Orr to Return

[transfer2BGSU]

And why are you so paranoid about allowing flush alums to write big checks if they're needed to correct obvious mistakes in the athletics department? You aren't giving those folks the keys to the university; they understand that they do so without having more power than those who are making the day to day decisions.

And some folks don't understand -

A UConn (University of Connecticut) donor wants his money back. He feels that his $3 million donation and name on the football complex makes him qualified to judge their choice in football coaches. No, seriously.

Robert Burton, CEO of Burton Capital Management in Greenwich, CT, is the pouty benefactor. He complained to UConn athletic director Jeff Hathaway that he didn't like the way Paul Pasqualoni was hired.

He told the University of Connecticut in his money-back demand letter that his wants being ignored were "a slap in the face and embarrassment to my family."

http://sports.gather.com/viewArticle.ac ... 4978986936

[footballguy51]

Ummm, this is the FIRST contract with the faculty union and is hasn't even been finalized after 2 years!!

Let's look at running BGSU like a business. If that's done, say goodbye to athletics completely. It is a drain on the University budget each and every year. This is true of MOST DIVISION I PROGRAMS. More than 50% of the general fee goes to keep it floating and they want more while advertising "FREE ADMISSION" to students. IT ISN'T FREE!! If athletics needs to take a knock every now and then to do what is in the best interests of the University as whole, then so be it. BGSU exists to educate students, not to play sports. Now the two CAN and SHOULD exist together and when they do everyone benefits in terms of enrollment gains, finances, and things like that. But when finances are tough I expect athletics to take their fair share of cuts in order to balance the budget. There are only two ways to change that reality. First, raise enough money to endow the entire department. Then it does not make a difference how bad a season is, the funding is there. And second, make sure the department is self sufficient through fundraising and ticket prices. Either way, open your wallet.

I don't like the thought of having Louis Orr here another season but I dislike the thought of having a donor or donors write a buy out check even more. That is a slippery slope to head down. You are saying alumni who want a coach gone, and have the means to pay for it, can dictate HR decisions within the department. Allow donations to the program, facility, or department but do not allow donations to buy out coaches. I want the AD in charge of who is and is not coaching, not donors.

Just because it's the first official contract doesn't meant the entire system isn't out of whack. Look at the cost of higher education overall and how much debt students must now go into for a basic public education. The system is broken and has been for a long time -- and that is because it has NOT been run like a business on the academic side of things for decades.

You can run all aspects of the university like a business without simply cutting areas that aren't profitable. There's a way to strike a balance that doesn't have to include making a very poor personnel decision that, in the end, will likely cost more than it appears.

And why are you so paranoid about allowing flush alums to write big checks if they're needed to correct obvious mistakes in the athletics department? You aren't giving those folks the keys to the university; they understand that they do so without having more power than those who are making the day to day decisions.

Don't let your paranoia hurt the university's prospects. BG didn't turn down the bigger endowments it's gotten to fund sports programs and academics for fear those people would demand more power -- it's now different here.

BG has a need and an alum is stepping up to help out. We should be thanking them, not pushing them away and vilifying them.

In a sense, you are correct. For example, BG is completing giant renovation projects on campus that is costing millions upon millions of dollars. Part of this is because standard maintenance was deferred because it couldn't fit into the budget. So, in the long run, it cost us a heck of a lot more.

Bringing in an appropriate coach and buying out the current coach would be comparable to standard maintenance and upkeep. Instead, we're deferring the maintenance and we'll end up paying the higher price in the end.

[Globetrotter]

I don't like the thought of having Louis Orr here another season but I dislike the thought of having a donor or donors write a buy out check even more. That is a slippery slope to head down. You are saying alumni who want a coach gone, and have the means to pay for it, can dictate HR decisions within the department. Allow donations to the program, facility, or department but do not allow donations to buy out coaches. I want the AD in charge of who is and is not coaching, not donors.

I agree, but that's why you buy him out, or float the idea that you would like to but don't have the cash. I don't want people calling up and saying I've got the cash lets by him out, but don't mind them being approached about it.

[factman]

Usually the decision is made by the university, and they then look for a donor (s) that are willing to foot the bill. Much more unlikely for the opposite to happen.

[Globetrotter]

And why are you so paranoid about allowing flush alums to write big checks if they're needed to correct obvious mistakes in the athletics department? You aren't giving those folks the keys to the university; they understand that they do so without having more power than those who are making the day to day decisions.

And some folks don't understand -

A UConn (University of Connecticut) donor wants his money back. He feels that his $3 million donation and name on the football complex makes him qualified to judge their choice in football coaches. No, seriously.

Robert Burton, CEO of Burton Capital Management in Greenwich, CT, is the pouty benefactor. He complained to UConn athletic director Jeff Hathaway that he didn't like the way Paul Pasqualoni was hired.

He told the University of Connecticut in his money-back demand letter that his wants being ignored were "a slap in the face and embarrassment to my family."

http://sports.gather.com/viewArticle.ac ... 4978986936

Good Leadership solves those problems

http://articles.courant.com/2011-02-11/ ... ball-coach

[Falcon137]

The faculty are pretty smart people. They mostly have PHDs. I think that they could realize that a well run basketball program can actually provide revenue and not be a drain. This isn't women's lacrosse we are talking about.

I think if you did a straw poll of the faculty you'd find that a vast majority of them would want athletics abolished completely. I'd be pretty surprised if more than a third of them would want to see an increased financial commitment to athletics.

That being said, I don't agree with them. If you're going to have athletics you should commit to it.

The head of that group was one of my favorite professors in college and he posts right on these boards.

I thought Jackson was terrible.

[mscarn]

When Rollo cited the news articles about the faculty cuts I think he was spot on. The faculty went into conniption fits when Clawson received his extension, threw tantrums when Mazey announced renovations of academic buildings, and started crying incessantly when raises were handed out last summer and the faculty hadn't been able to negotiate a new contract. If Orr were released and we agreed to pay out the remainder of his contract, the faculty union would start burning down campus. Mazey cannot put herself and her staff behind the 8-ball like that in contract negotiations. Is this the best choice for the basketball team? No. However, this is the correct choice politically when it comes to the University as a whole.

So now instead of big-money boosters dictating the terms we have greedy, life-tenured college professors who woudn't recognize a basketball from a football.

Do these dolts realize that their class rosters are dictated by recruiting students to attend the university, and successful sports programs go a long way towards this goal? These are the same people who whined when the athletic facilities were upgraded after only having to wait 50 years to make it happen. They are worthless and deserve to be marginalized, not catered to.

Last I checked, Mazey is evaluated by the Board of Trustees (who mostly recognize the role of athletics), not the militant nuts fomenting crap within the faculty.

[It's the Journey...]

And what rock did you crawl out from under? If the faculty is so bad here I am sure you could contact Registration and Records and arrange to return your degree to them. You are giving the impression that is does not have any value to you.