. . . And Bob Burton weighs in!

[Gurleyman]

It's purely about being political. You need to find a way to make Burton feel like he's part of the process and content that his voice is being heard, even if it really isn't.

Not the easiest thing in the world to do, of course, but that's why an AD gets paid a lot of money. There are egos to stroke inside your building and outside it. If a pissing war ends up in the media and lawsuits are threatened, you're doing it wrong.

 

[amory]

Haha that was my first text to my friend after I heard about the firing..."You know, Burton was right all along."

 

[noeynox]

The man was right. P and UCONN were a poor fit.

 

[ZooCougar]

At the risk of getting the dreaded "Debbie Downer" tag. Burton sounds like the type of out of control booster that has gotten programs in trouble over the years. He seems to be undercutting WM as he speaks. He wants to hire someone to promote us to other schools and build relations with them so we can get into a better conference? Isn't that a prime function of the AD? I can just hear the phone call now. "Hello, is Mr. (fill in B1G school AD) in the office today? I'm the flack hired by Mr. Burton to get UConn into your conference and would like to speak with him or maybe take him to lunch so we can discuss it." B1G secretary--- " Is this call a Prank?"

Most big schools have a dozen Burtons. They have to be managed.

 

[coachcap]

I'd like to know: Now that he's back, when will he be donating the $$$ for the 15K RENT expansion? Or, at least enough to make the temp. seats used at the Michigan game permanent?

 

[ctchamps]

How can anyone get excited about a guy wearing an orange tie!

 

[brasssbonanzaa]

Is he arrogant? Yes. Is he right? Yes. Should Warde give him final input on the decision? No. Should Warde have a direct conversation with him on his thoughts for the hire, trade suggestions, the program in general, and keep him abreast of the progress? Yes.

 

[Danzz]

If Burton knows more about football than our AD we are in huge trouble. The way to handle big donors is to keep them informed and make your decisions seem like it was their idea.
A zillion years ago I remember cartoonist Al Kapp (Li'l Abner) on the Johnny Carson Show. He said something interesting : " You know Johnny because you and I are famous, people will listen to us on subjects we know nothing about."

 

[huskysupporter]

Why doesn't UCONN. Hire Bob Burton as it's AD then? I mean he is the biggest donor, so that should give him the right to call the shots. Makes sense.

 

[Husky25]

Is he arrogant? Yes. Is he right? Yes. Should Warde give him final input on the decision? No. Should Warde have a direct conversation with him on his thoughts for the hire, trade suggestions, the program in general, and keep him abreast of the progress? Yes.

Hathaway was a lame duck in January 2011. He knew it, Philip Austin knew it, the yet to be named perm president knew it and the fans knew it. It was not going to affect his UConn fate and was safe enough to not have a drastic affect on his future. So why get input?

Conversely, this is the highest profile hire of the three so far for Manuel and it will most likely define his entire career going forward. I am confident he will take the prudent course.

 

[warbler1055]

"I knew what I knew. And I know what I know," said Burton, who has given more than $7 million to UConn overall. He was right about PP and JH was wrong!!! And this: Now that Pasqualoni is out of the picture, Burton said he would donate money to UConn to hire a full-time person to promote the school's athletic programs to marquee conferences.
"That person should be out there selling the university and should be knowing every (athletic director)," Burton said. "UConn has a lot of opportunity here."

 

[J187Money]

The interesting thing here is that if Burton had forced Hathaway to hire Addazio (or whoever) and he flamed out, the BY would be crowing over how stupid could an AD be for allowing a donor to dictate who the coach is?

He happened to have been right. He also had a personal grudge (which had little to do with Ps coaching ability). Of course he should be "heard"...but this is on Warde.

 

[IMind]

If Burton knows more about football than our AD we are in huge trouble. The way to handle big donors is to keep them informed and make your decisions seem like it was their idea.
A zillion years ago I remember cartoonist Al Kapp (Li'l Abner) on the Johnny Carson Show. He said something interesting : " You know Johnny because you and I are famous, people will listen to us on subjects we know nothing about."

I don't doubt for a second that Burton knew more about football than are former AD.

 

[Husky25]

The interesting thing here is that if Burton had forced Hathaway to hire Addazio (or whoever) and he flamed out, the BY would be crowing over how stupid could an AD be for allowing a donor to dictate who the coach is?

He happened to have been right. He also had a personal grudge (which had little to do with Ps coaching ability). Of course he should be "heard"...but this is on Warde.

Mr. Burton was not the only one who didn't like the hire. My recollection was that every UConn fan and their brother was expecting Mark Whipple and then Pasqualoni came out of left field. There was a selection committee, an outside consultant, and other power players in the know. It seemed that Hathaway ignored all of them. "Coach" Pasqualoni wasn't mentioned until the day he was hired.

He was the safe hire. Hathaway passed the buck in a major way and preempted the hurt on his employer that would eventually befall him 6 months later. It was an action of a proactive, but vindictive (remember him taking only $1 salary as the chair of the NCAA selection committee and Big East Consultant so that UConn would have to pay his buyout?), coward...if that is even possible.

 

[J187Money]

Mr. Burton was not the only one who didn't like the hire. My recollection was that every UConn fan and their brother was expecting Mark Whipple and then Pasqualoni came out of left field. There was a selection committee, an outside consultant, and other power players in the know. It seemed that Hathaway ignored all of them. "Coach" Pasqualoni wasn't mentioned until the day he was hired.

He was the safe hire. Hathaway passed the buck in a major way and preempted the hurt on his employer that would eventually befall him 6 months later. It was an action of a proactive, but vindictive (remember him taking only $1 salary as the chair of the NCAA selection committee and Big East Consultant so that UConn would have to pay his buyout?), coward...if that is even possible.

I'm not debating that. I'm just pointing out that everyone on the BY that thinks that Burton should get a vote, would be claiming the exact opposite if Burton is instrumental in picking the wrong guy.

 

[Husky25]

I'm not debating that. I'm just pointing out that everyone on the BY that thinks that Burton should get a vote, would be claiming the exact opposite if Burton is instrumental in picking the wrong guy.

I don't think he should get a vote per se, but he should be kept in the loop. College sports is as much a business as it is in the pros and Mr. Burton is (was) the biggest single fund raiser for football and potentially the Athletic Department as a whole. This was Hathaway's only significant hire (Penders doesn't count. He was more or less the hand picked successor and assistant coach on a non-revenue generating team. It is what it is.) and he blew it. Along with the poor choice he also managed to alienate yet another major fundraiser for the school, Paul Pendergast among them.

I am ecstatic that the book on the Jeff Hathaway era is now completely closed and I think Mr. Manuel will do the prudent thing going forward by keeping all of his options open.

 

[Jax Husky]

Why should an athletic director take a donors advice on a head coach? I have zero confidence in an AD who would let the donor give the thumbs up or down to a coach.

If Susan Herbst has any input, then Burton should. I'll guarantee you he knows more about football than she does (and others on the Board that approves the contract)

 

[Excalibur]

I don't know if that is realistic. I'm sure there is probably something to that widely held belief but somehow I think that was just one of the things he didn't like. As Cuse football started falling apart, I'm sure Burton was watching very closely.

CTO is 100% correct. It was entirely a personal vendetta. The fact that he was right is beside the point.

 

[Husky25]

If Susan Herbst has any input, then Burton should. I'll guarantee you he knows more about football then she does (and probably others on the Board that approves the contract)

I think President Herbst's input is purely a Yes/No response to Mr. Manuel's pros/cons list for his finalists. A sounding board if you will, similar to how his decision was explained in making the severance move in the first place. In other words, I don't think she makes the final decision as much as approves Mr. Manuel's sales job. I would think that President Herbst delegates this process 100% to Mr. Manuel.

 

[EricLA]

At least Manuel had the smarts to tell him:

He said he was tipped off about the change by Athletic Director Warde Manuel, who came to UConn from the University of Buffalo in February 2012, a year after Pasqualoni's hiring.

It's a fine line to walk. You have a booster who has given millions of $ to the university football program. I have no doubt there are boosters all over the country who do the same thing so their schools, especially at places like ND and PSU. I think communication is key. Listening is great. But the AD needs to do what is in the best interest of the University of Connecticut, not what a booster, no matter how wealthy, says he wants.

 

[Husky25]

It's a fine line to walk. You have a booster who has given millions of $ to the university football program. I have no doubt there are boosters all over the country who do the same thing so their schools, especially at places like ND and PSU. I think communication is key. Listening is great. But the AD needs to do what is in the best interest of the University of Connecticut, not what a booster, no matter how wealthy, says he wants.

As a private school, ND is a different animal. I think Burton was merely looking for the common courtesy to be heard and of an explanation. As I said, I recall everyone and their brother thinking Whipple would be the guy. Why the 180 degrees?

 

[warbler1055]

It's a fine line to walk. You have a booster who has given millions of $ to the university football program. I have no doubt there are boosters all over the country who do the same thing so their schools, especially at places like ND and PSU. I think communication is key. Listening is great. But the AD needs to do what is in the best interest of the University of Connecticut, not what a booster, no matter how wealthy, says he wants.

Some time the interests of UConn and R. Burton do coincide as they are in this case. It's what is called a Win-Win. WM and SH were right in keeping the communication line open. Burton has already indicated that he will fund a UConn promoter.

 

[EricLA]

As a private school, ND is a different animal. I think Burton was merely looking for the common courtesy to be heard and of an explanation. As I said, I recall everyone and their brother thinking Whipple would be the guy. Why the 180 degrees?

Maybe ND was a bad example. My bad. OSU? UCLA? Oregon? Any of the SEC schools?

 

[Husky25]

Maybe ND was a bad example. OSU? UCLA? Any of the SEC schools?

Oh, I agreed with your post, but ND, BC, and even USC (I think) are private schools and rely on big $$ donors much more than a public school does because they also fund the academic side and research. They have to appease the fan base to a further extent.

 

[uconnell]

CTO is 100% correct. It was entirely a personal vendetta. The fact that he was right is beside the point.

I don't disagree that there is(was) a grudge held by Burton but I think that Cuse's record at the time also factored into it.