The Illinois AD Search

IrishIllini · Jan 8, 2016

JiroDreamsOfMcRibs said:
If this was 1 down year, hell even 2, I could get behind your statement. But, currently in 2016 we are staring at 25+ years of a train wreck of a football program. We are staring at year 10 of a basketball program completely coming off the rails. This isn't a group of fans bailing after one half season of less than ideal results. This is a group of fans that have watched this University trip over themselves at every step. Literally, every step. Since 1992 the football winning percentage is .397. It's literally so bad, that Tim Beckman was basically par for the course here. The basketball program is staring at making the NCAA's 4 of the last 10 years. They have won 2 count em, 2 NCAA games in that time. We are 15 games under .500 in the Big Ten the last 9+ years.

Yes, it would absolutely be great if our fanbase showed up 60K+ strong every week for this football team. Would be great to see SFC packed every game. At some point though, supporting an organization that does nothing but fail, and does nothing to even try to succeed only further enables them to continue down this path.

Sure. It would be great to have fans turn out in droves I suppose. However, it would be better if the University placed some semblance of priority on actually being a legitimate contending Big Ten Athletic program instead of treating the program like an albatross around their necks that they can tolerate, but will throw the absolute bare minimum of resources and budget at it.

I agree. It's just doubly destructive to spew toxicity.

GO ILLINI :chief:

bombayIllini · Jan 8, 2016

Obviously we have to wait, *we* have no option.

However, there are people within the University system that do have plenty of options. And, it is their responsibility to deliver, not ours. Once they deliver, which has been far and few in between, then we can certainly do our 2 bit.

At this point in time, I have no faith in Wilson or Killeen. But, am willing to wait. But, they better deliver on the AD who better deliver on the two Coaches that matter most. Then if it takes some time then it is worth the wait. Else, IMHO, it is not even worth sending an email of protest to Wilson/Killeen.

jasonu · Jan 8, 2016

JiroDreamsOfMcRibs said:
If this was 1 down year, hell even 2, I could get behind your statement. But, currently in 2016 we are staring at 25+ years of a train wreck of a football program. We are staring at year 10 of a basketball program completely coming off the rails. This isn't a group of fans bailing after one half season of less than ideal results. This is a group of fans that have watched this University trip over themselves at every step. Literally, every step. Since 1992 the football winning percentage is .397. It's literally so bad, that Tim Beckman was basically par for the course here. The basketball program is staring at making the NCAA's 4 of the last 10 years. They have won 2 count em, 2 NCAA games in that time. We are 15 games under .500 in the Big Ten the last 9+ years.

Yes, it would absolutely be great if our fanbase showed up 60K+ strong every week for this football team. Would be great to see SFC packed every game. At some point though, supporting an organization that does nothing but fail, and does nothing to even try to succeed only further enables them to continue down this path.

Sure. It would be great to have fans turn out in droves I suppose. However, it would be better if the University placed some semblance of priority on actually being a legitimate contending Big Ten Athletic program instead of treating the program like an albatross around their necks that they can tolerate, but will throw the absolute bare minimum of resources and budget at it.

+1000 and I wish they'd try to see the financial benefit of giving this revenue athletic thing a little attention. Might even help attract $ and people to the academic side.

Illini DunkerChief 89 · Jan 8, 2016

We are becoming what NU used to be. That's not a good thing.

DudeAbides · Jan 9, 2016

JiroDreamsOfMcRibs said:
If this was 1 down year, hell even 2, I could get behind your statement. But, currently in 2016 we are staring at 25+ years of a train wreck of a football program. We are staring at year 10 of a basketball program completely coming off the rails. This isn't a group of fans bailing after one half season of less than ideal results. This is a group of fans that have watched this University trip over themselves at every step. Literally, every step. Since 1992 the football winning percentage is .397. It's literally so bad, that Tim Beckman was basically par for the course here. The basketball program is staring at making the NCAA's 4 of the last 10 years. They have won 2 count em, 2 NCAA games in that time. We are 15 games under .500 in the Big Ten the last 9+ years.

Yes, it would absolutely be great if our fanbase showed up 60K+ strong every week for this football team. Would be great to see SFC packed every game. At some point though, supporting an organization that does nothing but fail, and does nothing to even try to succeed only further enables them to continue down this path.

Sure. It would be great to have fans turn out in droves I suppose. However, it would be better if the University placed some semblance of priority on actually being a legitimate contending Big Ten Athletic program instead of treating the program like an albatross around their necks that they can tolerate, but will throw the absolute bare minimum of resources and budget at it.

+1

Those who are accusing some of the Illinois fans of being fair weather have a really high bar for being a loyal fan. The fact that our football team has seen any attendance at all is proof Illinois fans aren't fair weather.

Lake Camelot · Jan 9, 2016

As a Bradley basketball fan. I loved the way they handled hiring their President, Athletic Director, and coach in organized quick order. I was very happy with that process. I couldn't be any more unhappy with every move by Illinois.

So Bradley basketball is 2-14 and I feel pretty good about the situation anyway. I am worried that Illinois will never be a decent program, at least for 10-12 years.

So, I am either completely wrong. Or the Illinois athletic program is at rock bottom and not getting back up.

You can always just get lucky and hire one good AD or coach that can revive things. But I am so depressed at the way people are going about this process.

combes · Jan 9, 2016

DudeAbides said:
+1

Those who are accusing some of the Illinois fans of being fair weather have a really high bar for being a loyal fan. The fact that our football team has seen any attendance at all is proof Illinois fans aren't fair weather.

I said that it is about 50/50. You have the fans that will always show up because they are loyal fans and then the fans that will only show up when the team is winning. So, yes, there are quite a few loyal fans. But there are also a ton of bandwagon fans.

IlliniOllie · Jan 9, 2016

JiroDreamsOfMcRibs said:
If this was 1 down year, hell even 2, I could get behind your statement. But, currently in 2016 we are staring at 25+ years of a train wreck of a football program. We are staring at year 10 of a basketball program completely coming off the rails. This isn't a group of fans bailing after one half season of less than ideal results. This is a group of fans that have watched this University trip over themselves at every step. Literally, every step. Since 1992 the football winning percentage is .397. It's literally so bad, that Tim Beckman was basically par for the course here. The basketball program is staring at making the NCAA's 4 of the last 10 years. They have won 2 count em, 2 NCAA games in that time. We are 15 games under .500 in the Big Ten the last 9+ years.

Yes, it would absolutely be great if our fanbase showed up 60K+ strong every week for this football team. Would be great to see SFC packed every game. At some point though, supporting an organization that does nothing but fail, and does nothing to even try to succeed only further enables them to continue down this path.

Sure. It would be great to have fans turn out in droves I suppose. However, it would be better if the University placed some semblance of priority on actually being a legitimate contending Big Ten Athletic program instead of treating the program like an albatross around their necks that they can tolerate, but will throw the absolute bare minimum of resources and budget at it.

Also +1000. Very good post.

I'd also add, not attending games and reducing donations are pretty much the only way that fans can express their displeasure with the direction of the program. Sure, we can complain here all that we want, but the money is what talks. A mostly empty Soldier Field or 2500 people at the United Center is the only way to say that the fans don't believe in the program, and that the DIA needs to do better. Attendance and I-Fund are the only voice that we, the fans, have.

champaignchris · Jan 9, 2016

Since 1992, when Ron Guenther became AD, Illinois has a .397 winning percentage in football. Among the 65 "Big 5" programs, that's 6th worst, behind only Duke, Vandy, Indiana, Iowa St and Kentucky.

That's a really long time of being really bad.

HoopCity · Jan 9, 2016

Lake Camelot said:
As a Bradley basketball fan. I loved the way they handled hiring their President, Athletic Director, and coach in organized quick order. I was very happy with that process. I couldn't be any more unhappy with every move by Illinois.

So Bradley basketball is 2-14 and I feel pretty good about the situation anyway. I am worried that Illinois will never be a decent program, at least for 10-12 years.

So, I am either completely wrong. Or the Illinois athletic program is at rock bottom and not getting back up.

You can always just get lucky and hire one good AD or coach that can revive things. But I am so depressed at the way people are going about this process.

Hopefully with a great AD, if our present football / basketball coaches dot not pan out we know coaches with the "Mike White" and "Bill Self" caliber can turn the programs around very quickly. We have to go after top tier coaches.

Kramer116 · Jan 9, 2016

Lake Camelot said:
As a Bradley basketball fan. I loved the way they handled hiring their President, Athletic Director, and coach in organized quick order. I was very happy with that process. I couldn't be any more unhappy with every move by Illinois.

So Bradley basketball is 2-14 and I feel pretty good about the situation anyway. I am worried that Illinois will never be a decent program, at least for 10-12 years.

So, I am either completely wrong. Or the Illinois athletic program is at rock bottom and not getting back up.

You can always just get lucky and hire one good AD or coach that can revive things. But I am so depressed at the way people are going about this process.

I agree it is super frustrating and really sad to think about that when I was a student we were going to the NC game and a guaranteed top 25 team every season.

The only glimmer of hope that I have at the moment is that with the right hires at AD and with the coaching staffs, you can turn around your program quickly.

In basketball, you can go from bad to really good in a matter of a couple recruiting classes but you need to get the right combo of coaching staff and players. Easier said than done, but a quick turnaround is doable.

Football, with a huge roster, is a little different but if you hit on a handful of important positions like QB etc, you can win a few games quickly. But that is more of a process for football.

Now, after typing that all, I am not very confident in our administration getting this right but I am holding out hope...

homesickalien · Jan 9, 2016

combes said:
I said that it is about 50/50. You have the fans that will always show up because they are loyal fans and then the fans that will only show up when the team is winning. So, yes, there are quite a few loyal fans. But there are also a ton of bandwagon fans.

Said basically every program ever.

DudeAbides · Jan 9, 2016

champaignchris said:
Since 1992, when Ron Guenther became AD, Illinois has a .397 winning percentage in football. Among the 65 "Big 5" programs, that's 6th worst, behind only Duke, Vandy, Indiana, Iowa St and Kentucky.

That's a really long time of being really bad.

I knew we were always on the struggle bus but that is an eye-opening statistic.

Illwinsagain · Jan 9, 2016

JiroDreamsOfMcRibs said:
If this was 1 down year, hell even 2, I could get behind your statement. But, currently in 2016 we are staring at 25+ years of a train wreck of a football program. We are staring at year 10 of a basketball program completely coming off the rails. This isn't a group of fans bailing after one half season of less than ideal results. This is a group of fans that have watched this University trip over themselves at every step. Literally, every step. Since 1992 the football winning percentage is .397. It's literally so bad, that Tim Beckman was basically par for the course here. The basketball program is staring at making the NCAA's 4 of the last 10 years. They have won 2 count em, 2 NCAA games in that time. We are 15 games under .500 in the Big Ten the last 9+ years.

Yes, it would absolutely be great if our fanbase showed up 60K+ strong every week for this football team. Would be great to see SFC packed every game. At some point though, supporting an organization that does nothing but fail, and does nothing to even try to succeed only further enables them to continue down this path.

Sure. It would be great to have fans turn out in droves I suppose. However, it would be better if the University placed some semblance of priority on actually being a legitimate contending Big Ten Athletic program instead of treating the program like an albatross around their necks that they can tolerate, but will throw the absolute bare minimum of resources and budget at it.

This is depressing, but I fear correct. Illini sports used to be my favorite pass time. I hardly watch anymore, more likely just to check the score and read the write up.

ChicagoChief · Jan 9, 2016

DudeAbides said:
I knew we were always on the struggle bus but that is an eye-opening statistic.

How on earth is Illinois behind Oregon St and Washington St??

OrangeDeeLight · Jan 9, 2016

What would folks think if we hired Sean Frazier from NIU as our new AD? Good? Bad? Mediocre?

Thoughts?

CUWPC · Jan 9, 2016

OrangeDeeLight said:
What would folks think if we hired Sean Frazier from NIU as our new AD? Good? Bad? Mediocre?

Thoughts?

I like his resume. His time at Wisconsin and NIU is very intriguing. I would love someone with ties to UI but at this point it seems to be slim pickings.

mattcoldagelli · Jan 9, 2016

DudeAbides said:
+1

Those who are accusing some of the Illinois fans of being fair weather have a really high bar for being a loyal fan. The fact that our football team has seen any attendance at all is proof Illinois fans aren't fair weather.

Anybody reading or writing any words on this site at all is automatically immune from anyone questioning their fandom.

DarrenTheKramericaIntern · Jan 9, 2016

champaignchris said:
Since 1992, when Ron Guenther became AD, Illinois has a .397 winning percentage in football. Among the 65 "Big 5" programs, that's 6th worst, behind only Duke, Vandy, Indiana, Iowa St and Kentucky.

That's a really long time of being really bad.

I posted a similar stat years ago on I-Board. So, to put this into simple terms, only five "Power 5" schools have a worse winning %'s in football since '92...

...Duke, Indiana, and Kentucky --- 3 basketball schools with a combined 21 national titles or national runner-ups in the last 41 years

...Iowa State --- Big12 bottom feeder, plays second fiddle to Iowa in the state of Iowa

...Vandy --- a school who actually went without an athletic department or an AD for a number of years

Well done, Illinois.

IrishIllini · Jan 9, 2016

mattcoldagelli said:
Anybody reading or writing any words on this site at all is automatically immune from anyone questioning their fandom.

Lol! Ever so true!

IlliniOllie · Jan 9, 2016

champaignchris said:
Since 1992, when Ron Guenther became AD, Illinois has a .397 winning percentage in football. Among the 65 "Big 5" programs, that's 6th worst, behind only Duke, Vandy, Indiana, Iowa St and Kentucky.

That's a really long time of being really bad.

And that's with two random BCS bowl seasons thrown in there, so you can really see just how bad it's been during the rest.

AutoPoster 3000 · Jan 9, 2016

OrangeDeeLight said:
What would folks think if we hired Sean Frazier from NIU as our new AD? Good? Bad? Mediocre?

Thoughts?

Come on, man. You can't expect anyone to answer that question without giving them at least two and a half months and about a dozen committee meetings to consider it. Please be more patient.

Illwinsagain · Jan 10, 2016

OrangeDeeLight said:
What would folks think if we hired Sean Frazier from NIU as our new AD? Good? Bad? Mediocre?

Thoughts?

Honestly, I think he would be the early favorite in Vegas, if they cared enough to have a line on it. Not necessarily the fan favorite, but his resume is one that is sufficient. It is a logical choice, assuming we can't sell George on taking on this program.

mattcoldagelli · Jan 10, 2016

OrangeDeeLight said:
What would folks think if we hired Sean Frazier from NIU as our new AD? Good? Bad? Mediocre?

Thoughts?

He's a WAY better high than we have any business making after our athletic department's last six months, which was the equivalent of getting wasted at the office party, throwing up on all the most important people you work with, and passing out in the street because you gave up trying to find a way home.

Illwinsagain · Jan 10, 2016

mattcoldagelli said:
He's a WAY better high than we have any business making after our athletic department's last six months, which was the equivalent of getting wasted at the office party, throwing up on all the most important people you work with, and passing out in the street because you gave up trying to find a way home.

And he is the like the hot girl in accountling, finding you in the street, taking you home and helping you to recover from the night before?