The Illinois AD Search

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#2,151      
I dont understand this comment...are you saying Thomas should have been retained and was fired because of petty politics?

Thomas' fate should have been in the hands of his bosses, not his customers.

Tim Beckman was a colossal failure and embarrassment to the University. I accept and sympathize with the argument that enabling and defending his presence as football coach for 3+ years was grounds for termination. Phyllis Wise had a different perspective, and in any event, that's not why he was fired.

I'm having trouble determining whether people disagree with the truth of what happened or whether they just don't understand what I'm saying. Apologies if I'm belaboring a point that's already clear.
 
#2,152      

CUWPC

Geneva, IL
Thomas' fate should have been in the hands of his bosses, not his customers.

Tim Beckman was a colossal failure and embarrassment to the University. I accept and sympathize with the argument that enabling and defending his presence as football coach for 3+ years was grounds for termination. Phyllis Wise had a different perspective, and in any event, that's not why he was fired.

I'm having trouble determining whether people disagree with the truth of what happened or whether they just don't understand what I'm saying. Apologies if I'm belaboring a point that's already clear.

I hate to defend Thomas, but Beckman was like choice number 4 or 5. It's not like he was his guy. It's hard to lure a good coach to Illinois and Thomas found that out. An up and coming coach with options will only consider Illinois if the money is much more. Beckman was a coach who turned a dumpster fire of a Toldeo program around.
 
#2,153      
I hate to defend Thomas, but Beckman was like choice number 4 or 5. It's not like he was his guy. It's hard to lure a good coach to Illinois and Thomas found that out. An up and coming coach with options will only consider Illinois if the money is much more. Beckman was a coach who turned a dumpster fire of a Toldeo program around.

Whatever. Thomas's job is to spearhead the donor support for better hires, Fail. Instead he made mediocre hires with the money he did have, and far worse he knew about and tolerated player abuse in at least two sports from guys he installed. I dont know if those are the reasons the poeple who fired him did so, but he clearly deserved to be fired for job-related reasons. No "cover story" needed to be invented.

I am not defending Guenther at all. Thomas took the doo doo Guenther laid and smeared it all over the 50 yard line.
 
#2,154      
Thomas' fate should have been in the hands of his bosses, not his customers.

Tim Beckman was a colossal failure and embarrassment to the University. I accept and sympathize with the argument that enabling and defending his presence as football coach for 3+ years was grounds for termination. Phyllis Wise had a different perspective, and in any event, that's not why he was fired.

I'm having trouble determining whether people disagree with the truth of what happened or whether they just don't understand what I'm saying. Apologies if I'm belaboring a point that's already clear.

I probably just dont understand it, as I am away from CU and not as in tune with UofI politics as I used to be.
 
#2,155      

mattcoldagelli

The Transfer Portal
Whatever. Thomas's job is to spearhead the donor support for better hires, Fail. Instead he made mediocre hires with the money he did have

I think there's a chicken/egg thing going on here. Donors don't need to be cajoled into supporting better, higher-profile hires.
 
#2,157      
I think there's a chicken/egg thing going on here. Donors don't need to be cajoled into supporting better, higher-profile hires.

yeah, most everybody I know would gladly put all of our high profile donor's dollars in Nick Saban's or Urban's pockets right now if they would come turn this boat around too. :thumb:
 
#2,158      
Okay, a couple things. First of all that article is from 2011. Not sure what your point is there.

Yadda, yadda, yadda ...

I linked the wrong article. This one is more current:

http://www.cbssports.com/nfl/eye-on-football/24733096/nfl-directv-sign-new-deal-reportedly-worth-12-billion-over-8-years

Despite everything you said (which I have already heard before), you will end up being wrong. I will say it again, there is *no way* that the next set of TV rights contracts will reduce the per-school payouts for B1G members.

Regardless of how viewers get their content, they still need to get the content from somewhere and the Big Ten owns very valuable content -- one of the few remaining blocks of TV programming that young males watch live. Even as cable tv continues to bleed subscribers, the Big Ten will still control that content and somebody will have to buy it, even if it ends up being netflix, hulu, yahoo sports, or some other non-cable entity down the road.

People claim that cable tv is moving toward ala carte pricing, but with ala carte pricing most viewers would end up paying the same amount or more for a lot less content. Look at subscription services like netflix and hulu; people pay a flat rate for access to a whole bunch of content they never watch, but that is preferable to most people compared with paying for individual shows/movies on-demand.

As far as the impact of the "tv sports rights bubble," if/when it takes effect, it would have no impact on the desirability of the Illinois Athletics Director position, as Illinois by being a member of the B1G would still be better positioned than most other athletics departments.

I still think Illinois could really mess up this AD hire, just because they have a history of being really short-sighted and incompetent when it comes to NCAA revenue sports, but it won't have anything to do with cord-cutting or the "sports media rights bubble."
 
#2,160      
I still think Illinois could really mess up this AD hire, just because they have a history of being really short-sighted and incompetent when it comes to NCAA revenue sports, but it won't have anything to do with cord-cutting or the "sports media rights bubble."

Let's start with this. I agree. I'm just raising the issue as something out there in the distance. There are much bigger fish right in the foreground.

Despite everything you said (which I have already heard before), you will end up being wrong. I will say it again, there is *no way* that the next set of TV rights contracts will reduce the per-school payouts for B1G members.

It may well not go down. It COULD, but there are also ways for the league to sell more inventory or do other things (the 9 game schedule, "parity based" scheduling, FCS game ban, and non-con scheduling mandates are almost entirely TV pot-sweeteners) to make the top line number look bigger.


Sunday Ticket rights are growing faster than broadcast rights. That's making my point exactly. This is the future.

People claim that cable tv is moving toward ala carte pricing, but with ala carte pricing most viewers would end up paying the same amount or more for a lot less content. Look at subscription services like netflix and hulu; people pay a flat rate for access to a whole bunch of content they never watch, but that is preferable to most people compared with paying for individual shows/movies on-demand.

Yes, you're exactly right, however in order to maintain the same level of revenue, the per-user cost of the services for sports leagues is going to have to be astronomical. Hundreds of dollars per season, and that's for each of NFL, NBA, MLB, etc. College conferences could have different sorts of options and people will try out different pricing models, but the sticker shock is going to chase away massive, massive amounts of people.
 
#2,165      

URH Snyder 490

Orange Crush '89
Northern Illinois
I have to admit that I'm confused by many of Second and Chalmers recent posts. They seem a bit circular and convoluted to me. Please don't misconstrue-I say that without any snark or anger, and I don't dispute any of it, because I don't know anything. You can put me in the camp disagreeing about the value of the B1G network viewing rights, for whatever that is worth (nothing).

I don't know much-OUTSIDER-but I know enough to realize that our athletic department is a growing tire fire, that it is a national laughingstock which will take years to repair if we are lucky, and as the days go by I'm realizing that this crucial AD hire won't move the needle. So we're back on the road to nowhere.
 
#2,169      
I have to admit that I'm confused by many of Second and Chalmers recent posts. They seem a bit circular and convoluted to me.

Alright, let me put it together as clearly as possible and then I'll shut up:

1. Ron Guenther had a tight-knit, very loyal group of donors who adored him. Shad Khan, notably, was part of this group.

2. Guenther was essentially fired by Mike Hogan, and then Hogan hired Mike Thomas with virtually no consultation from this group, whose money was the lifeblood of the program.

3. These donors were furious, and hated Thomas for it, from day 1. They have been very publicly airing their grievances about him, fair and unfair, to anyone who will listen for years.

4. Sometime before Wise resigned and Beckman was fired, these donors started spreading the idea that Rick George, who they all respect and believe would advance their interests, was interested in the Illinois job. Whether this was true or not, I don't know, but the idea got out there.

5. The donors pushed Wise to fire Thomas and let them court George. She steadfastly refused and stood by Thomas.

6. Tim Killeen becomes President, new to both Illinois and athletics, and Wise is fired as Chancellor, opening up a leadership vacuum.

7. These donors sense their opportunity and make a big push, swearing they have George in the bag (who the administration, rightly, sees as the strongest candidate) and threatening to end their financial support of the program if Thomas isn't ousted.

8. After some tug-of-war, they get their way, after covering the big buyout needed to get Thomas out.

9. A big offer is made to George, he considers it, but says no thanks.

10. The donors, without a white knight to reestablish their dominance, resolve to muddy and sabotage the process, so the next AD is someone weak who they can control. They hold their money over the head of the administration, cook up a story that George is still interested, and gum up the process, leaving the totally inexperienced Barb Wilson on an island with no one to support her but a search firm.

I'm not sure, honestly, how Craig Tiley plays into all this. Maybe he's the Guentherite backup plan, maybe he was never interested and the story about him interviewing is just meant to make the new AD look bad by comparison. But the whole George thing is a ruse meant to empower the ECI bluehair Guenther brigade over the interests of the administration and the fan and alumni community at large.
 
#2,171      

Deleted member 29907

D
Guest
So how much of this is conjecture vs 'pretty well understood' or inside information?
 
#2,173      
Alright, let me put it together as clearly as possible and then I'll shut up:

1. Ron Guenther had a tight-knit, very loyal group of donors who adored him. Shad Khan, notably, was part of this group.

2. Guenther was essentially fired by Mike Hogan, and then Hogan hired Mike Thomas with virtually no consultation from this group, whose money was the lifeblood of the program.

3. These donors were furious, and hated Thomas for it, from day 1. They have been very publicly airing their grievances about him, fair and unfair, to anyone who will listen for years.

4. Sometime before Wise resigned and Beckman was fired, these donors started spreading the idea that Rick George, who they all respect and believe would advance their interests, was interested in the Illinois job. Whether this was true or not, I don't know, but the idea got out there.

5. The donors pushed Wise to fire Thomas and let them court George. She steadfastly refused and stood by Thomas.

6. Tim Killeen becomes President, new to both Illinois and athletics, and Wise is fired as Chancellor, opening up a leadership vacuum.

7. These donors sense their opportunity and make a big push, swearing they have George in the bag (who the administration, rightly, sees as the strongest candidate) and threatening to end their financial support of the program if Thomas isn't ousted.

8. After some tug-of-war, they get their way, after covering the big buyout needed to get Thomas out.

9. A big offer is made to George, he considers it, but says no thanks.

10. The donors, without a white knight to reestablish their dominance, resolve to muddy and sabotage the process, so the next AD is someone weak who they can control. They hold their money over the head of the administration, cook up a story that George is still interested, and gum up the process, leaving the totally inexperienced Barb Wilson on an island with no one to support her but a search firm.

I'm not sure, honestly, how Craig Tiley plays into all this. Maybe he's the Guentherite backup plan, maybe he was never interested and the story about him interviewing is just meant to make the new AD look bad by comparison. But the whole George thing is a ruse meant to empower the ECI bluehair Guenther brigade over the interests of the administration and the fan and alumni community at large.

So basically, some large donors did not like the removal of Guenther, and never gave Thomas a chance. Turns out Thomas wasn't very good at his job and they used their leverage to get him out. Now the donors feel empowered and think they can get their preference hired as AD.

To be honest I'm quite alright with all of that. The fault is on the University. If they have a candidate they like, hire him/her and tell the boosters to get lost. I mean isn't that basically what they did with Thomas. If they hire the right AD he/she should be able to attract new boosters. There is plenty of Alumni with money that don't live in ECI. If he/she makes some shrewd hires the fan base will come back rapidly and eventually those boosters probably will too. I don't really see what all the drama is about.
 
#2,174      

whatahack

St. Peters MO
Sounds like it would make a great movie to show on USA or FX. I look forward to the finishing touches to explain whoever does get hired.

I'm sure if it turns out to be FUBAR as everyone thinks, there will be an HBO special or a 30 for 30 just to rub salt in the wound.....
 
#2,175      
I don't know if it's Cation's rebuttal of Shannon Ryan's report concerning Tiley, or Tupper's bizzare Rick George column yesterday, or Sean Frazier's signing-day dismissal of his candidacy, or the conflicting buzz about certain names having been rejected, or the pop-up ads for Ms. Dash littered across the News-Gazette sports page, but it's starting to feel like we're now into that last ominous stage of purgatory right before the bad news is confirmed. If there were an AD hiring crystal ball, this would be the moment we're hitting refresh just ahead of Jerry Meyer flipping his prediction over to Kansas. With us, on the rare occasion something good happens, we never see it coming, like finding $20 in the pocket of a jacket you rarely wear or getting wacked by the mob.
 
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