Well, I’ve been watching the events unfold over the past ten days from across the pond, and rather than respond in one-off comments, I thought I’d batch it up into a final post, as I’m going to make an exit after this (unfortunately long, sorry!) reply. When I joined 20 years ago, it was a great place to learn and connect. Now, I just don’t know what to make of it, and I think it’s best to find other outlets.
First, I want to start with the likes of DB62, Norbert, ATW, D. Gerry, HR, etc. Folks, I can’t even begin to explain how much your experiences with the Athletics crew are ****ing me off. I too share your pain as both a long-term FB and Hockey STH. The processes/workflows, the communication, etc., leave SO much to be desired. As I mentioned previously, I tried addressing this directly with a relatively senior member of the staff, and I just don’t get why they don’t see the light. I am hopeful that AD Rich can whip some people into shape. If I never get an email with a title like “Johnny Sharpskates Has 21:04 TOI against Sacred Heart In Wildcat’s 8-0 Loss”, I will be more than pleased.
(As an aside, I missed a call from the new AD prior to the announcement, but we agreed to meet when I get back Stateside. I absolutely plan to drive on the specifics here as they are just so objectionable.)
My recommendation to you guys as STH’s (if you’ve chosen to renew) would be to attend the BBQ and have the direct discussion with the new AD as I know she will be there. As an alternative, I think Watcher’s recommendation of a polite but firm email would hopefully go a long way. Maybe even a group one, I don’t know – either way, I’m glad to sign on with you – HR knows how to reach me. I’d also be willing to help broker a live or Zoom discussion, if you’d like. Again, as I’m exiting, let HR know and I’ll get right to work on that.
(Watcher, I don’t know why you suggested Chuck send an email. I remember distinctly him twittering like a pre-teen when he “almost bumped into Scarano” at a hockey game. Take it up with Marty face-to-face, like an adult? Nope, not Chuck – he’d prefer to rant endlessly on a message board. So he hid from Marty instead.)
Next topic – the notion of an administrative type becoming the AD. News flash…. The days of coaches in particular, and players to a lesser extent, becoming AD’s are rapidly dwindling. The idea of a Coach/AD combo is so laughingly anachronistic that it can’t possibly be taken seriously. Not at the D1 level, especially. The ranks of AD’s at the D1 level who were previously coaches is in the low-to-mid-teens percentage-wise and shrinking rapidly. Barry Alvarez is (was) a dying breed.
With regards to former players becoming AD’s, that is also less than half and also shrinking. Given that there is a large intersection between former coaches ALSO being former players, it would be pretty easy to surmise that at a minimum, a plurality of AD’s, if not a small majority, have neither coaching or playing experience. And directionally, that remains a significant trend. One of the things learned during the search was that an increasing number of schools are looking outside of academia AND athletics for people who can simply run the show, period. Often times a successful alumnus/alumna or someone with ties to the school in general.
The fact that our new AD has over 27 years of experience in college athletics (more than either of our previous two AD’s, if I’m not mistaken), should be seen as a positive. The fact that she’s spent those years with programs that are bigger, better funded and more prestigious than ours should also give us some comfort.
Next topic – AD Rich is somehow just a compliance person. I don’t even know where to start with this one. Folks, everyone who reaches the top of a profession typically comes with an advanced specialty in one of the areas for which he/she will be responsible. It’s just how it works. What’s great here is that she happens to be very widely respected for that specialty, while at the same time having demonstrated experience in virtually all ofthe other key components that an AD needs to be effective. All it takes is a quick Google search to realize that saying she’s just a compliance person is completely intellectually dishonest.
Next topic – Focus on performance. Again, I’m just shaking my head. We should thank heavens that our president is a former college athlete, who knows that the importance of athletic success in determining the fate of a university goes WAY BEYOND the playing field. In his highly aspirational goal of becoming a top-tier public university, he knows the criticality of making progress with underperforming programs as a means tobolster the UNH brand writ large. As the unbelievable demographic challenges in enrollment take hold over the next 3-5 years, EVERY component of UNH needs to be humming to attract incoming freshmen. He knows this – he and others are watching as schools like UMass take our students (even our NH residents) in droves. Does anyone honestly believe that AD Rich does not see it in her purview to return our former flagship program(s) to their previous heights?
Next topic – the search itself. I see that Chuck has made my point as strongly as ever by posting Glenn’s CV and a really good article about him. I, and many others, are darn glad he led this search. And then Chuck went on to try to claim that I said he played a pivotal role in the Bull’s championship run. No, I didn’t. I said he was a member of the Chicago Bulls BoD at 27, and that he wasn’t fetching paper clips. But when Chuck’s narrative gets destroyed (as it so often has over the years, and so plainly over the last four months), he HAS to change the narrative. It’s the same lack of maturity my three-year-old uses on me when I catch him doing something shifty.
Weird next topic – the use of sock puppets in this forum. We have one member who has made it a habit of using sock puppets repeatedly for a variety of purposes. Sometimes, they are intended as funny (whether they are or not is in the eye of the reader), but recently, and more pathetically, some have been introduced to a) agree violently with said poster; b) laugh hysterically at said poster’s comments; c) call attention to what said poster is doing in other areas of the Forum; or most recently, d) to help advance said poster’s narratives. It’s absolutely pathetic. Teenagers use sock puppets in forums to become more popular or to gang up on others. The fact that we have a much-older sock puppet creator in our midst is just so bafflingly weak that I can’t comprehend the sadness. Other posters have reached out to me as well about this person’s introduction of new and improved imaginary friends. Want proof? Take a look at a poster or two and what they’ve historically posted, especially those who have been around for a long time but only seem to come out in response to one poster. I actually think it’s forbidden in the Forum, but I would rather just watch this person make a consistent buffoon of themselves. By the way, search quickly – the minute I hit send on this, my guess is that the poster will start deleting their imaginary friends’ posts.
In closing, I will certainly miss the insights that folks like Dan, Darius, CHC and Watcher bring to the table. Thanks for being such wellsprings of great info – much appreciated. I have always been close with HR, and look forward to hearing any big news from her as it transpires. I also promise to feed any good tidbits back to her. AGAIN, I am as committed as anyone here to see this program get back on its feet in my lifetime. I’d love to be taking my two little boys (now 3 and 1) to the Garden - and heaven forbid, the NCAA’s - before they hit their indifferent teen years! I will say it again – if it makes sense to try to get a forum for direct interaction, I will do my best to help out there. Just let me know.
Give AD Rich a chance – I think we got a good one. We don’t need a showboat or a pretty talker – we need a humble and hard-working proven leader. And that’s what I mad many others believe she is.
Go ‘Cats!!! See you at the Whitt when I’m up North.
