Maybe he comes as George's right hand man?
The Illinois AD Search
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Two of our "Top Candidates" are golf pros named Mike.
I-L-L
I-L-L
ILL in IA
- Iowa City
By no means stating this is a way we should go, but I have seen smaller school starting to use 2 athletic directors, 1 for the men's sports and 1 for the women's. Any one know of this being put in place at larger universities? I can see the positives and negatives for it.
Daily conspiracy theory: University starts floating around rumors that it might hire a golf pro/course manager that never worked a single day in the field of college athletics for the purpose of riling up and outraging the handful of diehards who still care about this. Then, when they eventually announce that the real athletic director is Tom Michael, the folks who otherwise would have grumbled about how uninspired a choice that was will instead be thinking, "At least he's got some experience. It could be worse, we could be hiring that golf pro."
I would be more than ok with Mike Small as the AD. Look what he's done with the golf program, I'd like to see what he could do for the department as a whole.
And he did it as a fundraiser and facility builder as much as a coach. That facility is crazy and he led the charge for it. Impressive guy, knows the lay of the land, I would have no problem with that hire.
Joel Goodson
- respect my decision™
No doubt. But it would screw up the golf program and I think Small has some unfinished business there.
Small or Tiley: inspired choices
Maybe they could bring Whitman on board as the AD-in-training.
mattcoldagelli
- The Transfer Portal with Do Not Contact Tag
Mike Small is fantastic. I had ruled him out because he is so impossibly good at his current job I couldn't imaging him ditching it.
Mackovic was both head coach and AD. Maybe Small could keep both jobs.
ADs probably do a lot of fund raising out on the golf course anyway.
ADs probably do a lot of fund raising out on the golf course anyway.
BZuppke
- Plainfield
Mackovic was both head coach and AD. Maybe Small could keep both jobs.
ADs probably do a lot of fund raising out on the golf course anyway.
In my opinion you cannot have both I think. We need a professional AD not a guy who's just been a good coach. This is pretty crucial for us now.
Joel Goodson
- respect my decision™
The only possible way is to have an AD-in-training (Whitman) who could take most of day to day operations. Enabling Small to fund raise, strategerize (lol) and coach.
IlliniOX08
- Bucktown, Chicago
Yea. There's also an article out there from last year on Small. I believe it came from Golf Digest? The gist of it was, Small wasn't happy on the tour and his game and love for it suffered. He came to coach Illinois, rediscovered his passion for the game, discovered his passion for coaching and started playing better as a result.
Given that he is also trying to go through Q-School for the Sr. Tour.. I have a hard time believing he'd be seriously interested in the job.
Q-School is over and I think he didn't make it. The more golf-literate can correct me on that, but I think he finished a few strokes behind where you get like exemptions into tour events or whatever.
IlliniOX08
- Bucktown, Chicago
Ah, thanks. Still doesn't seem like a guy who has a focus on being the AD.
Obviously that would have to change. This would be a heck of a challenge, and a financially remunerative one.
You are correct. The Champions Tour is actually the toughest to get onto via qualifying. Only the top 5 Q school finishers get full status and you have to be in the top 30 to get any status at all. Small finished T46.
Small would be able to hand pick the best coach for the golf program...I'm sure he has unbelievable connections, and what coach wouldn't want to come to the golf program with the facilities they have.
BZuppke
- Plainfield
That's why you need a football guy as AD: Ability to hand pick the football coach because of the connections and respect he has in the college football world. The success of the football program and its impact on the entire athletic program at Illinois is slightly more important than a top notch golf team.
Joel Goodson
- respect my decision™
Football >>> Golf
Football is the driver, no question about it. But the belief that the AD has to be a "football guy" is false, IMO. He just needs to make a real good decision.
Sorry didn't read far enough into thread subject asked and answered.
ilphotog
The camera never lies
- Champaign
So for the sake of this discussion, what are the key things do you believe a AD needs to have to be a good AD ? Can we as a group come to a conclusion on what the top 3-5 (or more) attributes the candidate needs to have. They don't have to be in any order etc.
In order of importance:
1. Ability to spot and hire coaching talent for men's basketball and football.
2. Fundraising.
3. Make decisions on how money can be best spent to give football/basketball teams the facilities they need to win.
4. Lead policy changes and renovations to improve fan experiences.
5. Ability to spot and hire coaching talent for all other sports.
kcib8130
- Parts Unknown
In theory that is just a list that is independent to our search, not every search. That list's order can change depending on circumstances. If I could slightly edit this list, I think you can just group coaching hires together as one (I know those 2 are the most important though) and put sitautional awareness/tough decision making in there. We once had a guy who couldn't cut ties and put us behind the 8 ball like we are now.
UIUC1867
- Christian County, IL
(In no particular order)
-Fundraising
-Effective marketing
-Constantly improving the game-day experience
-Knowledge on how to hire good coaches
-Someone who keeps coaches accountable
I think you need to elaborate on the "hiring" part on 1. Thomas spotted coaching talent in both sports but couldn't persuade those individuals to accept his offer. (Sumlin, Smart, Stevens). Therefore, I would add - an effective communicator who is skilled in persuasion.
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