tl20081208-01 "Now on TheTowerlight.com: View video from the men�s basketball team�s CAA opener against Hofstra... Dec. 8, 2008 Monday www.thetowerlight.com FREE The Towerlight Published by Baltimore Student Media for the Towson University Community Kiel McLaughlin Editor in Chief The University System of Maryland has asked each affiliated institution to create a contingency plan for furlough days, unpaid leaves of absence, for the second half of the 2008 fiscal year. President Robert Caret sent an e-mail to all faculty and staff late Thursday afternoon to notify the campus of the impending furlough dates. In the e-mail he said that all state employees would be asked to take two to five furlough days before June 30. The number of days will be determined by salary, with higher sala-ried employees taking more days off. John Buettner, a communications rep-resentative of the University System of Maryland said that most institutional faculty should anticipate two to three furlough days. The furlough plan is part of Gov. Martin O�Malley�s round of mid-year budget cuts. The plan will affect more than 67,000 state employees and is pro-jected to save the state more than $34.4 million, according to Caret�s e-mail. There are about 22,000 employees among the 12 USM institutions, Buettner said. He said estimates of state savings due to the furloughs range from $16 to 17 million. Most state employees will be required to take furloughs on Dec. 26 and Jan. 2, the days after Christmas and New Year�s, according to Caret�s e-mail. USM employ-ees do not traditionally work these days already and work through other tradi-tional state holidays such as Election Day and President�s Day when most state employees have off, Buettner said. �USM employees work through days that others may have off in order to earn extra days off such as those after Christmas and New Years,� Buettner said. �The USM and [Chancellor Brit Kirwan] have been given the flexibility to adjust to fit these differences. There will be a difference between the governor�s proposal and what the USM will do with the furlough plans.� The USM administration and finance office will coordinate with the individu-al campuses on the contingency plans, Buettner said, in order to keep the pro-cess �as streamlined as possible.� Furloughs to begin in spring semester University System of Maryland prepares for budget cuts The Gordy Combs Years After years as face of Towson football, coach reflects on rise through ranks Illustration by Rachel Fauber, Images courtesy of Towson Athletics, File Photos/The Towerlight Long-time football coach Gordy Combs was relieved of his duties and bought out of his contract Tuesday, Nov. 2 after 39 years with the program as a player and coach. COMMENTARY Next coach better not miss Kevin Hess Associate Sports Editor With the dismissal of Gordy Combs, who has been involved with the football program for 39 years and had a winning record as a head coach, athletic director Mike Hermann and President Robert Caret put their stamp on the department. Many fans and alumni called for the move after two disappointing seasons in the CAA. Many were upset to see such an institution be relieved of his duties at the University in such a manner. I�m not sure whether it was the right move, but it�s clear, at least to me, that this administration has put its reputation on the line. If they cannot find the right coach to take the team to the �next level,� their legacy will be seen as the ones who fired Gordy. Hermann needs to make a smart decision, not a gutsy one. Not one with boom or bust potential but See COACH, page 23 Daniel Abraham Assistant Sports Editor When Gordy Combs spoke with his players at a meeting in which he announced he would no longer be their head coach, he stated that he would always bleed black and gold. And while that sounds like a very emotionally charged statement, not a single player in that room knew exactly how true that statement was. The progression of the Towson foot-ball program into what it was today did not happen overnight. It hap-pened over a course of 40 years, 39 of which Combs was a part of. In 1970, when Combs played his first season at Towson, the program was only a year old and competed at the Division III level. It had absolutely no credibility, no recognition, and no scholarships. �It was a very small program trying to get a football team going,� Combs said. �There were a lot of transfer guys and a lot of new guys looking to play. We didn�t have any scholarships, but the tuition cost my parents less than it did at Calvert Hall. And the tuition at Calvert Hall at the time I graduated was just $350.� Combs played linebacker for two years under then head coach Carl Runk before his senior season when Phil Albert, who was the offensive coordinator the previous seasons, took over as head coach. After graduation in the fall of 1972, Combs asked Albert for an assistant coaching spot, and he was given a very small task and was paid just $250. For the rest of the 1970s, Combs moved from coaching the defensive line to linebackers before finally becoming a full-time assistant coach in 1980. At that point, the program was making the transition to Division II, which allowed the school to hire more coach-es. The Tigers moved to Division I in 1986, but during the time in Division II they never had a full complement of scholarships despite making the play-offs in three of those seasons. Combs became the defensive coordinator in 1982 and remained in that position until 1991. After the 1992 season Albert decid-ed to step down as the head coach, which opened the door for Combs to See ERA, page 22 "
