Is it Time for Dave Benedict to Find a New Job?

[polycom]

That's because a lot of P5's are in the middle of nowhere and have a history of big time football. UConn never had big football, I would say Connecticut identifies with UConn basketball almost as much as any place.

What places are you comparing us to?

 

[JMick]

I think this thread has gotten a bit derailed. Let's get back to the most pressing question...

@huskymedic do you have a pet raccoon?

I know someone that kind of had a pet racoon. It lived outside but it used to hang out in his garage with him. He'd be wrenching on his car at night with the door open and the racoon would just come and sit on the work bench. he'd feed it fruits sometimes and had a water bowl for him so he could wash the food.

 

[Dooley]

I know someone that kind of had a pet racoon. It lived outside but it used to hang out in his garage with him. He'd be wrenching on his car at night with the door open and the racoon would just come and sit on the work bench. he'd feed it fruits sometimes and had a water bowl for him so he could wash the food.

I'm fascinated by this story. There is a guy in my neighborhood that my wife and I lovingly have nicknamed "Turkey Man". On account of his crouching down like Johnny Bench for 3 hours hand feeding the wild turkeys in our neighborhood. It's a sight see and I imagine your friend enjoyed experiencing that wild connection very much.

 

[huskymedic]

I think this thread has gotten a bit derailed. Let's get back to the most pressing question...

@huskymedic do you have a pet raccoon?

Nope... but I have more popcorn. This thread hasn’t disappointed.

 

[uconndogs]

i guess if you ignore what’s hes actually done you wouldnt hold him responsible for anything

but there are an amazing number of uconn fans who refuse to hold leadership responsible for anything.

Who said anything about not holding folks accountable?

 

[JMick]

I'm fascinated by this story. There is a guy in my neighborhood that my wife and I lovingly have nicknamed "Turkey Man". On account of his crouching down like Johnny Bench for 3 hours hand feeding the wild turkeys in our neighborhood. It's a sight see and I imagine your friend enjoyed experiencing that wild connection very much.

he said it was really cool. it was only over the course of a summer and it didn't come back when fall started. apparently it was mostly well behaved but would open the toolbox to take tools sometimes. they really like shiny stuff

 

[uconnfan68]

I still think a decent first step would be a formal study to map a direction on how UConn could make it into the B10 or ACC. It may need to come from the governor's office. Once the report is available it would give ammunition to the AD as what steps need to be taken. The study could have as its premise that UConn should be on the top levels of college sports with a strong football program. That elite level would help UConn and the state in numerous indirect and direct ways. Being an elite sports program is expensive -- no question -- but in the long run it would pay for itself. Generally, public research-intensive universities are in P5 conferences. If the AD can't deliver armed with that report, he or she has to be accountable.

Keep buying lottery tickets. Give all the winnings to UConn. That’s the only coherent path left.

 

[whaler11]

Who said anything about not holding folks accountable?

well you just gave Benedict a pass?

 

[Pudge]

I still think a decent first step would be a formal study to map a direction on how UConn could make it into the B10 or ACC. It may need to come from the governor's office. Once the report is available it would give ammunition to the AD as what steps need to be taken. The study could have as its premise that UConn should be on the top levels of college sports with a strong football program. That elite level would help UConn and the state in numerous indirect and direct ways. Being an elite sports program is expensive -- no question -- but in the long run it would pay for itself. Generally, public research-intensive universities are in P5 conferences. If the AD can't deliver armed with that report, he or she has to be accountable.

This is just foolish

The number One - far & away reason - we are not in the P5 & are consigned to battle in the AAC is Football. We simply started the process to advance to play the biggest best level far too late. One decade earlier? Maybe. The side corollary to this is - unlike Louisville or others - we won’t cheat. Won’t thrown $200m onto glitz up the Stadium & grab shady sponsors; nor will we buy players in any sport. Then Geography. But it’s Football.

Then. The fact that we WON 4 NCs in 20 years of MBB; that the WBB are in the FF for 12 years; that we have the best baseball in the Northeast; that we rose to a successful Hockey East slot ... UConn has done a lot right. Many P5 would be envious. We’ve hired Program building coaching. Benedict has done a fine job sustaining.

Wins? I’m not giving Jeff Hathaway credit for anything. I’m not sure he could have positioned us better for P5 - NOTE - we aren’t a state culturally that will cheat.

This denigrating of Herbst is silly. Things got done. P5 is not on her. We have a significantly different campus; we have a better faculty; we have higher consistent academic ranking; and the desirability of being a UCONN student? Up. Big ups.

Football. Look at the schedule from 1999 and tell me we are anywhere near nudging our way in.

 

[whaler11]

This is just foolish

The number One - far & away reason - we are not in the P5 & are consigned to battle in the AAC is Football. We simply started the process to advance to play the biggest best level far too late. One decade earlier? Maybe. The side corollary to this is - unlike Louisville or others - we won’t cheat. Won’t thrown $200m onto glitz up the Stadium & grab shady sponsors; nor will we buy players in any sport. Then Geography. But it’s Football.

Then. The fact that we WON 4 NCs in 20 years of MBB; that the WBB are in the FF for 12 years; that we have the best baseball in the Northeast; that we rose to a successful Hockey East slot ... UConn has done a lot right. Many P5 would be envious. We’ve hired Program building coaching. Benedict has done a fine job sustaining.

Wins? I’m not giving Jeff Hathaway credit for anything. I’m not sure he could have positioned us better for P5 - NOTE - we aren’t a state culturally that will cheat.

This denigrating of Herbst is silly. Things got done. P5 is not on her. We have a significantly different campus; we have a better faculty; we have higher consistent academic ranking; and the desirability of being a UCONN student? Up. Big ups.

Football. Look at the schedule from 1999 and tell me we are anywhere near nudging our way in.

So you agree we got what we deserved. You just care that UConn students are marginally better than ten years ago and don’t want to admit it’s going to slide backwards as the state eliminates funding and Herbst built nothing sustainable.

Cool.

 

[uconndogs]

well you just gave Benedict a pass?

No I didn’t.

 

[huskypantz]

I know someone that kind of had a pet racoon. It lived outside but it used to hang out in his garage with him. He'd be wrenching on his car at night with the door open and the racoon would just come and sit on the work bench. he'd feed it fruits sometimes and had a water bowl for him so he could wash the food.

Raccoons love marshmallows, as do feral pigs.

 

[zls44]

So you agree we got what we deserved.

Maybe the truth is somewhere in the middle of the mile-wide chasm between you and Pudge's opinions?

 

[whaler11]

Maybe the truth is somewhere in the middle of the mile-wide chasm between you and Pudge's opinions?

Nope. Come back in 5-6 years - you’ll see how she neglected her fiducary responsibiity to the University as a whole.

 

[Ellington]

IMO, this was NEVER a job for a first time AD. His football contracts (bonuses) are the laughing stock of P5 ADs across the country. USA Today embarrasses us each week talking about another loss , but at least RE made 4 grand for scoring first and out-rushing the opponent ( that threw for 500 yards). That genius move hasn't quite taken hold across the nation. DB basically turned in his own MBB program for violating NCAA rules to save money on KO. Now that Uncle Vic is retiring, the guy is on an island.
The guy was omni present early and has gone into hiding this year. He lacks the chops/ influence / respect to lead a move anywhere, even back to the Big East. Sadly, the most challenging days are directly ahead of us. I blame the administration that hired the man (who had NEVER been an AD) and gave him the keys to the car.

 

[Pudge]

So you agree we got what we deserved. You just care that UConn students are marginally better than ten years ago and don’t want to admit it’s going to slide backwards as the state eliminates funding and Herbst built nothing sustainable.

Cool.

Really?

Is Storrs Center gonna be flushed. Is the STEM initiative gonna slide own the way to Willimantic. Are 40 top demand professors gonna pick up & go to Temple. Sustainable? The academic profile is night & day different.

Whine about Benedict? Sure. It’s darn terrible we lost a Mount Rushmore NC coach; Geno can’t win 12 in a row ... just Final Four 12 Times; facilities? Werth Center + Hockey East + new Soccer & Baseball.

P5 is about Football. No survey gets us anywhere.

Here’s a good exercise: Go into the archives. Look at UCONN football 2002 Roster. Look at every Freshman name (and Orlovsky) and think of their impact over their entire college career. Yikes. Edsall is pretty damn good at evaluating and development.

 

[CL82]

In UConn's case since there is a historical bias against decent funding of the university,

You aren't from Connecticut are you?

 

[whaler11]

Really?

Is Storrs Center gonna be flushed. Is the STEM initiative gonna slide own the way to Willimantic. Are 40 top demand professors gonna pick up & go to Temple. Sustainable? The academic profile is night & day different.

Whine about Benedict? Sure. It’s darn terrible we lost a Mount Rushmore NC coach; Geno can’t win 12 in a row ... just Final Four 12 Times; facilities? Werth Center + Hockey East + new Soccer & Baseball.

P5 is about Football. No survey gets us anywhere.

Here’s a good exercise: Go into the archives. Look at UCONN football 2002 Roster. Look at every Freshman name (and Orlovsky) and think of their impact over their entire college career. Yikes. Edsall is pretty damn good at evaluating and development.

LOL. It’s sad what what is going to happen over the next ten years to UConn but at least I’ll be able to search for posts like this and giggle.

First of all your post makes zero sense beyond excusing Benedict who is an inept clown. Second it’s a guy who buys into the P6 nonsense who believes Randy Edsall should be at the helm of even a middling football program. Third, UConn joining Hockey East is the biggest debacle they stumbled upon yet - maybe they can hope for cold weather and play shinny on Coventry Lake.

 

[UCFBfan]

I still think a decent first step would be a formal study to map a direction on how UConn could make it into the B10 or ACC. It may need to come from the governor's office.

Sorry, this almost made me spit out my coffee! Do you live in CT? Do you know how broke we are? We are about to possibly put tolls all over our highways to try and raise money. Not just tolls at the border, no, no, like Jersey Parkway tolls.

So to think anyone at the government level would spend a dime on this report is laughable. If word got out that they were doing this, the 20 people on this board might be happy while the rest of the state marches towards the capitol building with torches and pitchforks. You'll end up seeing Lamont's head on top of the Old State House in the middle of downtown for all to see.

 

[LoyalFanCT]

Sorry, this almost made me spit out my coffee! Do you live in CT? Do you know how broke we are? We are about to possibly put tolls all over our highways to try and raise money. Not just tolls at the border, no, no, like Jersey Parkway tolls.

So to think anyone at the government level would spend a dime on this report is laughable. If word got out that they were doing this, the 20 people on this board might be happy while the rest of the state marches towards the capitol building with torches and pitchforks. You'll end up seeing Lamont's head on top of the Old State House in the middle of downtown for all to see.

Look, I don't like paying taxes either. And there are many sincere and well-meaning fiscal conservatives in the state. But universities across the nation do these strategic plans for their athletic departments. If you want to have Benedict do it, that is possible, but it may have better chances for success coming from outside of the university. Here is basic argument: The state's economy is not going to rebound and thrive without a research focused university working closely with the state's businesses. (Yale is not interested in such initiatives. It likes more theoretical research and sees itself as a global university.) The university needs to help business in developing and bringing to market new products and services. (Texas AM has done this very well.) UConn under the new president -- with his extensive engineering background -- is ideal for this mission. I would challenge anyone to find more than a handful of public research-focused universities that are not in P5 athletic conferences. I think the athletic success helps in promoting the university's brand on these other fronts including appealing to the business community, potential donors, being competitive for research grants. (Schools like MIT and CalTech don't need these approaches but they are different as private world-renowned schools.) The new president and Gov. Lamont need to promote the message that UConn is not the source of the state's economic woes but is a key part of the 21st century solution. Here are some more examples of studies: together-we-win (PDF) - University of North Carolina Athletics Boston College Strategic Plan (PDF) - Boston College Athletics https://oaa.osu.edu/sites/default/f...anning/strategic-plans/ath-strategic-plan.pdf http://president.uc.edu/thirdcentury/docs/UC-Athletics-Strategic-Plan.pdf http://system.usf.edu/board-of-trus...-19-2016-ACE/USF Athletics Strategic Plan.pdf Strategy to Win Executive Summary DRAFT (PDF) - Texas Tech University Athletics

 

[BlueDogs]

This. Exactly this!

The women lost in the final four for third time in three years. That is simply unacceptable. I mean MBBs basketball is in the middle of rebuild and football has been a smoldering pile of crap for years, but when the women attain only final fours and not natties, it is time to take bold decisive strokes.

What we clearly need is study/map as to how to get the B1G or the ACC. But it can't be any study. It needs to be a formal one and done by politicians. Surely when the Big Ten of ACC presidents see it's helvetica type, fine bond paper and glossy cover they will know that we are serious.

Thank you @LoyalFanCT. Thank you for your genius. I hope that we are witnessing the start of movement.

Been saying this for years. This requires the governor and legislature to make this an economic initiative.

 

[Chief00]

I think there's a strong argument to be made that the problems reach much higher than the athletic director. I don't think Dave's been great but everything under Susie was a disaster. If things get better after she leaves, we'll know it was her. Otherwise it might be a problem with people even higher up than her.

Agree, Susie was a disaster.

 

[AAC Guru]

I appreciate your skepticism but try to give him a chance. I do not recall another UConn president who has an engineering background -- not to mention he was the No. 2 guy at the nationally respected UVA and was dean of the engineering school at Duke. Perhaps, if we can somehow turn around our men's BB and FB teams -- and field hockey and women's BB can win a few more national championships -- he can use his contacts with UVA, Duke etc. to have us reconsidered for the ACC. He has made it a priority to double federal research funding, recruit top professors, has already met with state business leaders, and no doubt is aware UConn fundraising has to get better. Either he could give clear direction to Benedict what he wants to see in athletics, or he could work with someone else in the post. As fans, we have to make it clear to the new president we want a competitive football program, as well as excellence in other sports.

Virginia and Duke hold little weight when it comes to ACC realignment. FSU, Virginia Tech, and Clemson are calling the shots.

 

[HuskyDogArt]

UConn sports does not seem to have improved with David Benedict as athletic director. UConn football was awful last season. The once mighty UConn men's basketball team was mediocre. And UConn WM basketball just lost a heart breaker to Notre Dame. The men's hockey team struggled despite having talent. Field Hockey fell apart in OT against Maryland in the NCAAs. Baseball may become our one hope. Is it time for Benedict to find another job? Isn't he supposed to give leadership to the overall program? If we don't get better soon, UConn won't even be on the radar screen if an opening comes in a P5 conference.

Are we the most bi-polar sports fans in the country? When Dave Benedict was hired we were happy...Now because WBB lost in the final 4, the MBB is bad, the FB team is terrible, and it is because of Dave? Amazing, should we fire Gino because he hasn't won a championship in 4 years? Sorry, bi-polar fans, you need to get off the ledge... I think we'll be back...as a strong G5 school.

 

[HuskyDogArt]

You have your opinion and others have theirs
Show some tolerance and understand that there are a lot of folks who are not on the DB bandwagon
I don't agree with you but I won't call your comments stupid or a fantasy
I'm glad your happy - on the other side I feel DB was a questionable hire at best - JC set up the Dan Hurley hire and a monkey could have closed that deal
Relevance is a very broad term.........

When DB was hired, 99% of the fans were happy to have an AD from a SEC school. Now people are saying that he is a bad hire. Really, we have bi-polar fans...