Michigan Tech Offseason Thread I: Not Winning and the ensuing drama.

[davyd83]

Re: Michigan Tech Offseason Thread I: Not Winning and the ensuing drama.

According to UM- http://hr.umich.edu/hrris/reports/standard.html#ASDR, he earning almost $104k, just from the University.

(seems like a lot of personal info there... and as a contrast, Red makes ~$215k)

(not really wanting to butt in, but I've been a tech fan forever- genetics.)

Those are just base salaries. They have Red listed around $215K, and his total package is worth in the neighborhood of $375-400,000.

And you are right about the need to raise assistant salaries.

 

[Shirtless Guy]

Re: Michigan Tech Offseason Thread I: Not Winning and the ensuing drama.

Those are just base salaries. They have Red listed around $215K, and his total package is worth in the neighborhood of $375-400,000.

And you are right about the need to raise assistant salaries.

So where does this other $160k+ come from?

 

[aparch]

Re: Michigan Tech Offseason Thread I: Not Winning and the ensuing drama.

So where does this other $160k+ come from?

Blueline club, booster club, perks the university can add into the package to sweeten the deal while keeping the salary low (ie: cars, etc.)

 

[geezer]

Re: Michigan Tech Offseason Thread I: Not Winning and the ensuing drama.

Blake Pietila is a legitimate prospect to be a strong player. Chad Pietila was a walk on 4th liner at NMU. A solid player in that role, but hardly someone to hang your hopes on.

Yeah, but it's hard to talk about one without the other. There's not as big a skill difference there as you might think (once you discount the age difference), and if they're on the same line, it's not going to be easy to keep them straight. They've been playing together all their lives and will make each other better.
I'm sure you can think of countless examples of that brothers' competition/teamwork that I'm talking about.
I'm also fired up to see the Johnstone brothers play together.

 

[oldish husky]

Re: Michigan Tech Offseason Thread I: Not Winning and the ensuing drama.

So where does this other $160k+ come from?

And does he get to keep it, or does that all go to the players?


Best of luck to Jamie. I guess I don't know what to expect in the future. Past history clearly shows that a new coach is not itself a cure, but I'm also (perhaps delusional) excited about the performance of the freshmen and some of the new recruits.

 

[geezer]

Re: Michigan Tech Offseason Thread I: Not Winning and the ensuing drama.

In summary.

 

[davyd83]

Re: Michigan Tech Offseason Thread I: Not Winning and the ensuing drama.

Yeah, but it's hard to talk about one without the other. There's not as big a skill difference there as you might think (once you discount the age difference), and if they're on the same line, it's not going to be easy to keep them straight. They've been playing together all their lives and will make each other better.
I'm sure you can think of countless examples of that brothers' competition/teamwork that I'm talking about.
I'm also fired up to see the Johnstone brothers play together.

How many times have you seen either play? On a good team with a little depth, Chad wears a coat and tie half the time on game night. Blake has first or second line potential, although another year of junior would probably be a good idea for him, so as not to burn a year of eligibility and to allow him to grow and develop. And they haven't been playing together all their lives. They are 4 years apart.

 

[davyd83]

Re: Michigan Tech Offseason Thread I: Not Winning and the ensuing drama.

So where does this other $160k+ come from?

Shoe, skate and apparrel contracts. Media shows. Other perks thrown in such as vehicle, etc. As of 2008, Red was getting $145,000 beyond his base salary, according to Ann Arbor media sources.

 

[geezer]

Re: Michigan Tech Offseason Thread I: Not Winning and the ensuing drama.

How many times have you seen either play? On a good team with a little depth, Chad wears a coat and tie half the time on game night. Blake has first or second line potential, although another year of junior would probably be a good idea for him, so as not to burn a year of eligibility and to allow him to grow and develop. And they haven't been playing together all their lives. They are 4 years apart.

I don't really want to argue about it. It's just my opinion based not on watching them myself, but I've talked to people about it that have played with them both. I think the best possible results come from putting them on one line. They're 4 years apart, but I meant they grew up on the same backyard rink. Blake is the better prospect now because Chad is four years older than he is.

 

[The_Commissioner]

Re: Michigan Tech Offseason Thread I: Not Winning and the ensuing drama.

We will look for a proven leader to take us from being a quality program off the ice to a well-rounded program that is a competitive NCAA team.

I cannot promise you that the next few years will be easy, but I can promise you that I care deeply about this program and I am doing everything within my power, publicly and privately, to build the Huskies into a top-quality NCAA Division I team that all of us are proud to stand behind.

Sincerely,
Suzanne R. Sanregret
Director of Athletics

I'm sorry to admit that I LOLed. Part of me is thinking, "If you cared that 'deeply', then why...............................?"

Okay, the program fell off the wall on her watch and she is taking responsibility for putting Humpty Dumpty back together again so I give her some credit for trying. I also appreciate her honest caveat that goes without saying. Unfortunately I don't believe she has the power, horse or otherwise, to unscramble a culture of losing that far predates her ascension to the throne. If she thinks a "proven leader" alone is her knight in shining armor, then she really doesn't understand what it takes to overcome the tolerance of losing.

Hopefully, someone helps her with the realization that it's going to take considerable resources to accomplish her goal and a call for everyone to contribute to the rebirth of the hockey program is sounded soon. By not waiting until the "proven leader" comes through the door before engaging all the stakeholders, she can demonstrate the kind of leadership, commitment, and credibility necessary for success.

 

[Shirtless Guy]

Re: Michigan Tech Offseason Thread I: Not Winning and the ensuing drama.

I'm sorry to admit that I LOLed. Part of me is thinking, "If you cared that 'deeply', then why...............................?"

Okay, the program fell off the wall on her watch and she is taking responsibility for putting Humpty Dumpty back together again so I give her some credit for trying. I also appreciate her honest caveat that goes without saying. Unfortunately I don't believe she has the power, horse or otherwise, to unscramble a culture of losing that far predates her ascension to the throne. If she thinks a "proven leader" alone is her knight in shining armor, then she really doesn't understand what it takes to overcome the tolerance of losing.

Hopefully, someone helps her with the realization that it's going to take considerable resources to accomplish her goal and a call for everyone to contribute to the rebirth of the hockey program is sounded soon. By not waiting until the "proven leader" comes through the door before engaging all the stakeholders, she can demonstrate the kind of leadership, commitment, and credibility necessary for success.

I'm sorry for the harsh words but you are retarded if you think the program fell off the wall on her watch. It clearly fell off on Rick Yeo's watch and has been floundering at the bottom for quite some time. Jamie was the first coach to really get anywhere close to the top of that wall since Mancini, and I would suggest going back even farther.

 

[FadeToBlack&Gold]

Re: Michigan Tech Offseason Thread I: Not Winning and the ensuing drama.

Yeah, Yeo was responsible for hiring Watters, no? And that's when the wheels completely came off.

 

[Loser]

Re: Michigan Tech Offseason Thread I: Not Winning and the ensuing drama.

I've met Russell quite a few times when my wife and I were traveling frequently to cross college arenas off our bucket list. He was always really nice to us, and he took the time to address plenty of questions. However, it always bothered me how quick he was to make excuses for the hockey program. He hinted on numerous occasions that the hardest part of recruiting was because the academic standard at Tech was so high. Yes, there have been numerous players who majored in engineering (and plenty that even managed to graduate with very high GPAs), but the vast majority of the players are majoring in business. Is the business program at Tech really any more difficult than the business program at any other school? I doubt it.

 

[FadeToBlack&Gold]

Re: Michigan Tech Offseason Thread I: Not Winning and the ensuing drama.

*sigh*

The ones that have majored in accounting or finance, and have done well in it, are as smart as any engineer. You can bet your marbles on that.

It's probably a safe bet that the initial admissions standards compared to schools like St. Cloud, Duluth, Bemidji, and Mankato are higher. Not sky high, but higher.

At the end of the day though, the academics aren't so much the issue.

 

[Loser]

Re: Michigan Tech Offseason Thread I: Not Winning and the ensuing drama.

The ones that have majored in accounting or finance, and have done well in it, are as smart as any engineer.

I'm not saying they aren't. I'm just saying the business/accounting/finance programs at Tech aren't any more difficult than those same programs at other schools. Russell always made it sound like Tech was hard because the recruits were not smart enough to deal with the engineering programs.

It's probably a safe bet that the initial admissions standards compared to schools like St. Cloud, Duluth, Bemidji, and Mankato are higher. Not sky high, but higher.

Not really, or at least not the last time I looked at the average ACT scores.

At the end of the day though, the academics aren't so much the issue.

Exactly, and that was my point. There are reasons why Tech hockey has struggled, but it's not because of having a difficult academic program.

 

[davyd83]

Re: Michigan Tech Offseason Thread I: Not Winning and the ensuing drama.

I've met Russell quite a few times when my wife and I were traveling frequently to cross college arenas off our bucket list. He was always really nice to us, and he took the time to address plenty of questions. However, it always bothered me how quick he was to make excuses for the hockey program. He hinted on numerous occasions that the hardest part of recruiting was because the academic standard at Tech was so high. Yes, there have been numerous players who majored in engineering (and plenty that even managed to graduate with very high GPAs), but the vast majority of the players are majoring in business. Is the business program at Tech really any more difficult than the business program at any other school? I doubt it.

Go ahead. Go out and try to recruit to Tech. Academics is but one part of the difficulty. How do you sell Tech against Minnesota or Wisconsin? St Cloud or Duluth? Even Northern or Bemidji? I grew up on Tech hockey when it was a national power, year in and year out. But the landscape in college hockey has shifted dramatically since then. How do you make MTU a destination for those players who are going to the similar sized schools?

 

[Shirtless Guy]

Re: Michigan Tech Offseason Thread I: Not Winning and the ensuing drama.

*sigh*

The ones that have majored in accounting or finance, and have done well in it, are as smart as any engineer. You can bet your marbles on that.

It's probably a safe bet that the initial admissions standards compared to schools like St. Cloud, Duluth, Bemidji, and Mankato are higher. Not sky high, but higher.

At the end of the day though, the academics aren't so much the issue.

We're talking about young men here, the bigger issue is the "middle of nowhere" mentality of Houghton and the lack of women.

 

[davyd83]

Re: Michigan Tech Offseason Thread I: Not Winning and the ensuing drama.

We're talking about young men here, the bigger issue is the "middle of nowhere" mentality of Houghton and the lack of women.

And how many lonely hockey players have you seen?

 

[Shirtless Guy]

Re: Michigan Tech Offseason Thread I: Not Winning and the ensuing drama.

And how many lonely hockey players have you seen?

Are you telling me that isn't a negative just because the 30 hockey players on campus do tend to date the hottest 1% of those on campus? There are more hot chicks at Grandma's Sports Garden in Duluth (or the Red Carpet in St Cloud) on a saturday night than attend MTU.

 

[Loser]

Re: Michigan Tech Offseason Thread I: Not Winning and the ensuing drama.

Go ahead. Go out and try to recruit to Tech. Academics is but one part of the difficulty. How do you sell Tech against Minnesota or Wisconsin? St Cloud or Duluth? Even Northern or Bemidji? I grew up on Tech hockey when it was a national power, year in and year out. But the landscape in college hockey has shifted dramatically since then. How do you make MTU a destination for those players who are going to the similar sized schools?

I'm not arguing whether or not it is difficult to recruit for Tech, because it certainly is for a myriad of reasons. I'm just arguing that Russell tried to make it seem that difficulty #1 was the academic standard, and ignored the rest of the issues. Some of those issues have possible solutions, so why not try to work on solving what is within your control?