Petition Tag - jeff hammond

Interim Athletic Director Jeff Hammond recently said, "We've got to come together. It's time to unify behind the university and stand shoulder-to-shoulder and back-to-back and say 'What can I do for the university?' not 'What can this university do for me?’ This is my university. This is our university. It's time to stop pointing fingers and rally together and do what's right for Southern Miss.”

Please join fellow USM supporters and stand shoulder to shoulder with Major General Jeff Hammond by signing the petition below to request that he be named the permanent Athletic Director at USM.

Hammond, who replaced the retired Richard Giannini on an interim basis at the first of the year, discovered through an internal audit that the athletic department is facing a debt in excess of $1 million. “This university athletics department is going to deal with it not this year, but in the years ahead,” Hammond said. “It was due to a lack of leadership. It was due to mismanagement. It was due to a lack of accountability and probably a lack of creative thinking in ways to develop revenue, such as scheduling.”

Hammond and the rest of the athletic staff are working hard to find ways to remedy USM’s financial problems by locating new revenue streams and potentially scheduling football and basketball games that could bring significant payoffs. Hammond says that they’re doing all things with a revenue-expenditure mindset. "You have to, first and foremost, put a program in place that consists of accountability and checks and balances. I have budget management experience from working in the military, managing tax payer dollars. Here, we're managing state dollars. It's taking good care with other people's money. It’s not always easy, but it’s the right thing to do.”

We believe that Jeff’s demand for fiscal responsibility during his short four-month tenure as Interim AD, rather than the “good ol’ boy ways of the past,” are exactly what is needed to lead USM into the future. The sudden resignation of President Martha Saunders is an indication of the influence of a few select individuals who are not comfortable with her endorsement of Jeff Hammond and his steps to challenge the status quo.

Let your voices be heard as USM students, alumni, employees, and other supporters stand shoulder to shoulder and demand the appointment of Jeff Hammond as our new Athletic Director. Please sign the petition below and circulate it to others who support fiscal responsibility in our University.

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