Herbst's responsibility in sports mess?

[BlueandOG]

I have two good friends, both bleed National Flag Blue and White, at each other's throats over Herbst.

One says she is a disaster, responsible for bringing a program with a football team in the Fiesta Bowl and two national champions in hoops to a crappy conference and athletic irrelevance. She was outmaneuvered by better leaders and is unqualified to get us out of this mess. Fire her.

The other says Herbst is a fine leader, steady hand at the helm while UCONN navigates chaotic seas. She hired AD Dave, who is making moves to improve our programs despite the AAC, which he inherited. Women's hoops, field hockey, baseball, and hockey are all doing well and the academic reputation continues to soar. Extend her contract.

What do you think?

 

[Fishy]

Given that we’re actually a university and not a pro sports team, I would tend to side with friend number two.

 

[fatlucy]

She inherited a total wreck of an athletic program and it takes time to rectify. All she can do is hire the best AD she can, give them support and direction, and fund the programs appropriately. She has a lot on her plate and cant be expected to be an expert in all things.

More importantly she's launched UCONN into national prominence academically. I know myself and many others with high achieving kids who are thrilled to have UCONN as our state school option.

That said, I have heard she's heavy handed and closed to outside interference but I don't blame her. You cant run an organization successfully if you have to report every Tom, Dick, and Harriot who have opinions. Let alone the BS legislature who cant manage their own issues and have made the State a laughing stock dumpster fire. If that counts as politics, let me know and I'll edit the post.

 

[Stainmaster]

The athletics arm of the university has not been stewarded well, but...there are many other aspects of running an institution.

 

[uconngb]

Given that we’re actually a university and not a pro sports team, I would tend to side with friend number two.

I'm an alum and crazy about UConn sports and all......but the President of the University has many responsibilities other than the performance of the men's basketball team. Could we possibly institute some type of IQ test to gain entry to the Boneyard? It really has gotten out of control......

 

[upstater]

She didn't inherit a wreck of a sports program.

UConn had reached heights no one here expected when she came on board.

Fiesta Bowl and a national championship.

UConn got passed over because a confederate flag never flew over campus and BC hated the school.

Now, if you want to blame Warde Manuel, go ahead.

 

[polycom]

Your first friend is @whaler11

 

[CL82]

She didn't inherit a wreck of a sports program.

UConn had reached heights no one here expected when she came on board.

Fiesta Bowl and a national championship.

UConn got passed over because a confederate flag never flew over campus and BC hated the school.

Now, if you want to blame Warde Manuel, go ahead.

I blame Warde.

The Pina Colada Song (UConn version)

I am tired of our conference, I mean it does kind of suck.
But I don't see a way out, without a whole lotta luck.
How did we get here, when were really hot?
I thought back on how Louisville got the last P5 spot:

Warde had Pina Coladas, while watching girl's basketball.
He did not do any lobbying which is what caused us to fall.
If you like being in a real conference, with teams that you've known for years,
Don't trust the fan of the donuts or you'll end up in tears.

Now I don't blame Suzy, I know it sounds kind of mean,
But I expect that a "rock star" would have known the routine.
Nothing is given, to those who sit back and wait.
And when you think where the blame lies, it's not up for debate...

Warde had Pina Coladas, while watching girl's basketball.
He should have been working, but he was dropping the ball.
So now we're stuck playing Tulsa and likely will be for years.
We trusted the fan of the donuts and we ended in tears.

 

[Whtdmd]

Herbst is doing a good job. She is overseeing the expansion of Biotech at Farmington, CT technology center at Storrs and doubling the number of STEM graduates. We r also getting a record number of international students from Asia. This will let us mitigate some of the financial distress that is sure to come when the state cuts the UCONN budget. UCONN can actually do what U of Illinois is doing now, that is to significant increase the percent of the international enrollment to cover up the budget. Not sure it need to be done yet

 

[8893]

I don't know the inner workings of the administration, but I cannot recall a time when I was aware of any of our presidents playing a major role in the functioning of our Athletic Department. That's what the Athletic Director is for. By my observation our Athletic Department was served well, and with vision and foresight, by John Toner and Lew Perkins; and then it languished under Jeff Hathaway, whom I still hold more responsible than anyone else for the conference predicament we are in today. Herbst came in and promptly jettisoned Hathaway, which was absolutely the right move. As for hiring Manuel, I can't say I agree with her "rock star" assessment of the quality of that hire, or that he did anything positive of which I am aware. The jury is still out on Benedict. How Edsall pans out and how the transition from Ollie to whomever is next goes will define his legacy, and she should be responsible because he was her hire.

 

[Da_Aisijimo_Gou]

Your first friend is @whaler11

Wait, whaler has a friend?

 

[CL82]

I don't know the inner workings of the administration, but I cannot recall a time when I was aware of any of our presidents playing a major role in the functioning of our Athletic Department. That's what the Athletic Director is for. By my observation our Athletic Department was served well, and with vision and foresight, by John Toner and Lew Perkins; and then it languished under Jeff Hathaway, whom I still hold more responsible than anyone else for the conference predicament we are in today. Herbst came in and promptly jettisoned Hathaway, which was absolutely the right move. As for hiring Manuel, I can't say I agree with her "rock star" assessment of the quality of that hire, or that he did anything positive of which I am aware. The jury is still out on Benedict. How Edsall pans out and how the transition from Ollie to whomever is next goes will define his legacy, and she should be responsible because he was her hire.

The Task Force report was very critical of John Toner and pretty specific about those criticisms, IIRC. That said on Toner's watch we: 1) joined the Big East (barely JT vacillated on it until the last moment), 2) hired Geno and 3) hired Jim Calhoun. Those are some pretty impressive wins regardless of the rest of tenure.

I guess I should add Toner was a very well respected NCAA president while he was the AD at UConn. I'll also add that my very limited interaction with him, he was a great guy.

 

[polycom]

Herbst is doing a good job. She is overseeing the expansion of Biotech at Farmington, CT technology center at Storrs and doubling the number of STEM graduates. We r also getting a record number of international students from Asia. This will let us mitigate some of the financial distress that is sure to come when the state cuts the UCONN budget. UCONN can actually do what U of Illinois is doing now, that is to significant increase the percent of the international enrollment to cover up the budget. Not sure it need to be done yet

What would change the culture of the school in the name of dollars...? I get we are cash-strapped but are we sure this is a good idea long term.

 

[8893]

The Task Force report was very critical of John Toner and pretty specific about those criticisms, IIRC. That said on Toner's watch we: 1) joined the Big East (barely JT vacillated on it until the last moment), 2) hired Geno and 3) hired Jim Calhoun. Those are some pretty impressive wins regardless of the rest of tenure.

I guess I should add Toner was a very well respected NCAA president while he was the AD at UConn. I'll also add that my very limited interaction with him, he was a great guy.

Now that you mention it I do recall some pointed criticism of Toner; like you, however, I think my takeaway was that the good far outweighed the bad, especially given the three items to which you refer. We also did very well in soccer under his reign. And I had the same experience as you in limited interactions with him. Laconic, but very good guy.

 

[Sonova]

I don't know the inner workings of the administration, but I cannot recall a time when I was aware of any of our presidents playing a major role in the functioning of our Athletic Department. That's what the Athletic Director is for. By my observation our Athletic Department was served well, and with vision and foresight, by John Toner and Lew Perkins; and then it languished under Jeff Hathaway, whom I still hold more responsible than anyone else for the conference predicament we are in today. Herbst came in and promptly jettisoned Hathaway, which was absolutely the right move. As for hiring Manuel, I can't say I agree with her "rock star" assessment of the quality of that hire, or that he did anything positive of which I am aware. The jury is still out on Benedict. How Edsall pans out and how the transition from Ollie to whomever is next goes will define his legacy, and she should be responsible because he was her hire.

Well said. Jeff Hathaway and the two presidents he worked under (Phil “ Make mine a double” Austin and Mike Hogan) are more responsible for UConn being left out of the P5 than anyone else. By far. Hogan’s career blew up famously when in just a short period of time, he alienated the faculty at both UConn and Illinois, overspent on the budget for his own gain and was shown the door(s). At UConn, he basically didn’t care about athletics and let Hathaway blindly and self-servingly run the ship. Austin had personal issues that left him generally incapacitated to effectively run the University. Hathaway’s shortcomings have been well documented but the three of those guys combined were completely asleep (or in one case passed out) at the wheel when conference re-alignment deals were being cut.

 

[businesslawyer]

Given that we’re actually a university and not a pro sports team, I would tend to side with friend number two.

LMAO. "and the academic reputation continues to soar" is not a throwaway line when evaluating a university President. That is their job. Sports are a means to help the university get there.

 

[AZHuskiePop]

If athletic success raised the profile of the school ,and that in turn attracted better students ,then the president is delusional if she doesn’ understand what goes up can also go the other way. It certainly made getting money easier.
I don’t think she should micro manage but she has to insure that not only the best people are place but doing their job.

 

[Whtdmd]

What would change the culture of the school in the name of dollars...? I get we are cash-strapped but are we sure this is a good idea long term.

There is a big term issue with demographics in terms of CT high school graduates. The number is going down by perhaps 20%. This cannot be made up by more graduates are going to College or more older students enrolling. The older students are mostly for the non-storrs campus. The CCSU system, regional campus n the community colleges are losing students. The consolidation and closures are already taking place. We are also lowering tuition for MA and NY students. This will not work out in the long runs since CT is losing money on those students. Storrs has been increasing the enrollment of foreign (mostly Chinese) students. The number is still minute c/w some colleges like U-Ill. I think if UCONN is to remain the premier public university in NE. The answer will have to be yes.

 

[whaler11]

Wait, whaler has a friend?

Come talk to me when you can get your like to post ratio over 0.5 .

 

[Ha Who]

I'm an alum and crazy about UConn sports and all.but the President of the University has many responsibilities other than the performance of the men's basketball team. Could we possibly institute some type of IQ test to gain entry to the Boneyard? It really has gotten out of control.

Another place to institute in IQ test would be the Hartford Courant’s Facebook page. The comments written in response to Beth Bye’s comments are ridiculous

 

[whaler11]

Let’s put it this way.

People put in place prior to Herbst:
Geno, Stevens, Penders - let’s call them your winners

People put into place after Herbst:
Diaco, Benedict, Ollie, Manuel - let’s call them your losers

Connecticut is one of a handful of states investing in higher ed - so moving up rankings should be a given.

I’ll defer to others on other pieces of her job because I don’t care enough about them to have an informed opinion.

From an athletic department standpoint she has been a total disaster. Zero accountability. Zero ROI on what they spend. Zero momentum for the future.

An absolute and total debacle for the athletic department.

 

[whaler11]

Glad to hear Connecticut taxpayers are propping up a university that wants to attract more students from China.

That sounds like an awesome plan to get an ROI for the state on our investment!

 

[gtcam]

Austin, Hogan, Hathaway and Warde - pick your poison
Herbst - to me the jury is still out. Hearing her speak numerous times on the circuit she is sometimes a polarizing figure when she allows politics interfere with her position.
I personally feel she should let the hiring of athletic positions rest with the AD and his/her staff. This hire, above all, will be the most important of his tenure and I hope he takes his time and does his homework and not jump at the first Dan that crosses his path. Herbst needs to find some $ - that's very important because the state isn't anteing anything - would rather waste it on Hartford and it's self inflicted mess

 

[DOZE860]

Glad to hear Connecticut taxpayers are propping up a university that wants to attract more students from China.

That sounds like an awesome plan to get an ROI for the state on our investment!

For what its worth, those students that they are attracting from China have very, very, wealthy parents, that like to throw money around...

 

[noeynox]

Let’s put it this way.

People put in place prior to Herbst:
Geno, Stevens, Penders - let’s call them your winners

People put into place after Herbst:
Diaco, Benedict, Ollie, Manuel - let’s call them your losers

Connecticut is one of a handful of states investing in higher ed - so moving up rankings should be a given.

I’ll defer to others on other pieces of her job because I don’t care enough about them to have an informed opinion.

From an athletic department standpoint she has been a total disaster. Zero accountability. Zero ROI on what they spend. Zero momentum for the future.

An absolute and total debacle for the athletic department.

She may be THE GREATEST at running the school. On her watch athletics have crashed and burned some if us have been questioning where this was headed for a few years.

It left a real impression on me when she made a disparaging remark about sending kids to Ames, Iowa. Instead now we send them Tulsa, Oklahoma, New Orleans, etc. I never felt she understood the stakes well enough to be pro active early on. The email from acting AD Paul Pendergast was another tell.

Nothing may have changed our current fate, but evidence points to being caught totally flat footed when the carousel started turning.