UNH 2020 Off-Season Thread: That Rinky-Shrinky Thang And Other Lively Banter :D

[ClOuD 9]

Y'all realize that article is 10 months old, right?

Yes, thus why I prefaced my post with "This really stuck in my craw the first time it appeared here but I let it pass, but since we're readdressing it..."

It was cited here this morning and it's clear that well intentioned fans read it and took it at face value when it was not factually correct.
If the Athletic Department wants to try to sell the fans on changing the ice size then do so, but it should be truthful while doing so.

[Dan]

Visionary? All they had to do was make a standard decision. Get advisory group and interview candidates. It's AD 101.

All true - but not what Scarano subscribes to, apparently...

His recent 'searches' were two assistant promotions and hiring a kid who grew up in Durham. He can't be bothered. The kid from Durham made him look like a genius, but I give the AD very little credit for that kind of 'foresight'. He got lucky...

Regardless, when the AD does participate in a search he ends up with a 'box checker' (see his women's hockey hire) as opposed to anything resembling enthusiasm, vision or hunger. And most concerning, there is rarely (if ever) any accountability for a program to actually succeed - no matter the hiring strategy...

[Chuck Murray]

All true - but not what Scarano subscribes to, apparently...

His recent 'searches' were two assistant promotions and hiring a kid who grew up in Durham. He can't be bothered. The kid from Durham made him look like a genius, but I give the AD very little credit for that kind of 'foresight'. He got lucky...

The assistants you're referencing I assume are Souza and Hogan (Women's Hoops)?

The Durham kid who "made him look like a genius" I believe is Marc Hubbard (Men's Soccer)?

Hubbard had already established himself with huge success at SNHU before coming to UNH.

I wouldn't say "lucky" but I would say, Hubbard was pre-disposed to seeing UNH as a step up, and an opportunity to build something big where that really hadn't happened before. But he could (and may still) go elsewhere in the future. He's a young guy, I do suspect he's in for the long haul at UNH (good for them), but he's ambitious, and you never know if/when something or someone else might come knocking for him. He's very good at what he does.

[Darius]

From the USCHO This Week in Hockey East... feature:


Throw out those Hockey East schedules

It was announced on Tuesday by the league that the composite league schedule released prior to the season is being abandoned and substituted with a week-to-week series that will be decided upon by the league office prior to each week.

Under the new plan, coaches and athletic directors will be given some initial guidance to their opponents on Monday morning, according to the league. Then based on logistics to figure out game times and locations, the league will finalize the schedule each Tuesday. That doesn’t mean, still, that every game will be played as COVID testing still dictates each team’s availability that weekend.

The reasoning has to do with balance and equity. While multiple programs have been paused or stopped and started due to either school/state regulations or cases of COVID within the programs, those that have been able to play have been scheduling games ad hoc.

The league already announced in late November that all games this season would count towards the league standings. And because of that, there is now a great disparity in numbers of games that have been played. UMass has played 15 times; UMass Lowell and BU have played just four.

While certainly there will be an effort to help teams lacking in games played catch up to others, the league will also use this change to the scheduling format to ensure that schools that have already played a higher number of games isn’t sitting out multiple weekends in a row.

Certainly, it’s a strange approach but seems necessary. The league can help become a logistics clearinghouse working with available schools each weekend to find ways to maximize the schedules in a fair and equitable way for each and every team.

[Dan]

The assistants you're referencing I assume are Souza and Hogan (Women's Hoops)?

The Durham kid who "made him look like a genius" I believe is Marc Hubbard (Men's Soccer)?

Hubbard had already established himself with huge success at SNHU before coming to UNH.

I wouldn't say "lucky" but I would say, Hubbard was pre-disposed to seeing UNH as a step up, and an opportunity to build something big where that really hadn't happened before. But he could (and may still) go elsewhere in the future. He's a young guy, I do suspect he's in for the long haul at UNH (good for them), but he's ambitious, and you never know if/when something or someone else might come knocking for him. He's very good at what he does.

Souza fits the mold - but I was referring to gymnastics (who might be great - young, confident, well regarded and the program is in a good place) and women's hoops. Who knows how they'll turn out, but they're the latest in a path of least resistance hiring philosophy...

Fair enough in regards to Hubbard - a closer look indicates this is the type of hire Scarano should make more often. A coach with ties to the area and the program, who has TRULY established himself as a talent in development, tactics and recruiting, rather than simply being handed the position because he is well liked...

School's like UNH should never try to hire coaches for the 'long haul' - if it works out that way for Hubbard, that's wonderful, but it shouldn't be the goal. Hire coaches who are talented, driven and ambitious and who WILL attract the attention of larger programs. If they attract that attention it means they're doing something right and if they leave - make another good hire. See Gonzaga basketball (pre-Few) and Boise State football, etc. Embrace being a launching pad until the program is good enough that no one wants to leave.

But UNH has to believe its worthy of this type of coach before they'll start attracting them. Same with recruiting. Its Law of Attraction 101 - you get what you give...

[msprice]

Who is the UNH undrafted goalie that beat the Caps?

[Chuck Murray]

Who is the UNH undrafted goalie that beat the Caps?

Assuming it was Casey DeSmith?

[Chuck Murray]

School's like UNH should never try to hire coaches for the 'long haul' - if it works out that way for Hubbard, that's wonderful, but it shouldn't be the goal. Hire coaches who are talented, driven and ambitious and who WILL attract the attention of larger programs. If they attract that attention it means they're doing something right and if they leave - make another good hire. See Gonzaga basketball (pre-Few) and Boise State football, etc. Embrace being a launching pad until the program is good enough that no one wants to leave.

But UNH has to believe its worthy of this type of coach before they'll start attracting them. Same with recruiting. Its Law of Attraction 101 - you get what you give...

Good take. I'll be the first to admit, once I saw the Boise State Football and Gonzaga Hoops teams emerging on the national stage, it felt like "nice story, but it won't last". And yet they pretty much have lasted, and for that you have to give the folks in charge their props for not just sitting on their laurels, hiring a handy in situ assistant, etc. Which of course begs the question, why aren't those AD's more in demand with bigger schools' programs? I won't pretend to know who those AD's are, and whether their records of hiring in other sports even come close to what they've done with their flagship programs (probably not), but if you're good enough to build success out of relatively nothing in a revenue sport, who cares, I guess?

It's not like our current AD hasn't had that job at other schools, so obviously at some point, he was motivated to seek out a growth opportunity in greener pastures. Unfortunately, I guess once he arrived here, he figured he'd hit paydirt, OR his kids were at that age where chasing after the "next job" was less appealing. I get that, and don't hold it against him. Many of us would probably do the same. But jeez, Judy Ray and Dick Umile handed you a program consistently competing on a national level, and McDonnell was also hired by Ray ... so Blue Skies has hired Herrion, Souza, Witt, and a lot of unremarkable-to-date folks, with the exception of Hubbard, and maybe one or two others?

One gets the impression that he's focused on facilities (football), but there's a lot of other work that's fallen behind or hasn't even been gotten to, all while the lifeblood of your program - strong coaches bringing good athletes to compete on strong teams, to provide a good product for your captive AND community customers to invest time/money into - is in a holding pattern at best.

But what's his motivation at this stage of his career? A legacy of multiple strong sports? Or just to have his name on something, like maybe "McDonnell Field at Scarano Stadium"?!? The evidence seems to suggest the latter is most likely ...

[NCAA watcher]

Marty Scarano is in his 20^th season as the director of athletics at the University of New Hampshire in 2019-20. (editorial comment -- Maybe the 20th year vests a retirement pension and he is done?) During his tenure, Scarano has heightened national exposure for UNH athletics with academic achievements, facility renovations and programmatic advancement being top priorities. (editorial comment -- Love the corporate speak. Facilities renovation is the legacy. Oddly, the national exposure due to actual team performance had fallen like a rock.)

There has been nearly $50 million in capital improvements since Scarano’s hiring in the summer of 2000. The largest-scale renovation – Wildcat Stadium, a $25 million athletic complex that is home to multiple UNH teams and multi-purposed for other events – was completed in August 2016. The structure, built on the west side of Mooradian Field, offers increased and improved seating, state-of-the-art broadcast capability, concessions and restrooms, as well as a 30’ by 50’ video board. A new synthetic surface was installed in summer 2017. (editorial comment -- lead with the money you brought in from donors based on past results you inherited.)

In July 2017, the University announced the approval of a new $3.7 million soccer and lacrosse facility to be used by UNH athletic teams and the Oyster River Youth Association on the site of the former Lewis Field. Phase I of the project was completed and the stadium opened for use in Summer 2019. Phase I included infrastructure preparation as well as installation of a state-of-the-art synthetic field, goals, perimeter fencing around the field and team benches. The second phase of construction will include field lighting, a 3,000-seat grandstand and storage area, press box with production capabilities, covered team benches and enhanced landscaping. An additional $1.7 million of the total $3.5 million needs to be raised for the second phase of construction. (editorial comment -- More about building and money.)

In the spring of 2015, UNH finished construction on the $2 million Watkins Center for Student-Athlete Excellence at the Field House for its Division I and Northeast Passage student-athletes, funded entirely by private donations. That fall, the Whittemore Center – home to both ice hockey teams and site of the 2016 Women’s Frozen Four – received a substantial facelift ($1.3 million) in the form of a four-sided, center-hung video board, a high-resolution end zone board and LED display band. (editorial comment - More about buildings and money. Sadly, the concept of diverting academic donations to vanity projects is not that repeatable.)

Scarano has helped elevate UNH athletics onto the collegiate national stage. To accomplish that goal, the University has taken on the task of hosting many major NCAA championships. In 2019, UNH hosted the Men’s Ice Hockey Northeast Regional at the SNHU Arena (Manchester, N.H.) for the eighth time in 16 years, and the University will once again host the regionals in 2021. (editorial comment -- Sadly, the own rink is substandard and cannot house NCAA tourneys.)

UNH was host of the 2007 and 2017 NCAA Skiing Championships, the NCAA Women’s Ice Hockey Frozen Four at the Whittemore Center in 2002, 2005 and 2016. In addition, UNH successfully hosted 2005 NCAA Women’s Gymnastics Northeast Regional at the Whittemore Center and will once again play host to the NCAA Gymnastics Regionals in 2021.

The women’s hockey team played in the first outdoor game in the history of NCAA women’s hockey in 2010 at the Sun Life Frozen Fenway game and defeated Northeastern, while the men’s squad played at Fenway Park in ’12 and ‘17. Football also competed in Colonial Clash games at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Mass., in 2010 and 2011; the Wildcats were victorious on both occasions against the University of Massachusetts.

Student-athletes have excelled both in academics and athletics during Scarano’s tenure. In October 2019, the UNH athletic department earned an NCAA Graduation Success Rate of 96 percent, which matched Cornell as No. 1 among all land-grant Universities. UNH was the conference leader in nine sports (field hockey, football, gymnastics, lacrosse, men’s soccer men’s skiing, women’s skiing, women’s soccer and swimming & diving).

seven UNH teams (men’s cross country, women’s cross country, football, gymnastics, men’s skiing, women’s skiing and women’s track & field) received NCAA Public Recognition for posting a multi-year Academic Progress Rate score in the top 10 percent of their respective sport, and six squads received a perfect score in the NCAA Academic Progress Rate. (editorial comment -- oddly, the hockey team is not on these lists.)

UNH has won the America East Academic Cup four times in the last five years (2015, 2016, 2017, 2019) by recording the highest GPA among all conference student-athletes. UNH's other notable outstanding academic achievements in 2018-19 included a league-high 79 percent of Wildcats named to the America East Winter/Spring Academic Honor Roll, as well as a conference-high 60 student-athletes on the 2018 Fall Commissioner's Honor Roll.
In 2007, Scarano was awarded the National Association of College Directors of Athletics (NACDA) AD of the Year for the FCS. Additionally, Scarano was also named the All-American Football Foundation Athletic Director of the Year for FCS football in the Northeast region. Scarano was the chair of the executive committees for Atlantic 10 football, Hockey East and America East from 2003-07. He was a member of the NCAA D-I Football Championship Committee from 2013-17. Most recently he was both the Chairperson of Athletic Directors Council for America East and the chair of CAA Football from 2015-17.

He also served as chair of the NCAA Division I Men’s Ice Hockey Committee in 2005-06 and 2006-07. Scarano was a member of the Hockey East restructuring team that successfully recruited Notre Dame and University of Connecticut to the conference. (editorial comment -- Chuck, do you want to handle this one?)

[Chuck Murray]

'Watcher, no need for me to pile on (at least not here and now). Good work, well done. Kudos.

[Snively65]

Assuming it was Casey DeSmith?

Yup. And, tonight a highly drafted UNH forward will be playing against the Bruins at da Gahdin.

[Chuck Murray]

Yup. And, tonight a highly drafted UNH forward will be playing against the Bruins at da Gahdin.

Looks like your boy netted a pair last night. Off to a nice start so far this season.

[Drew S.]

Just saw on Facebook a kid from UNH was taken in the second round of MLS draft, that’s really impressive.

[Chuck Murray]

Just saw on Facebook a kid from UNH was taken in the second round of MLS draft, that’s really impressive.

Josh Bauer, local kid (Bedford), defender yet he scored 10 goals and assisted on 10 others in 60 games at UNH. That's pretty off-the-hook for a defender in the sport. Played club ball with GPS, one of the two top clubs in the state (also played summer ball for Seacoast United, the other top club). If developed properly in MLS, he could vie for a spot on the USMNT someday. He's only 22, tall and strong, and defenders in the sport tend to develop at a later age, so the sky is the limit.

[Snively65]

Looks like your boy netted a pair last night. Off to a nice start so far this season.

Fun game to watch, as JvR picked up two goals in the dirty areas in front of the net, yet his alma mater pulled out their second shoot out win of this young season.