UNH Wildcats 2021/2022 - Return of the Champions of October?

[d.gerry]

Folks - sorry for the late notice, but I have the opportunity to provide some very direct feedback on the national search this Wednesday. I obviously have my own thoughts and ideas, but would love your honest and constructive input as well. It would help provide a balanced perspective and a set of themes regarding what this selection means for athletics broadly, and hockey more directly. Thanks in advance.

Not sure what your role with the search process is, but I can only hope that someone will listen to a fan/supporter perspective. My take, just as UNH is the flagship for the state’s university system, hockey should be the “flagship” sport at UNH. No disrespect to the other sport, football and basketball specifically however, they realistically have zero chance of becoming national powerhouses. We’ve already seen that hockey can compete at the highest levels of college hockey, and the success and exposure that brought to the athletic department and university as a whole. To allow the program to fall to irrelevance should not have been allowed nor should it be acceptable. We need an outsider with “big school” experience who can seen the importance of having a “flagship” sport which will only elevate the entire department. Whoever this person is, they should state a desire to return hockey to a legitimate NCAA title threat year in and year out. Again, no disrespect to the other programs, but someone has to be top dog, and the hockey program has shown they can and should be that sport.

 

[Darius]

UNH faculty demand fair contract as negotiations stall:
https://tnhdigital.com/20778/news/unh-faculty-demand-fair-contract-as-negotiations-stall/

"...the university proposed base salary freezes, reductions in salary minima, increased costs borne by employees for medical benefits, as well as cuts to retirement and parental leave... Union members held a small rally outside Thompson Hall... carried signs expressing their frustration with slogans such as “Hands off our Benefits” and “Pay Us like Hockey Coaches.” "

 

[Chuck Murray]

UNH faculty demand fair contract as negotiations stall:
https://tnhdigital.com/20778/news/un...iations-stall/

"...the university proposed base salary freezes, reductions in salary minima, increased costs borne by employees for medical benefits, as well as cuts to retirement and parental leave... Union members held a small rally outside Thompson Hall... carried signs expressing their frustration with slogans such as “Hands off our Benefits” and “Pay Us like Hockey Coaches.” "

Can't even imagine the uproar if the Feds began to pull back funding of colleges, or even redirected some of it towards trade schools. As the old saying goes ... pigs get fat, hogs get slaughtered.

 

[NCAA watcher]

Folks - sorry for the late notice, but I have the opportunity to provide some very direct feedback on the national search this Wednesday. I obviously have my own thoughts and ideas, but would love your honest and constructive input as well. It would help provide a balanced perspective and a set of themes regarding what this selection means for athletics broadly, and hockey more directly. Thanks in advance.

Thanks for soliciting the input, and pretty neat that they are including some community.
On the broadest level, I would be curious to hear their thoughts on the metrics for evaluating an A.D. The present A.D. has focused to the largest extent on physical infrastructure, and his resume essentially consists of the fundraising projects. The competitiveness of the teams has been secondary, with the profile of the team

Significantly less effort, if any, has been placed on the management of the teams themselves. What role does the new A.D. envision for ensuring that coaches are not only ensuring proper mentoring and attention to the student part of the student athlete, but also ensuring that the teams are successful. For the past few years, UNH has seen itself as a community with the other metrics being sufficient to overcome performance issues.

All of which brings to the second set of big-picture questions. The programs fall into two distinct areas. The first are quaint outlets for students, and this is reflected in fairly standard wages for the coaches. There are, however, a few programs of higher visibility (football, hockey, basketball, soccer?) where UNH wants to play on the national scene. The coaches are compensated based on this, earning more than colleges where academics are important (NESCA schools). For these special programs, what are the performance metrics, even if they are good players in the community and likeable? For these programs, does someone from the community, or is it on par with other highly-compensated positions (like the new AD himself/herself, or the President) for which achievement is important regardless of UNH connection.

The answer to the above will then inform the last area -- if the programs do aspire to succeed on the field/pitch/ice, does the AD have the belief that an investment in a known quantity have a return of investment (i.e., the manager is the driver)? Or does he/she view UNH as the product that will take care of itself, so many managers could fulfill the duty. Said another way, will the new AD be requiring/asking for a sufficient budget to hire known outsiders and hope that the increased performance pays itself back, or is the new AD being asked to be moneyball where they can invest at or below market rates for taking a chance on a less proven manager.

***********

I think you can steer clear of the "do you have authority to ignore the old former power brokers who completely f'''d up the performance by hiring unqualified friends?"

 

[HockeyRef]

I know there are other FOH people that have/had been members longer than me so, if they wanna come in and give some feed back, I hope they would. I will say that after a meeting with the fan group in the Spring of 2017 (or whenever the FOH 'went away') I spoke up about how awful it was to see things dissolve with no real notice from the University (and more specifically, the Athletic Department/AD). A couple of weeks after that I (and I'm guessing other FOH) members did receive a letter stating all that we did for the team, etc . Not really an apology of sorts but more of an acknowledgement of the good deeds the group did, which, were too numerous to name. Like I said, I was kind of a newbie to that group and its workings. There were a lot of hard feelings that I'm sure still reverberate to this day. And the women's team group no doubt, but, I cannot speak to that.

Fans of course are an integral part of any athletic operation, I don't care what sport or what level. Perhaps the powers that be felt we were getting too close to the situation and asking for too much input/feedback or to answer to how the team was doing. The FOH had a very warm relationship with Coach Umile; most likely he kept it going but after he retired, it was def out. Maybe there were NCAA ramifications I do not know. Obviously due to Covid the past two years getting any kind of real fan access to the team in 'meet and greets' have been curtailed and that is not the fault of the AD. Hopefully in the future as things ease up this can return.

Naturally, there are two sides to every story. I'm not sure I ever really heard the Universities side of it. The new AD should know that hockey is as d.gerry states, a very important sport at the U. We are not looking for favoritism over other sports but, there is growing discontent among the fan base about how the team has fared in the past few seasons. We fully understand that to play competitive D1 hockey that fans at UNH had grown accustomed to takes both excellence in recruiting and coaching. Hopefully whomever the University entrusts in this / these positions will take a hard look at how this is going and create a timeline for improvement. If no marked improvement is seen then its only course of action is to change who is running the program. This would not be an unusual move; happens in everyday life and not just in athletics!

I do not kid myself that I know the ins and out of how a hockey team should be recruited or coached and this is not meant as a slam to our current and most recent past players. The bottom line is they are student athletes and that fact should not be forgotten in the process. But to see UNH hockey become (?) 'just another sport' at UNH is not acceptable to those fans who continue to fill those seats and pay the $$ to be STH's and just every game participants.

 

[Dan]

I don't have time to dive into too much right now - maybe later - but for now I just hope that UNH avoids taking the easy route to an AD hire. They should remember there are still many fans, and countless current and future student-athletes, who take or will take great pride in the program and have a vested connection to future success. UNH has all it needs to be successful across multiple sports - with hockey being the primary obligation - and the hiring committee needs to match the belief, expectation and pride of its primary stakeholders throughout this process...

No peripheral tent posts. Yes, we all want good student-athletes (and coaches) who are well rounded, get good grades, participate in the UNH community and behave. None of that needs to be sacrificed for success. Don't pretend to be limited in building a winner by these objectives and no more lifetime appointments for coaches who stay out of trouble. Winning counts too!

Finally, and most importantly, don't fear hiring a young, hungry and talented AD who may grow UNH Athletics to the point they are hired away. The best possible outcome would be huge success for the hockeys, basketballs and football - and continued success for the soccers - to the point someone poaches the AD. UNH can then use the same process to make another AD hire from a notably better starting point. Don't settle because its easy or because you think someone will stay long term (lack the success to be poached)...

 

[wildcatdc]

Thanks for all of your input so far - keep it coming.

 

[HockeyRef]

I don't have time to dive into too much right now - maybe later - but for now I just hope that UNH avoids taking the easy route to an AD hire. They should remember there are still many fans, and countless current and future student-athletes, who take or will take great pride in the program and have a vested connection to future success. UNH has all it needs to be successful across multiple sports - with hockey being the primary obligation - and the hiring committee needs to match the belief, expectation and pride of its primary stakeholders throughout this process...

No peripheral tent posts. Yes, we all want good student-athletes (and coaches) who are well rounded, get good grades, participate in the UNH community and behave. None of that needs to be sacrificed for success. Don't pretend to be limited in building a winner by these objectives and no more lifetime appointments for coaches who stay out of trouble. Winning counts too!

Finally, and most importantly, don't fear hiring a young, hungry and talented AD who may grow UNH Athletics to the point they are hired away. The best possible outcome would be huge success for the hockeys, basketballs and football - and continued success for the soccers - to the point someone poaches the AD. UNH can then use the same process to make another AD hire from a notably better starting point. Don't settle because its easy or because you think someone will stay long term (lack the success to be poached)...

Dan love the last point you make about hiring someone who others want to have; I think of Ryan Bamford at UMass. Of course I don't know diddly about how he's actually doing but he saw a need to bring that hockey program from the depths of despair and hired Greg Carvel and Co...just saying. That's just an example that comes to mind...and no 'dc I am not a Carvel fangirl!

 

[ClOuD 9]

I was running late today so listened to the pregame. Souza was interviewed and said they had a short practice Saturday. Also said the Gutt is a tough place to play but whatever. Anyway definitely they played as well as I've ever seen them play today and the worst I've seen them play Friday.

Happy for Robinson getting the shutout. Onto the Blackbears should be interesting!

Maybe in terms of the bus ride and facilities, but it's hardly Yost Arena or Lynah Rink...

 

[HockeyRef]

Maybe in terms of the bus ride and facilities, but it's hardly Yost Arena or Lynah Rink...

Hey there nice to see you here! I'd think you'd have plenty to give to wildcatdc being a long time fan!

 

[Whalers]

Picket signs - I like the slogan "pay us like hockey coaches". Even with how terrible the hockey team is doing, they still put a lot more asses in the seats than the largest lecture hall. Would those same teachers/professors be ok with the admin's ability to fire them at will? How about people/parents being able to watch every class and place them under the results microscope? The same individuals calling up "TeachersHub" to critique every lecture for grammar, content and also opine about how terrible your wardrobe looks? Actually, that might be a lot of fun.

 

[Darius]

ratemyprofessors.com

 

[Darius]

Folks - sorry for the late notice, but I have the opportunity to provide some very direct feedback on the national search this Wednesday. I obviously have my own thoughts and ideas, but would love your honest and constructive input as well. It would help provide a balanced perspective and a set of themes regarding what this selection means for athletics broadly, and hockey more directly. Thanks in advance.

Good for you and the U ‘dc. I participated in a similar forum at the Elliott Alumni Center not long after Debbie Dutton joined UNH. I don’t recall athletics, certainly not a specific hire being the topic, but Marty spoke to the group and it was clear from one of the organizational behavior/team building/ice breaking group exercises that the majority of attendees maintained their connection to UNH through men’s hockey and/or football. This was not a coincidence. The University is aware of it. ‘watcher’s “special sports” below.

BTW ‘watcher, great post. All of it. Except for basketball. Really? ;-) The rest was worded better than I would have done, but all thoughts swirling around in my head. Knowing the hiring metrics would be my first question. The second would be if UNH is aware and committed to the special sports performing at a respectable level. My thought would be that while each team does not have to attain the exact metric of respectability every year, head coach of a special sport is not a lifetime appointment.

My metric for respectable is:

• Being in the top half (home ice) of the regular season standings more often than not
• Win in the first conference playoff round (go to the Garden) more often than not
• Advance to the conference finals one of five Garden trips
• Win the conference tournament twice every generation creating institutional memory
• Qualify for the NCAAs more often than not
• Win the first round NCAA game more often than not
• Essentially go into every year thinking an NCAA title is not impossible

 

[Darius]

Finally, and most importantly, don't fear hiring a young, hungry and talented AD who may grow UNH Athletics to the point they are hired away.

May be a cost saving reality.

 

[Chuck Murray]

Picket signs - I like the slogan "pay us like hockey coaches". Even with how terrible the hockey team is doing, they still put a lot more asses in the seats than the largest lecture hall. Would those same teachers/professors be ok with the admin's ability to fire them at will? How about people/parents being able to watch every class and place them under the results microscope? The same individuals calling up "TeachersHub" to critique every lecture for grammar, content and also opine about how terrible your wardrobe looks? Actually, that might be a lot of fun.

That happened quite a bit at the HS level. Turned out to be quite revealing, ended up exponentially increasing attendance at school board meetings. Pretty sure most UNH profs wouldn't enjoy that ...

 

[Chuck Murray]

Good for you and the U ‘dc. I participated in a similar forum at the Elliott Alumni Center not long after Debbie Dutton joined UNH. I don’t recall athletics, certainly not a specific hire being the topic, but Marty spoke to the group and it was clear from one of the organizational behavior/team building/ice breaking group exercises that the majority of attendees maintained their connection to UNH through men’s hockey and/or football. This was not a coincidence. The University is aware of it. ‘watcher’s “special sports” below.

BTW ‘watcher, great post. All of it. Except for basketball. Really? ;-) The rest was worded better than I would have done, but all thoughts swirling around in my head. Knowing the hiring metrics would be my first question. The second would be if UNH is aware and committed to the special sports performing at a respectable level. My thought would be that while each team does not have to attain the exact metric of respectability every year, head coach of a special sport is not a lifetime appointment.

My metric for respectable is:

• Being in the top half (home ice) of the regular season standings more often than not
• Win in the first conference playoff round (go to the Garden) more often than not
• Advance to the conference finals one of five Garden trips
• Win the conference tournament twice every generation creating institutional memory
• Qualify for the NCAAs more often than not
• Win the first round NCAA game more often than not
• Essentially go into every year thinking an NCAA title is not impossible

Good list, Darius ... only one doesn't make sense, why advance to the Finals only once every five trips? Even the renowned postseason struggler Coach Umile comfortably cleared that low bar. Why not (say) one in three, or even (gulp) one in two??

 

[Darius]

I know there are other FOH people that have/had been members longer than me so, if they wanna come in and give some feed back, I hope they would. I will say that after a meeting with the fan group in the Spring of 2017 (or whenever the FOH 'went away') I spoke up about how awful it was to see things dissolve with no real notice from the University (and more specifically, the Athletic Department/AD). A couple of weeks after that I (and I'm guessing other FOH) members did receive a letter stating all that we did for the team, etc . Not really an apology of sorts but more of an acknowledgement of the good deeds the group did, which, were too numerous to name. Like I said, I was kind of a newbie to that group and its workings. There were a lot of hard feelings that I'm sure still reverberate to this day. And the women's team group no doubt, but, I cannot speak to that.

Fans of course are an integral part of any athletic operation, I don't care what sport or what level. Perhaps the powers that be felt we were getting too close to the situation and asking for too much input/feedback or to answer to how the team was doing. The FOH had a very warm relationship with Coach Umile; most likely he kept it going but after he retired, it was def out. Maybe there were NCAA ramifications I do not know. Obviously due to Covid the past two years getting any kind of real fan access to the team in 'meet and greets' have been curtailed and that is not the fault of the AD. Hopefully in the future as things ease up this can return.

Naturally, there are two sides to every story. I'm not sure I ever really heard the Universities side of it. The new AD should know that hockey is as d.gerry states, a very important sport at the U. We are not looking for favoritism over other sports but, there is growing discontent among the fan base about how the team has fared in the past few seasons. We fully understand that to play competitive D1 hockey that fans at UNH had grown accustomed to takes both excellence in recruiting and coaching. Hopefully whomever the University entrusts in this / these positions will take a hard look at how this is going and create a timeline for improvement. If no marked improvement is seen then its only course of action is to change who is running the program. This would not be an unusual move; happens in everyday life and not just in athletics!

I do not kid myself that I know the ins and out of how a hockey team should be recruited or coached and this is not meant as a slam to our current and most recent past players. The bottom line is they are student athletes and that fact should not be forgotten in the process. But to see UNH hockey become (?) 'just another sport' at UNH is not acceptable to those fans who continue to fill those seats and pay the $$ to be STH's and just every game participants.

‘Ref, I UNH USCHO Fan Forum threads absolutely love you. We both wear blue tinted glasses, but you are misinformed about the Friends. I’ve avoided posting much, if anything, about this to avoid betraying confidences. My numerous sources are impeccable, connected and confirmed. One is still a UNH employee. I may feel that the statute of limitations on confidentiality expires when Marty retires, but for now I will say that the Friends had been under the UNH umbrella for several years. There was notice. The friends were creating roadblocks to their own success, resisting modernization and unwilling to take advantage of fundraising (their primary focus) synergy that might exist from working with other groups and organizations. Every time this topic comes up, I’ve let it go, but the time before this I said to myself, “enough, I am responding next time”. There are too many people who volunteered and are still volunteering in support of UNH hockey fundraising to let this slide any longer.

 

[Darius]

Good list, Darius ... only one doesn't make sense, why advance to the Finals only once every five trips? Even the renowned postseason struggler Coach Umile comfortably cleared that low bar. Why not (say) one in three, or even (gulp) one in two??

Chuck Murray #raisingthe bar

I thought about that one the most. Winning championships is hard. Two championships, 4 attempts in the big game for every generation.

 

[HockeyRef]

‘Ref, I UNH USCHO Fan Forum threads absolutely love you. We both wear blue tinted glasses, but you are misinformed about the Friends. I’ve avoided posting much, if anything, about this to avoid betraying confidences. My numerous sources are impeccable, connected and confirmed. One is still a UNH employee. I may feel that the statute of limitations on confidentiality expires when Marty retires, but for now I will say that the Friends had been under the UNH umbrella for several years. There was notice. The friends were creating roadblocks to their own success, resisting modernization and unwilling to take advantage of fundraising (their primary focus) synergy that might exist from working with other groups and organizations. Every time this topic comes up, I’ve let it go, but the time before this I said to myself, “enough, I am responding next time”. There are too many people who volunteered and are still volunteering in support of UNH hockey fundraising to let this slide any longer.

Thanks Darius you are much more connected to the inside of things than I. Pretty much I was recounting (mostly to Chucks point about having an apology made to the FOH) that an attempt was made by the AD to the work that was done by the group. I'm not holding any ill will regarding all of that and I'll be honest I think (well in my experience) not all of us Members were "in the know" that last season about what was coming down the pike as some more connected officers were. So for me esp it was a shock and a surprise sorry many of us felt blindsided...was not the only one who felt that way and am not going to apologize for those feelings.

I doubt anyone in that tight group would care to respond at this point. But from what I hear it was not a pretty or tidy ending. You're right...enough is enough but there's still plenty of people who feel slighted to this day by the whole thing.

But I am all done holding onto that past. I want to see UNH hockey rise up and "be great again" if I may use that phrase. What's done is done and I continue to give what I can via the 603 challenge going to as many games as possible etc.

And if that means wearing those blue colored glasses that's fine by me although some would say my more recent posts might say otherwise! (Give my criticisms of recent results) ...Appreciate your forthright post.

 

[Chuck Murray]

Chuck Murray #raisingthe bar

I thought about that one the most. Winning championships is hard. Two championships, 4 attempts in the big game for every generation.

Going back to your initial post with the list of metrics for "respectable" ... if you substituted "once in every five years" in place of "once in every five trips", then I think it all falls into line with your other metrics. No biggie, overall I don't disagree with most of the metrics, but consigning yourself to losing 80% of your tourney semifinal games doesn't feel "respectable" to me.