The Illinois AD Search

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#351      
LurkLongandProsper
Update from FootballScoop:

http://footballscoop.com/news/with-...-in-considerable-turmoil-according-to-report/
As far as the athletic director position goes, There have always been two other candidates for the athletic director position to go along with Rick George, but both were seen as far, far below George. If it tells you anything, Illinois sources consistently refer to these other two candidates as “the tennis guy” and the “golf coach”. We don’t know these two people; but simply due to the fact that locals refer to them as the tennis guy and the golf coach…yeesh. George turning Illinois down was a crushing blow for the Illini and based on the reports like the one above, as well as additional reports out of Illinois, the University doesn’t seem to have a great path forward. In fact, as recently as yesterday a source in Illinois wondered if the Illini were preparing “one more offer” to George. People can always change their minds; but it sure didn’t sound like Rick George was leaving Boulder for Champaign.
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#352      
PaytonHighstep
#354      
CTD
PaytonHighstep said:
If he really was your top dog, no one else was close to him as a potential candidate, why mess around with a potential sub-par initial offer? Just make your best offer right out of the gate. This just seems very bush league to me. Either blow Rick George away with the offer the first time or don't even mess with it.
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It wasn't the offer, it was the mess of a job and being happy at Colorado.
 
#359      
FeelYourPaign
I can't believe just how fascinated I am with this thread and the football coach search thread. Its like watching a train wreck in slow motion and I can't turn away.
Hoping, I guess, that Superman comes swooping down out of the sky and saves the helpless little baby before the end.
Sadly, I think that hoping is Superman is an Illinois fan's best strategy.
 
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#360      
WesterveltVictoryCigar
Second and Chalmers said:
There actually hasn't been a ton of discussion of Mike Small. If he has interest, we could do a lot worse. Our immaculate, elite golf facility was largely his show, from the fundraising to the design to the implementation. Our Loyalty Circle muckety-mucks love him.
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He's been mentioned on enough boards to be known. He's also made the finals of the Champions Tour Q school, so it would be an interesting time for him if he became a serious candidate.
 
#361      
PaytonHighstep
CTD said:
It wasn't the offer, it was the mess of a job and being happy at Colorado.
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Ok... Then how did Illinois admin, boosters, whomever not know his feeling before they wasted time and apparently are still wasting time on him? This is a mess.
 
#362      
Illwinsagain
PaytonHighstep said:
Ok... Then how did Illinois admin, boosters, whomever not know his feeling before they wasted time and apparently are still wasting time on him? This is a mess.
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I liken it to recruiting a 5* in your backyard. Odds are against it working out, but it's worth the risk of time and expense, in case it does work. If everyone tells you "yes", you are not aiming high enough.
 
#363      
Second and Chalmers
Illwinsagain said:
I liken it to recruiting a 5* in your backyard. Odds are against it working out, but it's worth the risk of time and expense, in case it does work.
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In this instance it's more like kicking your existing best player off the team to go chase that 5*, while simultaneous not holding practice when there's mere days left before a massive game that will define the next 5 years of your program.

So I'd say it's a somewhat mediocre analogy.
 
#364      
CTD
PaytonHighstep said:
Ok... Then how did Illinois admin, boosters, whomever not know his feeling before they wasted time and apparently are still wasting time on him? This is a mess.
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Your last sentence. I don't think George knew how much a mess it was until getting further along in the process.
 
#365      
VictoryIllinois77
Is there any chance that Illinois pulls off something amazing and still gets Rick George on board even after his comments? Or is that basically a lost cause?
 
#366      
Illwinsagain
Second and Chalmers said:
In this instance it's more like kicking your existing best player off the team to go chase that 5*, while simultaneous not holding practice when there's mere days left before a massive game that will define the next 5 years of your program.

So I'd say it's a somewhat mediocre analogy.
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In your example, the kid was getting kicked off regardless of the new one, not because of the chance to woo George, so that is not relevant. George was 1 candidate that would have apparently pleased everyone, without a big search firm or process. He had to be asked. As you say, we are looking at a decision that will help define the next 5 years of the program and we are 2 weeks into the process. If the answer is not to be George, there will likely be a more drawn out process. That process may or may not have begun yet, I hope it has.
 
#367      
brosox
It still boggles my mind that our administrators apparently didn't have a definite plan long in place by the time they announced both the Beckman and Thomas firings. Who does that in this day and age, especially when they had to have known for weeks in beckman's case and for months in Thomas' case? Simply incompetence at its gratest extreme.
 
#370      
PaytonHighstep
What a nightmare! It's one thing with the nut punch comments about recruiting and losing football games in grad style like no one else can, but to totally F this up and allow boosters to lead a search is crazy. Leadership must be pretty weak in C-U. What a ####show. It's almost laughable how this has spiraled out of control over the last 4 months.
 
#372      
blmillini
Is this how the entire university is being run now? We seriously need some leadership!
 
#374      
robertgoulet
Ryan isn't the only person with that view on the AD search. Bernstein ("I don't listen to that troll" *rabble rabble butthurt*) mentioned it today during BnB as well. Said Kahn is pushing to have the athletic department run like a big boy school and get moving, use his private jet and go talk to people, but others want to hire a search firm and others want to do an internal committee.
 
#375      
IllinoisFanAtFSU
Do we as fans have any voice in this? Is there any way to collectively voice our displeasure with the way that Barbara Wilson and the school higher ups are running this?

Frustrating that we, the people who care the most, have to watch entirely from the sidelines and just squirm about it.
 
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