The Illinois AD Search

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#2,401      

Hoppy2105

H
Little Rock, Arkansas
Hoppy2105
Sponge worthy said:
I would guess at least 95% of the fan base think George is absolutely the best hire. It seems Khan is doing everything he can to make that happen but you do nothing but bash him. From reading what Rick George has done if he is the AD, friend or not Khan will not control him. Sounds personal to me. Did Khan or Guenther Fire you somewhere in the past?
You keep complaining about this ECI power play but you have gone out your way to control this thread. I will start every post now complaining abut the S&C power play on this thread.
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What S&C is saying is that Khan is muddying the waters publically of what should be a private search. George has publically stated he doesn't want the job. He hasn't been playing hard to get and making vague statements, he has simply said "No."

Khan continues to push for him to try and convince him, which is fine privately because what if he does actually get him? What isn't fine is that info about it keeps getting out which makes us look bad to other candidates.

Anyway, that's how I'm taking it. S&C, feel free to correct anything in your very articulate style.
 
#2,402      

Second and Chalmers

S
Second and Chalmers
Sponge worthy said:
It seems Khan is doing everything he can to make that happen
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Even assuming that this supposed quixotic quest is a real thing, should we be that enthusiastic that someone that rich and powerful has hijacked the DIA, caused the Cubit mess (Mike Thomas is still the AD if the George myth isn't sold to Killeen and Wilson), and dragged this on for 4 months despite a flat, consistent, unambiguous "no" from George from the very beginning? That's something we should support?

I have to imagine most of our fanbase would rather be entering Year 1 of the Dino Babers era with whatever academic concessions Mike Thomas was working on than chasing at ghosts like this. If that's a personal agenda then so be it.

Regardless, I think you have to be pretty naive to believe the official narrative that Khan has been standing outside George's house holding a boombox over his head for the last four months. That naivete will come in handy when the "explanation" of why the George deal didn't happen comes out.

Great username though :thumb:
 
#2,403      

jasonu

J
jasonu
I'm still skeptical anyone as high profile as George/Tiley would want to take the job with so many unknowns in the university leadership. Both in terms of people as well as commitment to athletics.
 
#2,404      

spillini

spillini
spillini
jasonu said:
I'm still skeptical anyone as high profile as George/Tiley would want to take the job with so many unknowns in the university leadership. Both in terms of people as well as commitment to athletics.
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Ego and money.
 
#2,405      

Second and Chalmers

S
Second and Chalmers
Hoppy2105 said:
Khan continues to push for him to try and convince him, which is fine privately because what if he does actually get him? What isn't fine is that info about it keeps getting out which makes us look bad to other candidates.
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Well, I would just add, it's not just the leaks. The "official" process is taking so long explicitly and only because the donor process (it's not just Khan) has been given permission to take precedence. Through tantrums and threats of withholding donations all the way. And when they come up with nothing, they will go to their media contacts and trash the administration with lies to cover their tracks, weaken the position of the new AD, and consolidate their own influence.

The AD and new Chancellor are going to need some serious backbone to stand up to this.
 
#2,406      

IlliNYC

I
IlliNYC
Second and Chalmers said:
Well, I would just add, it's not just the leaks. The "official" process is taking so long explicitly and only because the donor process (it's not just Khan) has been given permission to take precedence. Through tantrums and threats of withholding donations all the way. And when they come up with nothing, they will go to their media contacts and trash the administration with lies to cover their tracks, weaken the position of the new AD, and consolidate their own influence.

The AD and new Chancellor are going to need some serious backbone to stand up to this.
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It's the donors fault the admin is so incompetent? Not buying that.
 
#2,407      

Jimmy McNulty

J
Jimmy McNulty
I don't buy the narrative that a billionaire who owns two pro sports teams and is completely self made is hanging on to a pipe dream. Maybe he did for a while, but he's obviously getting enough feed back for him to think it's still possible. If him and George are really as close as everyone is saying and George said to him "I'm not coming, move on" one we think he would have. For the record I don't think the AD will be George. I just don't think that it's Khan holding this whole thing up based on slim hope.
 
#2,408      

Second and Chalmers

S
Second and Chalmers
IlliNYC said:
It's the donors fault the admin is so incompetent? Not buying that.
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Oh the admin bears plenty of blame here. They are the ones who fired Mike Thomas based on vague, unconfirmed assurances that George was in the bag. They are the ones that didn't snatch back the process immediately when it became clear publicly that George wasn't going to leave Colorado. They are the ones who let Paul Kowalczyk prepare for a coaching search and all but announce Cubit's firing publicly before panicking and yanking his authority away. They are the ones who continue to allow this charade to go on.

And rest assured, when they do finally hire the next AD, their messaging to the fanbase will be just as poor as it's been this whole time.

But have they actually taken four months to go through the process of vetting and interviewing the same list of pedestrian candidates we all drew up within 15 minutes after Thomas was fired? No. They have been forced to run the "official" process at a snail's pace by the fairy tales and threats of the donors.
 
#2,409      

kjkjkjkjk

K
kjkjkjkjk
Second and Chalmers said:
Oh the admin bears plenty of blame here. They are the ones who fired Mike Thomas based on vague, unconfirmed assurances that George was in the bag. They are the ones that didn't snatch back the process immediately when it became clear publicly that George wasn't going to leave Colorado. They are the ones who let Paul Kowalczyk prepare for a coaching search and all but announce Cubit's firing publicly before panicking and yanking his authority away. They are the ones who continue to allow this charade to go on.

And rest assured, when they do finally hire the next AD, their messaging to the fanbase will be just as poor as it's been this whole time.

But have they actually taken four months to go through the process of vetting and interviewing the same list of pedestrian candidates we all drew up within 15 minutes after Thomas was fired? No. They have been forced to run the "official" process at a snail's pace by the fairy tales and threats of the donors.
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sorry, but what are you basing this on? i haven't heard any facts to support this and you seem to be the only one pushing this narrative. Your conjecture is as good as anyone else's.
 
#2,411      

illini39

illini39
Barrington, IL
illini39
S&C, what are you more upset at... Thomas getting fired or the search itself? It seems like you are frustrated he was let go and therefore we lost our opportunity for Babers. Maybe it’s Babers, but you have been driving this thread with a consistent theme and it seems a little over the top. We have no idea why Khan may be pushing for George still and it shouldn't matter at this point because nothing needs to be done until hopefully it is done right. There's rumors Wilson may be named the permanent Chancellor at some point too. I think she believes we need to do everything we can to get the best possible person. Why is all this so bad and making the University, search committee, donors, DIA, most posters on this board and soon to be me the only idiots here? There are very smart successful people close to this search that are also working hard to make sure we get the best person. If one person or one group was dominating this the search would have been over by now. Unless you have clear sources and can give us substantial and factual information then what you are saying is just as bad as all the sources, University officials, posters and followers you have been bashing on this thread. Maybe just tone it down and stop acting like you are the sole authority on this. If it turns out you were right people would be more likely to commend you and name you the new board guru. Ok… go ahead and crush me now since I would hate to be left out.
 
#2,412      

GameOfThrows

G
GameOfThrows
jasonu said:
I'm still skeptical anyone as high profile as George/Tiley would want to take the job with so many unknowns in the university leadership. Both in terms of people as well as commitment to athletics.
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Tiley's wife's mother wants her grandchildren in Illinois as opposed to Australia. I am hoping that is the how and why Tiley accepts the U of I offer.
 
#2,413      

spillini

spillini
spillini
HoopCity said:
Money ? $150,000 for a search firm that has provided who ??
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My point was those are the two reasons someone who already has it pretty good somewhere else would come here. Not saying the guys we want are necessarily going to go for it. Any concern over instability is not unwarranted, for sure.
 
#2,415      

Cubby Blue

C
Cubby Blue
GameOfThrows said:
Tiley's wife's mother wants her grandchildren in Illinois as opposed to Australia. I am hoping that is the how and why Tiley accepts the U of I offer.
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I have said all along that Tiley makes way more sense than George.

Tiley's wife reportedly would like to move home to be closer to family.

George's wife reportedly doesn't want to leave home and family that is close.

As a married man of >30 years, I know who pulls the chain here. :thumb:
 
#2,416      

Second and Chalmers

S
Second and Chalmers
illini39 said:
S&C, what are you more upset at... Thomas getting fired or the search itself? It seems like you are frustrated he was let go and therefore we lost our opportunity for Babers.
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I mean, I didn't make much of a secret of how unconscionable the Cubit decision was. There's never been anything like it in the history of college athletics, and yeah, guilty, it makes me kind of irrationally angry. I know I'm not alone. I might be alone in still caring enough to waste my time on a message board complaining about it. Those of us left need to check our dignity at the door, we have made clear we will tolerate anything.

But regardless, that's in the past now. What's not in the past is this ridiculous Lloyd Dobler narrative about Rick George. It has a natural warm and cozy feeling for a message board because it's essentially just a recruiting tale with a series of hats on a table at the end. But it's a fiction, and even if it wasn't, I don't understand why anyone would want to tumble down that rabbit hole anyway.

People complain about administrative dysfunction at U of I? THIS is the dysfunction. This is what it looks like.

There's rumors Wilson may be named the permanent Chancellor at some point too.
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no.gif
 
#2,417      

champaignchris

C
champaignchris
illini39 said:
S&C, what are you more upset at... Thomas getting fired or the search itself?
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Not to speak for S&C, but it was the timing of Thomas's firing that was so gob-smacking stupid. The main thing that makes the search look bad is the context of that timing.

Fire Thomas (and Beckman), say, last June and we'd have an AD sometime in mid-October, and a few weeks for the new AD to evaluate and make a decision on Cubit, etc.
 
#2,418      

Lake Camelot

L
Lake Camelot
If the delay is really because Kahn can't take no for an answer. then I need to cool my complaining. You don't want to tick him off and hire someone else without letting him try to work something. I hope he figures it out soon. I like George and tiley even. I could live with Whitman. I would be sick if it was Michael.
 
#2,419      

illini39

illini39
Barrington, IL
illini39
Thought that might get a rise out of you... love the Steve Carell gif! Just saying it would be in her best interest to get it right if she might have to live with it.
 
#2,421      

InterimLoyalty

I
InterimLoyalty
Take it for whatever it is worth (probably not much)...but from the middle of January to close to the end of the month Whitman either tweeted or retweeted something 16 times from his school twitter account. Since January 29 he has not tweeted anything.
 
#2,422      

Second and Chalmers

S
Second and Chalmers
Lake Camelot said:
You don't want to tick him off and hire someone else without letting him try to work something.
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IT'S BEEN FOUR MONTHS. George has said no publicly twice and no privately more times than that, including, I've heard, within the past week.

I get the Khan worship, I really do. The billionaire ubermensch kicks down the ivory tower and #capitalism's Illinois into the elite. It's like a sports fan's Harlequin romance novel. But you have to open your eyes and look at what's actually going on.
 
#2,423      

Dinger

D
Dinger
Long time lurker but I gotta chime in.
So let me get this straight, there is a small group of donors in ECI that are pulling strings. And this "ECI Mafia" is using their money and influence to make sure they have a say in the new DIA structure? How dare they! Why can't they just donate their big dollars and go sit in the corner like good little kids?! Stop it.
The bigger question is where are the other donors to offset this ECI Mafia agenda? That's the real outrage. If the admin is being held hostage by the ECI Mafia, they should be able to say seeeyaaa and go onto the next donor.

Sincerely,
Wanna Be Member of the ECI Mafia
 
#2,424      

EJ33

E
San Francisco
EJ33
champaignchris said:
Not to speak for S&C, but it was the timing of Thomas's firing that was so gob-smacking stupid.
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Yes. He did more than enough to be fired. But, I agree with S&C that we'd be in much better shape if we'd kept him.
 
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#2,425      

illinibb76

I
illinibb76
S&C I wouldn't feel that bad if Khan "Hijacked" the process. First the ones running the process don't seem to be doing such a bang up job and secondly it's worked out alright with Oregon-Nike, Maryland-UnderArmour Memphis-FedEx ....! Highjack us please!!!!!!!!
 
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