Josh Whitman Named 14th Illinois Athletics Director
I would guess Kowalcyzk and Lener are unlikely to stick around.
DaChief4ever
- Urbana
Good Hire, ...... some of the other names Bandied around gave the shakes.......Whitman?.....Young and HUNGRY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
What has Lener's job entailed? What has he done poorly that would warrant his firing?
dsboyce
- Golden, IL
In Lener's case, it definitely should not be an option. How he still has a job after the football investigation is beyond me.
Lener was Thomas' right hand man, and the negative feelings toward Thomas apply to Lener as well.
DaChief4ever
- Urbana
Maybe we beat PURDUE on Whitman.....I see he is from W. Laffy Yet....close call maybe?
http://www.indystar.com/story/sport.../possible-candiates-purdues-next-ad/80262772/
http://www.indystar.com/story/sport.../possible-candiates-purdues-next-ad/80262772/
Last edited:
dsboyce
- Golden, IL
Nope. As a matter of fact, Thomas may very well have ended up being a fall guy for Lener's misdoings.
http://www.illinoisloyalty.com/Forums/showpost.php?p=1157970&postcount=342
Well, seems to have a lot of potential. I hope he can find some more experienced folks to add to his team and help him out. Also will be interesting to see if anything really changes with the admin perception of sports. My guess is probably not, and thus we'll continue to have to hope we get lucky with these types of hires.
That's all well and good, but Thomas was not fired because of the Beckman stuff, that was just the pretext. The donors who hated Thomas are no great fans of Lener either, and regardless, those upper-upper administration positions are likely to be filled by hand-picked Whitman people either way.
dsboyce
- Golden, IL
Let's hope so. Lener should no longer be an employee at UI by the weekend.
Epsilon
M tipping over
- Pdx
May have been trying to offer Thomas plausible deniability...
Really happy about this choice. I like Whitman's energy and I can't imagine he will be easily intimidated
What does this mean for Dee? I am hoping Josh will keep him
What does this mean for Dee? I am hoping Josh will keep him
do we get a new football coach now?
Or perhaps the search team was bowled over by an obvious high ceiling up and coming Bronze Tablet owner that sees the U of I as his ultimate destination. A guy that can be seen at every football game uniting the fans. A guy who just isn't one of us, he is one of the best the university has ever produced.
Nah, even if they were bowled over, and even if they did the right thing, and even if they had him higher up on the board than either Tiley and George, nobody would ever believe that, would they?
No, the pessimist in all of us wouldn't believe that at all! :hand:
dsboyce
- Golden, IL
I think that's a given. One of his primary responsibilities will be to excite the fanbase. Getting rid of Dee would accomplish the opposite.
Illinivek23
- Gurnee
Great choice. Was a big fan during his playing days and liked his selection of career stops on the way to UIUC.
Mostly the process. I fully support Whitman but honestly was expecting more of a "home run" hire. When they let Thomas go, I thought the University understood we were at a serious crossroads and needed an experienced heavy hitter to come in and take charge and clean things up and get us back on track. Someone to throw their clout into things. That isn't JW. I think he has his own qualities and assets but I am not so sure he is the guy we need right now. Maybe in 5 years or so but I thought we sort of need a "cleaner" to come in and sort things out first and dictate to people how things should be run in a successful large university DIA. I'm sure JW can do the job but he's going to be learning still- he doesn't have experience in running a large program yet and you can't say he can come in a show everyone else how it's done. He hasn't done it. I want him to be successful but I certainly have reservations but thy have nothing to do with JW's ability or qualities. He just doesn't yet have that clout or experience.
The process for getting here though has been ridiculous.
Would be curious to hear what some of you think we should be measuring Whitman's success as an AD based on. Obviously the football and basketball programs won't be cured over night, but it can be a deliberate improvement.
Short term goals: ?
Long term goals: ?
I have my own thoughts but want to solicit yours before I add mine.
Short term goals: ?
Long term goals: ?
I have my own thoughts but want to solicit yours before I add mine.
The ends justify the means?
LOL
LOL
All in all a good hire. The resume experience is not the same as others but the potential is immense. This could be the smartest thing the university administration has done in quite some time.
That is one of the intangibles. I can't see a guy with Whitman's intelligence, who also happens to be an ex-NFL player, falling for Beckman's "Gee willikers! I'm a coach's son!" schtick. Whitman will have other challenges to overcome, of course, but I think he dramatically cuts down on the rube factor that's plagued us over the years. Thankfully.