Holland Visit Creates "SportsCenter" Atmosphere

Article Date: Friday, January 15, 2010

Written By: Russell Rawlings

ECU Athletic Director Terry Holland addresses Bar Leadership Institute.

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The N.C. Bar Center took on the look of "SportsCenter" Friday when Terry Holland visited to present his keynote address at the North Carolina Bar Association's 31st Annual Bar Leadership Institute, held in conjunction with the annual meeting of the N.C. Conference of Bar Presidents.

The appearance of East Carolina University's athletic director followed Thursday's announcement that popular football coach Skip Holtz was leaving to take over as the head football coach at the University of South Florida.

 

Thanks to Holland's assistant, Brenda Swain, and the willingness of the athletic director to arrive early and make himself available to the media, interviews with three TV stations and one major daily newspaper were conducted prior to Holland's scheduled address.

 

Coverage was provided by WTVD-11 of Raleigh and Durham, WRAL-TV 5 of Raleigh, News 14 Carolina and The News and Observer.

 

An additional word of thanks should be extended to Wilmington attorney Stephen Baynard who serves as chair of the N.C. Conference of Bar Presidents. Baynard, who is married to Holland's daughter, arranged for his father-in-law to provide the keynote address.

 

Holland is certainly no stranger to the limelight, having served as head basketball coach and athletic director at both Davidson College and the University of Virginia prior to assuming his current position with ECU.

 
Nevertheless, it was impressive to see a true professional perform under the glow of the media spotlight just before entering Dorsett Auditorium, where he gave an equally impressive performance.