The Illinois AD Search

[IlliniBacker]

Cation and Tiley are tight from his time here. More than casual acquaintances.

Leads me to believe these are the options when interpreting his tweet...

1. Cation was purposefully misinformed by Tiley to keep a lid on things
2. Cation is purposefully running interference
3. Cation's tweet is semantically correct, but not directionally accurate in terms of where things are going
4. His tweet is accurate on all fronts

If you are pulling for Tiley, only #4 would have me worried. This is Illinois, so therefore, I am worried.

 

[thatguy92]

Tupps

This article is spot on. I think you will see a decision by early next week if not sooner.

 

[UrbanaIsTheShiz]

Tupps

"the massive knot of wet yarn that has become Illini athletics".

Strange image. Not necessarily wrong, but not obvious.

 

[Second and Chalmers]

This article is spot on. I think you will see a decision by early next week if not sooner.

Spot on in that it is planted to totally undermine our actual next AD when George's answer continues to be the same as it has been for months.

I have seen the enemy, and he is us.

 

[AutoPoster 3000]

Tupps

That article reads like it was specially commissioned for an audience of one. Especially the last line, which doesn't seem intended for our consumption.

 

[Cubby Blue]

Spot on in that it is planted to totally undermine our actual next AD when George's answer continues to be the same as it has been for months.

I have seen the enemy, and he is us.

Hey, at least the enemy is a handsome SOB.

 

[Cubby Blue]

Ok, so I have to ask. What is Jimmy John's connection to U of I. I went to school at the same time as him at Eastern.

 

[Second and Chalmers]

Ok, so I have to ask. What is Jimmy John's connection to U of I. I went to school at the same time as him at Eastern.

He's a Champaign plutocrat and another shiny bauble to distract the rubes with Phil Knight daydreams.

 

[mattcoldagelli]

Tupps

That's a legitimately uncomfortable read.

 

[Second and Chalmers]

That's a legitimately uncomfortable read.

I mean, it calls to mind the old Monty Python "Wink wink nudge nudge" sketch.

They are terrified that the slightest ripple could disrupt what seems to be a fragile conversation moving a delicate process closer to an agreement and an announcement next week.

"But Mark, when you publicly broadcast hints of this fantasy over and over for months on end, make sure to constantly stress how much of a super buried secret it is."

 

[IlliniOX08]

Ok, so I have to ask. What is Jimmy John's connection to U of I. I went to school at the same time as him at Eastern.

Well other than being HQ'd in Champaign, his late father, James P. Liautaud went to Illinois.

Other than that uhhh.. not really much.

 

[mattcoldagelli]

Fun potential scenario: The George zealots know they've lost and are salting the earth, leading Tiley to attempt to artfully disengage.

 

[IlliniOX08]

Fun potential scenario: The George zealots know they've lost and are salting the earth, leading Tiley to attempt to artfully disengage.

Takes schadenfreude to a whole new level.

 

[illini39]

He is absolutely an alum. Jimmy Johns only scratches the surface of what he had done. Currently a professor at UIC I think.

 

[Second and Chalmers]

Fun potential scenario: The George zealots know they've lost and are salting the earth, leading Tiley to attempt to artfully disengage.

I would artfully disengage too at this point. The extent to which the inmates are running the asylum here is staggering.

The extent to which these particular inmates couldn't care less about the success of Illinois Athletics is instructive, though. I'll never understand why people are willing to pay so much money for so much losing so long as it's losing that bends absolutely to their will.

 

[IlliniOX08]

He is absolutely an alum. Jimmy Johns only scratches the surface of what he had done. Currently a professor at UIC.

Currently James P. Liautaud is deceased. His real legacy is the Liautaud Institute which is connected to UIC, not UIUC.

Jimmy John Liautaud went to EIU and founded Jimmy John's with some help from investors, notably his father. Jimmy John's is HQ'd in Champaign but otherwise doesn't have this strong connection to UIUC like Tupper implied.

Someone already pointed out (I think it was S&C) that this is some pining for a Phil Knight/Nike style relationship that just doesn't exist. And that's correct.

 

[sacraig]

Currently James P. Liautaud is deceased. His real legacy is the Liautaud Institute which is connected to UIC, not UIUC.

Jimmy John Liautaud went to EIU and founded Jimmy John's with some help from investors, notably his father. Jimmy John's is HQ'd in Champaign but otherwise doesn't have this strong connection to UIUC like Tupper implied.

Someone already pointed out (I think it was S&C) that this is some pining for a Phil Knight/Nike style relationship that just doesn't exist. And that's correct.

Unless, just maybe, his dad, as a UIUC alumnus, was an Illini fan and therefore raised Jimmy John to be an Illini fan. I mean, my own dad went to Illinois and raised my brother and I as fans and my brother is still a big fan despite the fact that he went to EIU instead of UIUC.

It certainly isn't a Phil Knight scenario, but it also isn't out of the question that a wealthy Illini fan that went to a school right down the road and makes his corporate headquarters even shorter down the road would get involved.

 

[GeorgiaIllini]

I would artfully disengage too at this point. The extent to which the inmates are running the asylum here is staggering.

The extent to which these particular inmates couldn't care less about the success of Illinois Athletics is instructive, though. I'll never understand why people are willing to pay so much money for so much losing so long as it's losing that bends absolutely to their will.

I don't pay enough attention to the intrigue. Who are the inmates? And in what respect are they running the asylum (I assume now the AD process) in a way that is detrimental? Not challenging your assertions - just can't read through the vague references.

 

[GeorgiaIllini]

Currently James P. Liautaud is deceased. His real legacy is the Liautaud Institute which is connected to UIC, not UIUC.

Jimmy John Liautaud went to EIU and founded Jimmy John's with some help from investors, notably his father. Jimmy John's is HQ'd in Champaign but otherwise doesn't have this strong connection to UIUC like Tupper implied.

Someone already pointed out (I think it was S&C) that this is some pining for a Phil Knight/Nike style relationship that just doesn't exist. And that's correct.

You might start with the fact that JJ's is hardly Nike.

 

[Deleted member 4333]

Here's the list of finalists my guy gave me:

Tom Michael
Sean Frazier
Dave Heeke
Marcy Girton
Patrick Chun

He also said Tiley and Whitman were interviewed and rejected.

Announcement tomorrow.


We'll see.

 

[CUWPC]

Here's the list of finalists my guy gave me:

Tom Michael
Sean Frazier
Dave Heeke
Marcy Girton
Patrick Chun

He also said Tiley and Whitman were interviewed and rejected.

Announcement tomorrow.


We'll see.

First I'm seeing Girton's name. Just read on her, shes been around.

 

[Second and Chalmers]

I don't pay enough attention to the intrigue. Who are the inmates? And in what respect are they running the asylum (I assume now the AD process) in a way that is detrimental? Not challenging your assertions - just can't read through the vague references.

The broad strokes of it are that Ron Guenther's Loyalty Circle cabal of donors are staging a coup to regain and tighten their control on the DIA. They orchestrated Mike Thomas' firing in part through a media whisper campaign and now this Rick George bogeyman is being disseminated in order to ensure that the next AD has no credibility and no institutional support and has nowhere to turn but them.

The Thomas administration was finally undone when a lot of these folks got together and threatened to turn off the money spigot en masse. They're holding that above the administration's head now based on this kooky lie that Rick George is just days away from signing, if only they will let the donors control the process. There has never been a word of truth to that since George turned us down in November.

Any decent University administrator would stand up to this madness. Phyllis Wise did. Bob Easter did. Mike Hogan did (though he was terrible for other, non-DIA related reasons). The Tim and Barb show is the perfect storm of weakness and gullibility to allow this lunacy to stand.

And just to be clear: Even if Rick George wakes up tomorrow and changes his mind and wants to come home to sweet old alma mater, Shad Khan isn't giving a penny more than he already does, nor are any of these other guys. They'll use their influence with him to see that they pay less for increased perks and increased isolation from the unwashed masses. George is just a puppet in this, he is not our savior and neither is Khan.

 

[Second and Chalmers]

Here's the list of finalists my guy gave me:

Tom Michael
Sean Frazier
Dave Heeke
Marcy Girton
Patrick Chun

He also said Tiley and Whitman were interviewed and rejected.

Announcement tomorrow.


We'll see.

Getcha popcorn ready.

 

[IlliniOX08]

You might start with the fact that JJ's is hardly Nike.

Indeed. And I wish Tupper wouldn't use JJ's as some power brokering reference point.

 

[IlliniOX08]

Here's the list of finalists my guy gave me:

Tom Michael
Sean Frazier
Dave Heeke
Marcy Girton
Patrick Chun

He also said Tiley and Whitman were interviewed and rejected.

Announcement tomorrow.


We'll see.

Would make the Cation tweets make a lot more sense - Save face for Tiley. I'm going to be pretty disappointed in any of those choices if they could have had Tiley. Frazier is the only one who I'd prefer out of that list. I'd rather have Whitman over all the others and I've been pretty outspoken that I don't believe he is ready.