Interview w/ AD David Benedict

[huskymedic]

 

[ShakyTheMohel]

Wow….10 years!

 

[storrsroars]

So much winning.

 

[huskymedic]

Meant to post this earlier in the week but got sidetracked… decent listen to hear AD David Benedict’s perspectives.



-> UConn Director of Athletics David Benedict sits down with College.town’s Daniel Gillman from the 2026 NCAA Convention. Benedict weighs in on how the calendar could impact programs whose coaches could be courted away by the NBA, the James Nnaji situation and its trickle effect, as well as the financial impacts of the Huskies being an independent in football.

00:00 - Introduction
00:28 - You were named AD of the Year. What did that mean to you in terms of growth over the last ten years?
01:49 - What advice would you give to yourself in 2016 in terms of leading a school?
03:45 - What in your day to day changed when payments went from third party to in-house?
06:02 - Are there still pockets that feel out of your control with NIL and eligibility?
07:55 - What’s your reaction to some of the changes to the calendar?
12:05 - What’s your take on an athlete being able to get drafted, not get a contract, play in the G-league and come back to play NCAA basketball?
16:11 - Could this impact other sports?
18:21 - Is there a conversation around the Huskies leaving the independent side of football?

 

[huskymedic]

Shortcut <<

 

[UCFBfan]

No shot we survive in this wilderness known as Independence without Dave. No way MBB is what it is today without his work either. We have been blessed with his hiring and can only pray he stays.

 

[huskymedic]

 

[huskymedic]

 

[psilotic]

In the main, I think DB has done about as well as anyone could have under the non-power conference circumstances. Don't think we would want him bribing ACC presidents with hookers and cocaine like Tom Jurich (JK). Moving UConn back into the Big East to escape the desultory AAC was the right move. The UConn brand is far more nationally relevant than those who beat the sheriff out of the old Big East. The home football slate this coming season is very attractive and Candle seems poised to continue Mora's momentum, And, unlike Maryland, Rutgers and who knows who else he's managed NOT to lose $500M in the last 10 years.
However, let's not forget the Ollie/Diaco contract extension/buyout disasters, which probably lowers his grade to an A- or B+. Trying to make a big splash as the new guy by throwing around other people's money backfired. Lesson learned?
I'd be curious if he threw his name in for the Syracuse AD job that went to Candle's old Toledo boss. His stock has to be high. But maybe he wants to be the man who ushers UConn into P-4 (or P-3) land at which point he's worth twice as much as the $2.4M/year Warde "have I been fired yet?" Manuel is making.

 

[UConn Dan]

In the main, I think DB has done about as well as anyone could have under the non-power conference circumstances. Don't think we would want him bribing ACC presidents with hookers and cocaine like Tom Jurich (JK). Moving UConn back into the Big East to escape the desultory AAC was the right move. The UConn brand is far more nationally relevant than those who beat the sheriff out of the old Big East. The home football slate this coming season is very attractive and Candle seems poised to continue Mora's momentum, And, unlike Maryland, Rutgers and who knows who else he's managed NOT to lose $500M in the last 10 years.
However, let's not forget the Ollie/Diaco contract extension/buyout disasters, which probably lowers his grade to an A- or B+. Trying to make a big splash as the new guy by throwing around other people's money backfired. Lesson learned?
I'd be curious if he threw his name in for the Syracuse AD job that went to Candle's old Toledo boss. His stock has to be high. But maybe he wants to be the man who ushers UConn into P-4 (or P-3) land at which point he's worth twice as much as the $2.4M/year Warde "have I been fired yet?" Manuel is making.

Agree with most of this. I believe it was Warde Manuel that extended Diaco after the one bowl season. You can pin Randy 2.0 on DB, but at the time we were cash strapped and I think most of us thought maybe RE could rebuild it since he did it before.

Ollie firing and buyout was really poorly mismanaged. That's my biggest gripe.

But at the end of the day, we are much better off than we were 10 years ago. That's a good thing. Now, get us into a P4 conference, DB!

 

[Purple Stein]

And, unlike Maryland, Rutgers and who knows who else he's managed NOT to lose $500M in the last 10 years.

Not only that, but, with that savings, we have just as good a chance at making the CFP every year as Maryland and Rutgers.

 

[huskymedic]

However, let's not forget the Ollie/Diaco contract extension/buyout disasters, which probably lowers his grade to an A- or B+. Trying to make a big splash as the new guy by throwing around other people's money backfired. Lesson learned?

From the linked Courant article above:

Coaching carousel​

Benedict says despite what happened before his arrival, he “owns” the extensions for Ollie and Diaco that were to cost UConn about $15 million after they were fired.

After back-to-back losing seasons, Benedict fired Ollie citing “just cause” because the school had alleged NCAA violations. After several years of complicated and bitter litigation, an arbitrator awarded Ollie all $11.3 million he was owed, and more for his legal fees.

“The way the whole thing played out with the change with Kevin, I don’t know you could expect that kind of situation to be nonemotional,” Benedict said. “When you add emotion to things, and you add a lot of money, you’re bound to have challenges. Yeah, I think the whole situation was very unfortunate. Kevin’s a part of this family, he’s a part of he history here, I’m sure at some point in time, whenever he is ready, there is going to be an opportunity for him to be re-engaged and welcomed back.

“He won a national championship here, and Kevin was the leader, he owned it, and he won a national championship. He also owns everything else that went along with it, but he’s a part of our history as a student-athlete and a coach. It’s unfortunate that played out the way it did. Could we have handled it differently? Would it have made a difference? I don’t know. I got an education on collective bargaining at UConn and there are things you would have done differently that might’ve generated a different outcome.”

“Among the things that make Benedict feel most satisfied is the stability in his coaching ranks, Geno Auriemma staying past his 40th season as women’s basketball coach, Hurley, hockey coach Mike Cavanaugh, baseball coach Jim Penders among those who have resisted the chance to move to potentially more glamorous or higher-paying jobs. Despite what happened with Ollie and Diaco, Benedict has remained proactive in extending contracts and keeping salaries competitive.

“Having someone like Mike Cavanaugh turn down an opportunity to go to BC, Dan blowing off Kentucky without giving it a thought or making the decision not to go to the Lakers. When people choose to stay it says something about how they feel about the place,” Benedict said.”

 

[CL82]

Don't think we would want him bribing ACC presidents with hookers and cocaine like Tom Jurich (JK).