Don’t get in the way JB is on a roll. He thinks new arenas and renovations should be funded by private money at a state school. Of course he forgot that the State built the Whitt and it had nothing to do with Umiles coaching record. Snively was cooked, the bball team was playing in a high school gym and the state thought a multi- purpose facility was the way to go.
New Hampshire being, well, New Hampshire they never calculated the costs of having a bull gang transform the building between sports and ended up keeping the hoop team playing in its present dump.
oh, and when the team was winning big 15 years ago no private or public money was solicited to, you know, keep the facilities current or, heaven forbid, ahead of the pack. So very UNH. No upgrades. Just ride it into the ground. And here we are.
Typically defensive post, loaded with half-truths. It was not a coincidence that The Whitt got built after Coach Umile strung together several winning seasons, after the Holt Era peaked in the early '80's, gradually then suddenly crashed in the mid-'80's, and sputtered to rebuild under Coach Kullen in the late '80's. It wasn't the decade-long descent we've been experiencing lately, but it was more than just a temporary blip (ironically, like '95/'96 when The Whitt opened).
Athletic facilities at UNH
library.unh.edu
Private donations were very much in the picture as part of the financing. Hence, Towse Rink at Whittemore Center (also, now at Key Auto TDL Complex).
In fact, originally BOTH the UNH Men's AND Women's Hoops teams played home games at The Whitt. Further, the physical set-up of the basketball court was almost entirely donated from the floor, hoops/stanchions, etc. from the original Boston Garden, which had just been replaced by the then-Fleet Center (now TD Garden). When Concord's Matt Bonner brought his University of Florida team to Durham in 2001, that was at The Whitt (and set an attendance record):
Bonner and the Florida Gators played at The Whitt
www.wmur.com
Private money has been solicited for various upgrades since, including the Borisenok family donating the current center ice scoreboard.
TDL seems to have made a commitment to at least $4.0M in additional upgrades, apparently contingent upon matching gifts, winning, TBD???
As far as Coach Hubbard is concerned ... he was the highest paid UNH coach of all time outside of the "Big 4" North American sports when he left, and was having his team play its home games in the football stadium, which was an unexpected upgrade and provided unanticipated revenues. If someone with half a brain was making the decisions in UNH Athletics Admin, Hubbard would still be here, attendance would still be growing, and there would still be a national championship contender (see what UVM achieved last Fall after being 2nd banana to Hubbard for years) competing annually in the D-1 tourney.
Those decisions were not made by, nor restrained by, politicians in Concord. The AD's office and their superiors are responsible for those. Sorry.
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One of the blessings I enjoyed over the last week-plus of being away from here on vacation is that I was able to reconnect with several sources with insight on the UNH situation, both current and past, from inside and outside the programs. To a person, they are dumbfounded on how MS7 remains in his job, and at what low esteem the advisor/agent community holds him and his program. Most attribute the ultimate blame to my old long-departed "pal" BlueSkies, and his having taken Hockey for granted since both sides of the program were riding high, instead focusing on Football. Those with familiarity of the current AD question her ability to run a competitive D-1 program, and raise perhaps the most overriding question we here as UNH Hockey folks should be asking, which is, if (presumably when, so long as she sticks around) the decision to separate with MS7 is made ... what confidence should we have in MS7's replacement, and their ability to bring this program back to its previous level of prominence??
From what little I know about Mike Hickey, I'd rather reserve judgment before commenting further. But a cursory check on his background shows someone who has a long history of running boards and councils in government, academia, banking and insurance, with a more recent trek into elder care. Nothing on the surface to allay concerns about an ability to identify and hire the right person to replace MS7 ... or even to decide to cut strings with him. Stay tuned ...
