Interim AD Named

[Falcon137]

http://www.bgsufalcons.com/news/2013/4/ ... 30201.aspx

Interesting name on the search committee:

Dave Clawson (Head Football Coach)

[mscarn]

Thank God.

For this type of position, search committees are an utter waste of time and pure window dressing. What do half of these people know about college athletics? We have Sheri Stoll and Jill Carr and not Mike Wilcox or Bob Sebo?

The way to do it is have an outside firm run the show, compile candidates and present them to the president directly for review like we did last time. This is an amateur process run by an amateur operator.

[footballguy51]

Sheri Stoll and Jill Carr are on the committee because the University requires representation from across campus on search committees. There are always people that seem totally inappropriate on committees (search, thesis, dissertation, etc.) simply because they will then be completely unbiased and ask questions that some people would assume to be dumb or obvious and therefore overlooked.

[always a falcon]

I think it's a pretty good search committee. Jill Carr has been a University administrator for 2 decades, and knows the culture and "student life" input. Sheri Stoll might be able to answer a few questions about funding. There are pretty good representatives of all parts of the University. I guess they could go the search firm route....but then who is the first to claim it "wasted money? " Or is it just because they are women???

They don't all need to be experts on college athletics. They need to find someone who fits into our University culture/community and has the attributes to do the job. Many people on here have hired a lot of people in their respective jobs/ industries. Does our current AD know how to coach Volleyball or swimming or Gymnastics? Probably not, but he hired all MAC coaches who can. (Disclaimer...The volleyball coach WON the MAC but was second in the voting..she was robbed. )

These people can answer an applicant's questions about BGSU much more than a search firm.

Any committee that has Mike Wilcox on it has absolutely no merit in my opinion. Biggest .......well, don't ask me how I really feel or I'll start to sound like Factman on a certain subject.

They are not going to put big donors on, as their "stature" could influence the others, or stifle free discussions due to fear of honking them off.

Good Luck to them all.

[mscarn]

Sheri Stoll and Jill Carr are on the committee because the University requires representation from across campus on search committees. There are always people that seem totally inappropriate on committees (search, thesis, dissertation, etc.) simply because they will then be completely unbiased and ask questions that some people would assume to be dumb or obvious and therefore overlooked.

My point is that they should bypass the committee process altogether. It's needlessly bureaucratic and ill-suited to what needs to be accomplished. We're not looking for a lecturer in the biology department.

Sidney Ribeau handled this perfectly the last time: have a professional agency that's done this before compile the names and bring them to the decision-makers. This is vastly superior to leaving the fate of BGSU sports in the hands of a committee comprised of many who are wholly unaware of the dynamics of college athletics.

[mscarn]

I think it's a pretty good search committee. Jill Carr has been a University administrator for 2 decades, and knows the culture and "student life" input. Sheri Stoll might be able to answer a few questions about funding. There are pretty good representatives of all parts of the University. I guess they could go the search firm route....but then who is the first to claim it "wasted money? " Or is it just because they are women???

They don't all need to be experts on college athletics. They need to find someone who fits into our University culture/community and has the attributes to do the job.

With all due respect I completely disagree.

You can have people deeply knowledgeable about the culture of Bowling Green State University AND have a passing awareness of the dynamics of big-time, Division I college athletics at the same time.

I don't want Greg Christopher hiring the deputy associate provost of student life, and I don't want inexperienced, ill-equipped functionaries determining the fate of this athletic program, however well-intentioned they may be.

Look at our competitors in the MAC. Read the words of their presidents and athletic directors. They are in it to win in and recognize the critical role of a successful, thriving athletic program to the heart of the university. They're not playing patty cake. The best candidates aren't asking questions about shuttle service times and the courtesy of the dining hall staff. They are looking to see if the University is prepared to commit to excellence and bring championship-caliber sports to the fans and alumni starving for them.

(BTW, gender has nothing to do with it. I'd take Jane Myers, Robin Veitch and Danijela Tomic any day )

[It's the Journey...]

Wow, all I can do is shake my head and say WOW...

[musicman2343]

Wow, all I can do is shake my head and say WOW...

About the committee or comments?

[Falcon Fanatic]

always a falcon: I agree with you. I think it's a pretty good group that represents a good cross section of the university people who should be involved in the search. You've got the head football coach and Fran Voll, Board of Trustees member AND former Falcon coach. You've got a current student athlete and you have Dr. Lee Meserve. All of whom I would trust to work together to find the right AD for BGSU.

[It's the Journey...]

I love the committee and firmly believe they will bring in the right person for BGSU, because they KNOW BGSU inside and out.

[mscarn]

I love the committee and firmly believe they will bring in the right person for BGSU, because they KNOW BGSU inside and out.

So do the janitors. It doesn't qualify them to recruit and/or evaluate a high level college athletics administrator.

Half of the committee looks prepared for a task of this magnitude and the other half are on for appearances. We can't afford that because you can't miss on a hire like this.

If "knowing BGSU" was the sole criteria, we have a world class Sport Management department, many of whom have been around for a long time. Why not them? I would trust some members of the committee for a multitude of tasks. Hiring a Division I athletic director would not be among the top 300. I hope they prove me wrong.

[musicman2343]

I love the committee and firmly believe they will bring in the right person for BGSU, because they KNOW BGSU inside and out.

So do the janitors. It doesn't qualify them to recruit and/or evaluate a high level college athletics administrator.

Half of the committee looks prepared for a task of this magnitude and the other half are on for appearances. We can't afford that because you can't miss on a hire like this.

If "knowing BGSU" was the sole criteria, we have a world class Sport Management department, many of whom have been around for a long time. Why not them? I would trust some members of the committee for a multitude of tasks. Hiring a Division I athletic director would not be among the top 300. I hope they prove me wrong.

I realize you're being somewhat facetious on "so do the janitors" but let's get real: the people on this committee were chosen for the reason It's the Journey mentioned. The people on it truly know the university inside and out. Between them, they know the community, they know the financial situations, they know compliance, they know student life, they know what "makes" BGSU. What one may lack, another has to fill the void. The last thing you want on any search committee is everybody with the same expertise/same experiences. Like somebody else mentioned, somebody who is not an "expert" on athletics might have a different view which an "athletics" person might overlook.

The goal is to hire somebody who can effectively manage our athletic program on ALL levels. GC did some things very well and some things very poorly. Hopefully by having all the diversity on the committee, they can hire somebody who can fulfill all the duties of his office.

[mscarn]

I love the committee and firmly believe they will bring in the right person for BGSU, because they KNOW BGSU inside and out.

So do the janitors. It doesn't qualify them to recruit and/or evaluate a high level college athletics administrator.

Half of the committee looks prepared for a task of this magnitude and the other half are on for appearances. We can't afford that because you can't miss on a hire like this.

If "knowing BGSU" was the sole criteria, we have a world class Sport Management department, many of whom have been around for a long time. Why not them? I would trust some members of the committee for a multitude of tasks. Hiring a Division I athletic director would not be among the top 300. I hope they prove me wrong.

I realize you're being somewhat facetious on "so do the janitors" but let's get real: the people on this committee were chosen for the reason It's the Journey mentioned. The people on it truly know the university inside and out. Between them, they know the community, they know the financial situations, they know compliance, they know student life, they know what "makes" BGSU. What one may lack, another has to fill the void. The last thing you want on any search committee is everybody with the same expertise/same experiences. Like somebody else mentioned, somebody who is not an "expert" on athletics might have a different view which an "athletics" person might overlook.

The goal is to hire somebody who can effectively manage our athletic program on ALL levels. GC did some things very well and some things very poorly. Hopefully by having all the diversity on the committee, they can hire somebody who can fulfill all the duties of his office.

I get what you're saying. My concerns are that the committee process is an awful way to go about something like this and a tactic that became obsolete for positions like this years ago, even for us circa 2006 when we hired an executive search firm. The surrest way to screw something up is put a commitee in charge of it.

I get that the folks understand the university, which is fine, but this alone does not mitigate the reality of how far removed many of these individuals are from their zones of expertise. I have no faith that they comprehend the landscape of Division I sports. Basically, they don't know what they don't know.

Also, if Clawson and Voll really like a candidate, will their input be overrruled or cancelled out by the others? That's my nightmare scenario.

[MarkL]

Here's what I see. There's representatives from the athletic department, including the head coach of the largest and most visible program. Clawson has been at many universities, including Bowling Green and Buffalo, along with some time at a top ten athletic department in Tennessee. He understands what it takes to successfully run an athletic department from the perspective of a highly respected coach in the community.

There are university representatives that understand the inner workings of the university, the finances, the priorities, etc. They bring the perspective of BGSU's business needs and internal workings. These are well established individuals who have been at this university for a huge percentage of their careers. They understand the school inside and out.

The way I see it is these two perspectives will work together to pick out the correct candidates, and Dr. Mazey will likely give the final approval. I see this as a very good arrangement. it brings in the athletics perspective, the business perspective, the university core values perspective, and involves a crowd representing many of the most important figures in the university. I don't see Clawson's opinion being overruled by the other folks unless there's a darn good reason to do so.

[mscarn]

There are university representatives that understand the inner workings of the university, the finances, the priorities, etc. They bring the perspective of BGSU's business needs and internal workings. These are well established individuals who have been at this university for a huge percentage of their careers.

What deep, dark secrets of the campus are these experts needed to demystify? Our "priorities" are winning games and doing it without cutting corners in a family atmosphere. Our finances suck, as they probably do at the university our future AD is working at. There it is. It's not that complicated!

If nightmare scenario #1 is the student life lady and others overruling Clawson, #2 would be these people selecting someone they think they can roll in funding battles. Part of the job of the athletic director is to compete with other constituencies on campus for priority in a whole range of matters, budgets being the biggest.

I want someone with a vision for greatness to take us to the next level and change the culture for the better (particularly in mens basketball), not someone dutifully willing to be a go-along, get-along sap.