, chairman of the Kansas regents. “I would want that guy to be an advocate for me and go raise money.”
Clearly, K-State’s basketball identity is about to change. Martin’s fiery demeanor and colorful personality defined the program for the past five years, a run that included four NCAA Tournament appearances and a trip to the Elite Eight in 2010.
Despite the appearance of outward success, the cracks ran deep for Martin.
“The single bottom line for him was he didn’t trust (Currie),” said a source familiar with the relationship. “In Frank’s mind, this was an issue of trust.”
