Was Chris Kingston the worst AD in BGSU History?

[CrazyFan]

Just a topic for discussion, but considering his hires and the extensions he gave out, and bailing once he made those hires when those hires were on NOBODY else's radars, is Chris Kingston the worst AD BGSU has ever employed?

[It's the Journey...]

In a word, YES!

[Flipper]

Yes...no...maybe....

[mbenecke]

I've heard worse things about Christopher than Kingston, especially since he (I think?) was in favor of cutting hockey?

I could be totally wrong and have misheard that, though.

[factman]

Probably third from bottom, ahead of Bob Bell and Greg Christopher.

[guest44]

At hiring coaches YES. His career making hires should end with Mike Jinks, in any industry, at any job.

[Schadenfreude]

ahead of Bob Bell

What's the story with this guy? He was AD for part of 1971. It must have been tragically bad to include him on a list of bad ADs.

[zete]

I believe came in from UCLA with a lot promise and was gone about eight weeks later. I may be WAY off here but that is sorta how i remember it.

[threestooges]

Probably third from bottom, ahead of Bob Bell and Greg Christopher.

Kingston was worse than Christopher. Christopher was brought in to get the budget in line, and had to make some decisions that were not popular. He also was a little aloof, so it was hard to get to know him, but I think he meant well.

Kingston tried to play the role of a huge fan ("I'm just like you guys -- I bleed orange and brown even though I just got here and will leave soon!"), tried to be everybody's pal and tried to make the flashy or unexpected hire. He spent money like it was going out of style, and put the department deeper into a hole that it may never get out of.

As a BG fan, I didn't necessarily love Christopher, but I could respect what he was trying to do (or what, in some cases, Presidents Cartwright/Mazey wanted him to do). I'm not happy to say that I saw through Kingston right away. In addition to a few questionable coaching hires, he also made some hires within the athletic department (Hughes) that also are huge black marks on his record.

I wasn't around when Bell was here, but I'd put him at the bottom, and Kingston second from the bottom. Christopher's easily above both of them, and he's probably above some others, too. I'd be interested to see some of the long-time Falcon fans rank the ADs from top to bottom.

[mbenecke]

Probably third from bottom, ahead of Bob Bell and Greg Christopher.

Kingston was worse than Christopher. Christopher was brought in to get the budget in line, and had to make some decisions that were not popular. He also was a little aloof, so it was hard to get to know him, but I think he meant well.

Kingston tried to play the role of a huge fan ("I'm just like you guys -- I bleed orange and brown even though I just got here and will leave soon!"), tried to be everybody's pal and tried to make the flashy or unexpected hire. He spent money like it was going out of style, and put the department deeper into a hole that it may never get out of.

As a BG fan, I didn't necessarily love Christopher, but I could respect what he was trying to do (or what, in some cases, Presidents Cartwright/Mazey wanted him to do). I'm not happy to say that I saw through Kingston right away. In addition to a few questionable coaching hires, he also made some hires within the athletic department (Hughes) that also are huge black marks on his record.

I wasn't around when Bell was here, but I'd put him at the bottom, and Kingston second from the bottom. Christopher's easily above both of them, and he's probably above some others, too. I'd be interested to see some of the long-time Falcon fans rank the ADs from top to bottom.

I'm just curious, because I'm not in the know about all this stuff, what makes Hughes a black mark on his record? What has he done that has been so negative?

[MarkL]

Christopher hired Clawson and Bergeron. That's ok in my book. Those two hires turned around both programs. Had Christopher been around in 2013, I expect Elko would have been hired as HC and the Clawson influence would be strong to this day. Christopher also hired Orr. Orr didn't make the program any worse but he also didn't advance it one bit in all his years. And Christopher oversaw the Sebo Center and Stroh Center projects and the encompassing major donations.
Kingston bled orange and brown while he was here. He was far more connected and visible to the community than Christopher. He hired Dino Babers, who took the football program to new heights. He hired Jans, who probably would have won a MAC championship by now if it weren't for the situation. So there's some good. But his last two big hires utterly sank both the men's basketball and the football programs. So Kingston is a mixed bag. And then he bailed exactly as the writing was on the wall with the Jinks hire. I'm a believer in living with your choices, not running from them like a self-serving coward.
All in all I put Christopher above Kingston. I can't speak for anyone before Krebs.

[Flipper]

What "new height" did Dino take the football team to?

[Schadenfreude]

Dino Babers, who took the football program to new heights.

[MarkL]

I personally like MAC championships, wins over Big 10 teams, and national attention. But that's just me.
Here's a good comparison. Clawson with his best team lost to Indiana 42-10. The next season Indiana was better. Would have gone bowling had the QB not been hurt. Babers with a backup QB won 45-42. Babers was an awesome game day coach.

[Flipper]

Great game day coach...I don't know about that given the ass kickings he took in a number of games when the team fell behind early. Regardless....Gregg Brandon did everything Dino did and more a decade earlier, so calling Dino's run a "new height" doesn't really work