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bbneutralfan

bbneutralfan

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Sep 29, 2010
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Now that we know that the President and Board of Governors want to seek a new athletic director who do we think it may be? Here is some pure speculation and rumors (remember I said rumors). First the interim AD Jeff O’Malley. Jeff came here soon after the hiring of Bob Marcum from University of Massachusetts in 2002 and Jeff arrived soon thereafter. While not a Marshall grad Jeff certainly has become a Marshall guy knowing our history and our programs. Is that sufficient to make him next AD? Now the rumors. Herd we go again. Bob Pruett legendary former football coach and close friend to our current governor Jim Justice. Bob is well known and well liked and probably still has connections around the country. Is that enough to make him the next AD? Here’s an even more outlandish name - Mike D’antoni. Really? Another legendary Marshall basketball player and has coached several pro teams and in basketball circles well known and well respected. Could we have the brothers in charge of our athletic programs? As I stated all is speculation and rumors at this time. I do believe that President Gilbert - under the direction of the BoG will have a search of qualified candidates. Who have any of you heard of by way of the rumor mill?
 
bbneutralfan said:
Now that we know that the President and Board of Governors want to seek a new athletic director who do we think it may be? Here is some pure speculation and rumors (remember I said rumors). First the interim AD Jeff O’Malley. Jeff came here soon after the hiring of Bob Marcum from University of Massachusetts in 2002 and Jeff arrived soon thereafter. While not a Marshall grad Jeff certainly has become a Marshall guy knowing our history and our programs. Is that sufficient to make him next AD? Now the rumors. Herd we go again. Bob Pruett legendary former football coach and close friend to our current governor Jim Justice. Bob is well known and well liked and probably still has connections around the country. Is that enough to make him the next AD? Here’s an even more outlandish name - Mike D’antoni. Really? Another legendary Marshall basketball player and has coached several pro teams and in basketball circles well known and well respected. Could we have the brothers in charge of our athletic programs? As I stated all is speculation and rumors at this time. I do believe that President Gilbert - under the direction of the BoG will have a search of qualified candidates. Who have any of you heard of by way of the rumor mill?
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No one. But - I really hope (given the long time frame stated by Jerome before a choice is made) that we cast a large net & not settle for a MU grad. Love Bobby. Love Mike. But they have zero experience for this job. Make it an outsider with fresh ideas and experience ……
 
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As troll threads go, the best I can give this is a 2/10... I feel like I might be a little generous with that score.

The guy who constantly tried to stir up crap about Hamrick over the years starts a thread about the next AD and his rumors involve Pruett and a D’Antoni, two names that will generate the most responses from folks on here.
 
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W-S HerdFan said:
No one. But - I really hope (given the long time frame stated by Jerome before a choice is made) that we cast a large net & not settle for a MU grad. Love Bobby. Love Mike. But they have zero experience for this job. Make it an outsider with fresh ideas and experience ……
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Agrer
 
ARandomHerdFan said:
As troll threads go, the best I can give this is a 2/10... I feel like I might be a little generous with that score.

The guy who constantly tried to stir up crap about Hamrick over the years starts a thread about the next AD and his rumors involve Pruett and a D’Antoni, two names that will generate the most responses from folks on here.
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Hmmm. As I stated rumors and speculation and not necessarily my own. As for starting a thread relevant to whom the next athletic director may be yes I take credit.
 
From what I’ve read in the press Gilbert tried to extend Hamrick’s contract in August. If that’s true he didn’t want him gone. Him being overruled by the BOG may have contributed to Gilbert announcing he was leaving.

The whole thing seems like a political mess.
 
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Need to take a look at the successful athletic programs around the country and interview some of the asst AD's in those programs. Hamrick has done an admirable job in his time here, but getting new blood to head the department could be a good idea. Same as it was with the football program. (Mike D'Antoni is a smart guy who might be able to succeed as the AD, but I think it is a remote possibility. Also, the conflict with Danny as the head basketball coach would be a problem.)
 
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ekal said:
Need to take a look at the successful athletic programs around the country and interview some of the asst AD's in those programs. Hamrick has done an admirable job in his time here, but getting new blood to head the department could be a good idea. Same as it was with the football program. (Mike D'Antoni is a smart guy who might be able to succeed as the AD, but I think it is a remote possibility. Also, the conflict with Danny as the head basketball coach would be a problem.)
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Agree
 
The blunt fact is that, in both the president and the AD search, the number of eligible people are really two very small communities. Secrets are hard to keep in small groups. They know the situation here and that it is not good. Neither the new president nor the new AD will really have the power and authority of others in those positions elsewhere. That will keep many good candidates far away from this mess.

I look for lackluster candidate for both, probably with connections to JJ and the BOG, and the willingness to be yes-men.
 
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I really do not have a strong or even lukewarm opinion on MH. He has been extremely cordial in my few, brief encounters. Absent any real knowledge about what has or will happen, here is my speculation/guess on the future. I will say that I think he has contributed well to the university and athletics overall.
1. Mike will be very nice and diligent about his new position but I would think he'll be gone in less than a year. Traditionally, AD's in that slot find a new job somewhere else. The year is likely a symbol of a negotiated deal, or at least, a legal way to give him an exit bonus. I wish him, and anyone facing that situation, well.
2. While Gilbert can say he will let the next President select his own AD, I suspect that the some on the BoG will start listening to others about who would be a good candidate. And that could lead to a Board decision sooner, especially if certain Board members push hard for one person. Same for the President.
3. I would hate to think that Marshall athletics will be in a holding pattern for a year. Given the uncertainty over who will be running the program 12 months out, I would think a lot of staff will be looking around. Or at least feel like their time may be numbered, too.
4. I would place even money on one or more of the following will be true about the next President and AD: a women, a minority, never been a coach, a person with no Marshall or West Virginia experience/background, a political appointment or a friend of a friend of one of the political folks. Not saying those are wrong, but fairly common now in college athletics.
5. I hope everything works out for the better for the Herd, and for the people involved. Let's just hope that the new President and AD are able to assert their control over their given responsibilities. Coaches Huff and D'Antoni will and should report to the President for their positions, but to the AD for their support.
6. Some of the comments by the Chairman of the Board about why they did not renew MH's contract came off to me as a little unprofessional. Just say he is moving on, they are too, and leave it at that.
7. If I were asked to list criteria for both the new President and AD, I would include assertive, friendly, financially astute, experience at a larger university, outgoing, spirited, business savvy, entrepreneurial.
 
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The Real SamC said:
The blunt fact is that, in both the president and the AD search, the number of eligible people are really two very small communities. Secrets are hard to keep in small groups. They know the situation here and that it is not good. Neither the new president nor the new AD will really have the power and authority of others in those positions elsewhere. That will keep many good candidates far away from this mess.

I look for lackluster candidate for both, probably with connections to JJ and the BOG, and the willingness to be yes-men.
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You may be correct especially regarding the presidents position with the state imposed budget cuts in a state that is broke.
 
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Jartard said:
I don’t figure the guy that had a part in the reseating debacle and worked under Hamrick will be our next AD. This guy has Marshall ties too. https://kuathletics.com/staff/david-reed/
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I certainly think Reed has the resume. Really depends if the BOG wants to do an extensive search. Reed would be the easy pick for them. Or they may stay in house with O’Malley or Steele.
 
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Travis is a really good guy and a former Herd athlete(track). His work career to this point has been in fund development first with the Big Green and the past several years with UGA's version of Big Green. Not sure if administration is what hes looking for.
 
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sluggo72 said:
he brought in major money for the IPF.
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Thats great and I appreciate those efforts. But has he been in charge of a 30Mil budget, hiring and firing people, coaches, making schedules, managing facilities -or delegating those duties. Not trashing him at all, I just want the best person for the job, MU ties or not. You have a great history as a poster and from those posts, you seem very closely aligned with those in the AD. Not good or bad, but sometimes we all need to step back from our relationships and look at what is truly best for our school. jmho.
 
I don't want Marshall ties. I want someone who is really connected to VERY wealthy people. Powerful people. That is it. That is all we need.
 
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ilmherdfan said:
From what I’ve read in the press Gilbert tried to extend Hamrick’s contract in August. If that’s true he didn’t want him gone. Him being overruled by the BOG may have contributed to Gilbert announcing he was leaving.

The whole thing seems like a political mess.
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...and who do you think the BoG is composed of? Justice's people who can't refuse him.
Gilbert resigned for a few reasons but one of the biggest was Justice working through the BoG to get his way. Gilbert resigned just so he could stop dealing with him.
 
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The Real SamC said:
The blunt fact is that, in both the president and the AD search, the number of eligible people are really two very small communities. Secrets are hard to keep in small groups. They know the situation here and that it is not good. Neither the new president nor the new AD will really have the power and authority of others in those positions elsewhere. That will keep many good candidates far away from this mess.

I look for lackluster candidate for both, probably with connections to JJ and the BOG, and the willingness to be yes-men.
Click to expand...
Exactly. Anyone on the outside looking in, is going to see the MU AD being a complete clusterfvck and more than comfortable involvement from the governor.
 
The Real SamC said:
The blunt fact is that, in both the president and the AD search, the number of eligible people are really two very small communities.
Click to expand...
Imagine this^^^^ Yet another attempt to suggest "no one will want a job like this", "we cant afford..."Marshall cant..." "Marshall wont...." The only thing missing here is your usual bellyaching about mountaineers.
 
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GoHerdMarshallYes said:
Exactly. Anyone on the outside looking in, is going to see the MU AD being a complete clusterfvck and more than comfortable involvement from the governor.
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Marshall will hire a good AD or a bad AD and it will have nothing to do with Jim Justice. It will have everything to do with the type of search they do. There will be plenty of candidates looking at this job. Because unlike some of the people on this board, the people that are involved in college athletics understand that with a public institution politics and athletics will always be joined. Plus I guarantee you if Justice liked Hamrick you guys would be talking about how cool it is we finally have a Governor who cares about Marshall as much as they do WVU.

We were also told that Justice was going to determine who the new football coach was going to be and it was going to be a good old boy hire but we then get somebody outside the box in Coach Huff. He has zero connections to Marshall or WV. I think he was a great hire and has fired up a lot of our fans but he wasn’t Hamricks choice so he’s pouted, embarrassed himself at the hiring press conference and it has been said doesn’t have much of a relationship with him. But I’m sure that’s Coach Huffs fault.

Its funny how for some of you guys it’s never ever Mike Hamricks fault. He doesn’t like Bob Pruett, Pruetts fault, he doesn’t like Dan D’antoni it’s Dan’s fault, some fans think he is not a good communicator with the avg fan well it’s their fault.
Jim Justice the first WV Governor in my lifetime that has ever been involved with anything Marshall but he’s a bad guy because Mike says so.

The BOG full of lifer Marshall fans and donors are now pieces of crap because you know Mike doesn't like them. Some of the best players in Marshalls football history feel alienated by the athletic department. They are spoiled babies who haven’t done anything for Marshall. It’s their fault!
The D’antoni family who have been a beloved family by Marshall and fans are suddenly public enemy number 1 because yes you guessed it Mike doesn’t like them.

There’s a pretty common theme here but for some reason he always gets a free pass.
 
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GoHerdMarshallYes said:
Exactly. Anyone on the outside looking in, is going to see the MU AD being a complete clusterfvck and more than comfortable involvement from the governor.
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I disagree. I think there will plenty of good candidates and the job is not a cluster****. Why do so many MU fans sell the school, program, and AD short?

Hamrick played a game of politics with a governor and well, lost. What did they think was going to happen? The BOG of public universities many times, and in this case, are appointed and report to well, the governor.

Hell, it is not rocket science. He wanted to keep the old coach Doc and hitched his wagon to that and lost.

Time for a change.
 
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i am herdman said:
Hamrick played a game of politics with a governor and well, lost. What did they think was going to happen? The BOG of public universities many times, and in this case, are appointed and report to well, the governor.
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Pruett played the politics game with Justice during his governor campaign to make Justice force out Doc, despite Doc having improved his record after 2016.
Justice should've been playing state politics for WV and improving it over politics at MU's AD.
 
caliherd said:
It will have everything to do with the type of search they do.
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As I have said, who do you think is going to be voicing their opinions if not downright demanding the type of AD MU selects? When the BoG is comprised of all your allies, it'll be very difficult to go against what you say.
Not to mention, I heard they narrowly hired within the BoG and he was absolutely not fit to be an AD.
caliherd said:
Plus I guarantee you if Justice liked Hamrick you guys would be talking about how cool it is we finally have a Governor who cares about Marshall as much as they do WVU.
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I'd appreciate Justice more if he got Charleston and WV as a state, to be more financially supportive of MU. But that would mean he'd have to do a difficult job. Instead the state is seeing budget cuts affecting both major universities.
caliherd said:
He has zero connections to Marshall or WV. I think he was a great hire and has fired up a lot of our fans but he wasn’t Hamricks choice so he’s pouted, embarrassed himself at the hiring press conference and it has been said doesn’t have much of a relationship with him. But I’m sure that’s Coach Huffs fault.
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Doc was a wvu graduate and everyone trashed him for it as well as not being a HC ever in his life. So the outside the box thing wasn't popular. Maybe because it was wvu and that some legit thought he was a mole sent from morgantown to destroy MU's AD from the inside, who knows. (Yes, that it true BTW, the other board actually had people in support of it).
I will say Hamrick's lack of professionalism in the presser was evident and totally on him.
Initially I wasn't sure about Huff, given his record of leaving places so quickly, the commitment to MU and making it better than it was, I didn't think was there and he, you know, not being a HC. But he has since gotten many excited and is saying all the right things. Let's just hope he is successful on the field.
caliherd said:
Jim Justice the first WV Governor in my lifetime that has ever been involved with anything Marshall but he’s a bad guy because Mike says so.
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Once more, its how he has involved himself with MU that has many people weary. If he were a governor who cared about MU, he'd be going beyond the school and getting the state to support MU in more financial ways and telling Charleston to grow up.
 
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