Benedict has to address this mess

[Waquoit]

I wouldn't say "rock star", but if you think he did a bad job, you're bitter and nuts. He did a very good job here. That is beyond question based on the judgement of dozens of folks who are qualified to know.

But, you know, some folks on a message board.

He waited too long to sack P then replaced him with Diaco. He killed FB. Checkmate

 

[Sea Goat]

OK - I know this plea has been dormant for a couple of weeks - BL picked up on this a little while back also with a thread. But, we have to keep a steady drum beat going to let Benedict know that time has not healed our collective wounds endured during this past horrific football season. We have to show Benedict that we are still waiting for comment about his expectations of BD next year or an outright termination of him as coach. If not, we'll be lulled into common complacency and face the same crap next year.

 

[freescooter]

UConn was very very late to the endowment game. And that more than anything is why it is so small. Up until maybe 1990s it simply wasn't a priority and there wasn't a vehicle to really deal with it. It was overseen by the state treasurer. Part of the first UConn 2000 program involved creation of the UConn Foundation as a vehicle for fund fading and growth of the university's endowment. It was way behind our peers, many other NE public schools and many other even much smaller private colleges and universities. It was partly driven by a view that it was unnecessary for a public university and partly by the fear that if it had "independent" funding UConn might become too powerful/independent. I can't speak to the recent performance but that's why it is pretty modest compared with others.

 

[politics]

Next time someone bumps into DB, might be worth asking him exactly what the incentive to buy season tickets for 2017 is. Nearly three weeks of utter silence from Diaco's bosses isn't exactly confidence-inducing.

 

[UConnNick]

UConn was very very late to the endowment game. And that more than anything is why it is so small. Up until maybe 1990s it simply wasn't a priority and there wasn't a vehicle to really deal with it. It was overseen by the state treasurer. Part of the first UConn 2000 program involved creation of the UConn Foundation as a vehicle for fund fading and growth of the university's endowment. It was way behind our peers, many other NE public schools and many other even much smaller private colleges and universities. It was partly driven by a view that it was unnecessary for a public university and partly by the fear that if it had "independent" funding UConn might become too powerful/independent. I can't speak to the recent performance but that's why it is pretty modest compared with others.

I'm pretty sure the UConn Foundation dates back to the 1970's, although your point regarding the effectiveness of its fund raising efforts over the many years since is well taken. I graduated in the 1970's and don't recall much in the way of fund raising efforts from the foundation until relatively recently, past 10-15 years. I would think they have to rely primarily on alumni voluntarily furnishing them with contact info, even since the advent of the internet. That combined with the fact that the vast majority of alumni will never contribute a dime makes it tough. It would be interesting to know what percentage of the 230,000 alumni they have contact info for.

I'm sure all public universities face the same problem. A significant portion of your alumni base at such schools figure the state supports the school through taxes. They ask themselves why should they contribute anything, especially if they still live in CT and feel like their taxes are already being used to fund the university.

 

[brasssbonanzaa]

Next time someone bumps into DB, might be worth asking him exactly what the incentive to buy season tickets for 2017 is. Nearly three weeks of utter silence from Diaco's bosses isn't exactly confidence-inducing.

What would you have liked to hear from Benedict over the last three weeks that wasn't "Diaco is fired."

 

[Waquoit]

What would you have liked to hear from Benedict over the last three weeks that wasn't "Diaco is fired."

"I resign because I suck"

 

[brasssbonanzaa]

"I resign because I suck"

He should resign because the administration who gave Diaco an extension won't let him buy it out? Makes sense.

 

[Waquoit]

He should resign because the administration who gave Diaco an extension won't let him buy it out? Makes sense.

If by some miracle Diaco had a good year, would DB be taking victory laps? Or would he be saying he had nothing to do with it?

 

[brasssbonanzaa]

If by some miracle Diaco had a good year, would DB be taking victory laps? Or would he be saying he had nothing to do with it?

He probably wouldn't be saying anything at all related to the extension. He'd likely be saying he was happy the football program had a good season and was continuing to head in the right direction. He'd also probably be fending off a lot of rumors about Diaco taking a P5 job somewhere as well.

 

[SAMCRO]

That silence DB is hearing in the distance is 'apathy'. Apathy is a dangerous thing. Anger, sadness, frustration, despair, embarrassment, etc... are all emotions that can be addressed and dealt with. You can come back form those, and quickly. Once apathy takes root, the desire to change/improve or give a flying fornication is no longer present. I'm guessing this board and majority of the fan base are still in the anger/frustration stage. DB better recognize it is a short putt from anger to apathy, and if things are not addressed quickly there will be more putts being made than he realizes.

With that, I am guessing that HCBD is gone come January when the buyout goes down. That is the only rationale explanation for why we have not heard a peep about OC candidates or interviews.

 

[CL82]

Really, can we wait until Jan. 2nd before becoming convinced that Diaco isn't going to be fired? Maybe even the the 3rd?

 

[uconnell]

I'm thinking BD is not gone. Benedict will find a more than competent OC ( hopefully) maybe from Auburn or some of the schools Auburn played. Can't understand why he lets BD continue to recruit if he is not going to be here. That's all I got.

 

[rich1122]

I'm thinking BD is not gone. Benedict will find a more than competent OC ( hopefully) maybe from Auburn or some of the schools Auburn played. Can't understand why he lets BD continue to recruit if he is not going to be here. That's all I got.

While our D was on the field way too much, Tulane and East Carolina just walked all over us. No major injuries to speak of. I'm thinking he's gone. He is a Defensive guy and we played the Sieve Defense. I'm actually more embarrassed by the regression of the Defense than the usual incompetence of the Offense. Did we get more than 10 TO's this entire year?

 

[politics]

What would you have liked to hear from Benedict over the last three weeks that wasn't "Diaco is fired."

Part of his job as AD, which he seems to understand about as well as Jeff Hathaway did, is selling tickets. You guys are defending the fact because he can't give one good reason to buy them he should stay underground? Got it.

 

[shizzle787]

I'm thinking Diaco is gone Jan. 2 after his buyout drops considerably. PJ Fleck and WMU play Wisconsin on that date. Fleck, it is rumored, isn't quite ready for power football and doesn't want to go to a bad situation with little growth potential (Purdue). UConn is a good marriage for him.

 

[brasssbonanzaa]

Part of his job as AD, which he seems to understand about as well as Jeff Hathaway did, is selling tickets. You guys are defending the fact because he can't give one good reason to buy them he should stay underground? Got it.

First, no football tickets are or will be sold between now and January 1, if indeed they are waiting to buy him out. Second, I agree that selling tickets, specifically season tickets, is very important for the program. That said, once again, if he is being told he cannot buy out the contract and Diaco is staying, what would you like him to say that will convince anyone to buy tickets for next fall? Would you like him to give Diaco a vote of confidence? That'll really make everyone trust his judgment. Would you like him to come out and say Diaco is a complete tool bag, a terrible coach, and we're only keeping him because we can't afford to fire him? That would surely rile up everyone here and we'd love DB short term, but it would also more or less preclude any coach worth his mettle from ever taking a job here since that's entirely unprecedented in college and professional sports.

I suspect we'll hear something from him after the new year, either that Diaco is gone or that he's staying. Before then, I wouldn't expect anything and silence for this long is a very indirect but loud way of piling pressure on Diaco. IMO being silent has been the correct path. Unless he was allowed to buyout Diaco the day after the Tulane game, nothing good could have come out of a public statement. Either he says Diaco is back and pisses off everyone, makes some kind of non-statement statement that gives no support or disapproval and again pisses everyone off, or comes out and says Diaco is back because we can't afford to fire him and poisons the well for every future coaching hire, and thus pisses everyone off.

 

[brasssbonanzaa]

I'm thinking Diaco is gone Jan. 2 after his buyout drops considerably. PJ Fleck and WMU play Wisconsin on that date. Fleck, it is rumored, isn't quite ready for power football and doesn't want to go to a bad situation with little growth potential (Purdue). UConn is a good marriage for him.

I agree on the possibility of a post-NY buyout since a few more candidates won't be tied to their seasons anymore, namely Moorhead. That said, I don't see Fleck coming. He's made it clear he wants a P5 job - he flatly turned down Cincinnati after having spent virtually his entire playing and coaching career in the Midwest. I think he's waiting for more lucrative P5 jobs to open up next year. Whether that's the right or wrong move for him, who knows, but that's what I think he's doing.

 

[huskymedic]

I agree on the possibility of a post-NY buyout since a few more candidates won't be tied to their seasons anymore, namely Moorhead.

They are mainstream media reports that despite inquires, JM has said he is staying @ PSU for 2017. Anything can happen but all that I have read is the likelihood of JM moving is slim.

 

[brasssbonanzaa]

They are mainstream media reports that despite inquires, JM has said he is staying @ PSU for 2017. Anything can happen but all that I have read is the likelihood of JM moving is slim.

Yeah I saw that Forde report about it. Very well could be true and he's not moving. At some level, there's an argument to be made for keeping Diaco another year simply because there aren't many good replacement candidates, especially if Moorhead wants to stay at PSU another year.

It could also be the case that UConn hasn't contacted Moorhead because they've yet to buyout BD and there may be some legalese involved in that. If UConn is actively contacting other coaches about the job while they're waiting on the clock to drop BD's buyout, that opens the door for Diaco to sue UConn to get his full $5M buyout, arguing he was effectively fired before 1/1/17 since they were contacting potential candidates. I'm not a lawyer, but the legal standard there seems to be in BD's favor if they're in touch with candidates while waiting to fire him and pay him less.

 

[politics]

First, no football tickets are or will be sold between now and January 1, if indeed they are waiting to buy him out. Second, I agree that selling tickets, specifically season tickets, is very important for the program. That said, once again, if he is being told he cannot buy out the contract and Diaco is staying, what would you like him to say that will convince anyone to buy tickets for next fall? Would you like him to give Diaco a vote of confidence? That'll really make everyone trust his judgment. Would you like him to come out and say Diaco is a complete tool bag, a terrible coach, and we're only keeping him because we can't afford to fire him? That would surely rile up everyone here and we'd love DB short term, but it would also more or less preclude any coach worth his mettle from ever taking a job here since that's entirely unprecedented in college and professional sports.

I suspect we'll hear something from him after the new year, either that Diaco is gone or that he's staying. Before then, I wouldn't expect anything and silence for this long is a very indirect but loud way of piling pressure on Diaco. IMO being silent has been the correct path. Unless he was allowed to buyout Diaco the day after the Tulane game, nothing good could have come out of a public statement. Either he says Diaco is back and pisses off everyone, makes some kind of non-statement statement that gives no support or disapproval and again pisses everyone off, or comes out and says Diaco is back because we can't afford to fire him and poisons the well for every future coaching hire, and thus pisses everyone off.

You can keep defending him all you want but there isn't one Power 5 football program in the country where the AD and president could get away with three weeks of silence after a season like that, especially when your first move was to give the guy a buyout the school was in no shape to pay. Not one. (And enough of this "Warde negotiated it" crap. His signature is not on the contract) Part of the reason the guy makes $500K is to be able to finesse situations like this, even if all you can say is a word salad of nothing. Covering your ears, mouth and eyes and humming loudly like Sheldon Cooper and wishing everyone would go away is the exact wrong thing to do.

The way this issue is being handled is very telling. Telling in the way that the P5 thing is a pipe dream with the current management team. That includes the BOT, Herbst and Benedict.

EDIT: and another thing. UConn needs the kind of salesman football coach who is selling season tickets 12 months a year, especially in December (give the gift of football).

 

[zls44]

EDIT: and another thing. UConn needs the kind of salesman football coach who is selling season tickets 12 months a year, especially in December (give the gift of football).

Bob Diaco was literally ordering people to get season tickets at his opening press conference in 2013.

 

[ktuck911]

This whole BD not being here come 1/1/17 kinda resembles the Presidential election. I don't think most folks thought Trump would win. Maybe history repeats itself.

 

[shizzle787]

This whole BD not being here come 1/1/17 kinda resembles the Presidential election. I don't think most folks thought Trump would win. Maybe history repeats itself.

If that's the case, I think I should bet on Diaco leaving. I have a pretty good track record in that department.

 

[politics]

Bob Diaco was literally ordering people to get season tickets at his opening press conference in 2013.

Would seem the momentum from that campaign has petered out a bit.