Jeff Jacobs: UConn AD Benedict speaks after rattling Boneyard

[huskymedic]

Jeff Jacobs: UConn AD Benedict speaks after rattling Boneyard


Two relevant/timely topics for the basketball crowd... KO and Season ticket process (There's much more in the article).

>>These are ticklish days at UConn. The ugly fight over Ollie’s firing “with cause” is headed for arbitration. It’s an all-or-nothing decision. UConn pays Ollie more than $10 million remaining on his contract. Or UConn pays zilch. An epic defeat would reflect badly on Benedict, and UConn President Susan Herbst. Total victory, while harsh in the strict application of Ollie’s contract, would satisfy those who believe Ollie did a horrible job the past few years and who assert that UConn, without Power Five cartel gold, is facing crushing financial burdens.<<

>>“I don’t have any problem with what Ray said,” said Benedict, who confirmed he had a conversation with Allen on the Ollie situation. “Ray needs to have a voice. This is a very important thing for him. Ray’s not just a former basketball player, he’s committing his time and energy to advance the university by being part of the foundation. Ray’s very engaged. “He’s an important part of this family. I have a great deal of respect for Ray. Certainly, I respect his feelings.”<<

>>“Look, we have self-inflicted a lot of pain on ourselves with some of our ticket and priority seating policies,” Benedict said. “They are going to change. We shouldn’t be re-seating people every year in basketball. At one time, when I wasn’t here, maybe it was appropriate. It’s not appropriate anymore. If we have people committed to season tickets, we shouldn’t force them to change seats because someone’s willing to pay more money. That has been a source of consternation and been offensive to our fan base. There’s got to be some loyalty.”<<@John

 

[HawkHusky]

Unfortunately, the article left me questioning whether or not Jacobs is really here to serve.

 

[Dove]

For the record...I was not rattled a bit.

 

[JMick]

I don't read the Boneyard every day

lol this is all I can think about

 

[gampelcrazies]

I know some people on here hate Dave Benedict. To me he is exactly what this university needs. Most of UConn's problems come from previous ADs.

 

[UConnSwag11]

Some Guy*

 

[tykurez]

Guys. We made it.

 

[the Q]

Some Guy*

Exactly.

OP badly dropped the ball here.

 

[uconnphil2016]

I DMed with Jacobs about this last week

 

[Hans Sprungfeld]

Jeff Jacobs: UConn AD Benedict speaks after rattling Boneyard


The ugly fight over Ollie’s firing “with cause” is headed for arbitration. It’s an all-or-nothing decision. UConn pays Ollie more than $10 million remaining on his contract. Or UConn pays zilch. An epic defeat would reflect badly on Benedict, and UConn President Susan Herbst. Total victory, while harsh in the strict application of Ollie’s contract, would satisfy those who believe Ollie did a horrible job the past few years and who assert that UConn, without Power Five cartel gold, is facing crushing financial burdens.<<

>>“I don’t have any problem with what Ray said,” said Benedict, who confirmed he had a conversation with Allen on the Ollie situation. “Ray needs to have a voice. This is a very important thing for him. Ray’s not just a former basketball player, he’s committing his time and energy to advance the university by being part of the foundation. Ray’s very engaged. “He’s an important part of this family. I have a great deal of respect for Ray. Certainly, I respect his feelings.”<<

<<@John

Let both sides waive the conflicts of interest. This calls for some Shuttleworth diplomacy.

 

[gtcam]

I know some people on here hate Dave Benedict. To me he is exactly what this university needs. Most of UConn's problems come from previous ADs.

I don't hate DB. I just think he is a DB and is over his head with this position
Quite a few people I know who give big money to the school feel the same as I do but will continue to write checks due to their love and alliance to UConn
Because DB and Herbst have drawn a line and to them it is all or nothing with KO doesn't make it smart or right and equitable to all concerned. They should have let him go for performance results reasons alone and worked out a deal
I want to go on with the program and let DH and staff have no distractions - it's hard enough to recruit the better players without a cloud over the program. The next few are critical years for DH and we all want success.
I am thrilled that Herbst has thrown in the towel and will be as happy when DB walks away which will be much sooner than later
UConn desperately needs a bona fide AD, unlike the last 3 or 4

 

[JMick]

I don't hate DB. I just think he is a DB and is over his head with this position
Quite a few people I know who give big money to the school feel the same as I do but will continue to write checks due to their love and alliance to UConn
Because DB and Herbst have drawn a line and to them it is all or nothing with KO doesn't make it smart or right and equitable to all concerned. They should have let him go for performance results reasons alone and worked out a deal
I want to go on with the program and let Dan Hurley and staff have no distractions - it's hard enough to recruit the better players without a cloud over the program. The next few are critical years for Dan Hurley and we all want success.
I am thrilled that Herbst has thrown in the towel and will be as happy when DB walks away which will be much sooner than later
UConn desperately needs a bona fide AD, unlike the last 3 or 4

how do you explain the uptick in donations then?

 

[Hans Sprungfeld]

Because DB and Herbst have drawn a line and to them it is all or nothing with KO

Is this an informed or speculative statement?
I have insufficient basis for phrasing it in these precise words. Do you know something that I do not? Has it been widely reported?
I can more readily imagine that both parties would prefer other than an all-or-nothing outcome, but cannot agree on settlement terms agreeable enough to satisfy both. You don't?

 

[gampelcrazies]

I don't hate DB. I just think he is a DB and is over his head with this position
Quite a few people I know who give big money to the school feel the same as I do but will continue to write checks due to their love and alliance to UConn
Because DB and Herbst have drawn a line and to them it is all or nothing with KO doesn't make it smart or right and equitable to all concerned. They should have let him go for performance results reasons alone and worked out a deal
I want to go on with the program and let Dan Hurley and staff have no distractions - it's hard enough to recruit the better players without a cloud over the program. The next few are critical years for Dan Hurley and we all want success.
I am thrilled that Herbst has thrown in the towel and will be as happy when DB walks away which will be much sooner than later
UConn desperately needs a bona fide AD, unlike the last 3 or 4

I hate to be the bad guy but you aren't going to find a bona fide AD anywhere. It doesn't exist

 

[HooperScooper]

UConn desperately needs a bona fide AD, unlike the last 3 or 4

Well Warde Manuel went to Michigan. To head one of the best and highest grossing athletic departments in the country. He was clearly qualified for the position. If he's not good enough for UConn then I'm wondering who you think they should hire.

 

[Paesano]

Is this an informed or speculative statement?
I have insufficient basis for phrasing it in these precise words. Do you know something that I do not? Has it been widely reported?
I can more readily imagine that both parties would prefer other than an all-or-nothing outcome, but cannot agree on settlement terms agreeable enough to satisfy both. You don't?

He is speculating a position of convenience. He has no idea who drew what lines. I could just as easily assume it was Ollie based on a track record of poor judgement.

 

[Huskymagic]

I don't hate DB. I just think he is a DB and is over his head with this position
Quite a few people I know who give big money to the school feel the same as I do but will continue to write checks due to their love and alliance to UConn
Because DB and Herbst have drawn a line and to them it is all or nothing with KO doesn't make it smart or right and equitable to all concerned. They should have let him go for performance results reasons alone and worked out a deal
I want to go on with the program and let Dan Hurley and staff have no distractions - it's hard enough to recruit the better players without a cloud over the program. The next few are critical years for Dan Hurley and we all want success.
I am thrilled that Herbst has thrown in the towel and will be as happy when DB walks away which will be much sooner than later
UConn desperately needs a bona fide AD, unlike the last 3 or 4

LOL. AD Dave is a visionary and a guy with a backbone willing to make tough calls.

You won’t find better and smarter ADs. Dave is cleaning up the mess he inherited.

PS: If we had AD Dave instead of Warde we would have been in the ACC right now.

 

[Stainmaster]

LOL. AD Dave is a visionary and a guy with a backbone willing to make tough calls.

You won’t find better and smarter ADs. Dave is cleaning up the mess he inherited.

PS: If we had AD Dave instead of Warde we would have been in the ACC right now.

Better and smarter ADs don't sign Bob Diaco and Kevin Ollie to extensions with gigantic buyouts.

 

[RayIsTheGOAT]

I don't get people who hate on AD Dave. I really didn't like his comments initially about fans needing to take responsibility, but after his clarification here, I think it's totally fair what he's saying.

I'm a fan of all the coaching hires he's made while here, and I like how he isn't afraid to rattle some doors and make tough calls, and isn't a straightjacket slimy politician like a Mark Emmert.

Also, side note, did AD Dave somewhat indicate that he reads the Boneyard sometimes?

 

[djct1999]

Better and smarter ADs don't sign Bob Diaco and Kevin Ollie to extensions with gigantic buyouts.

No they lose them to better programs or the NBA. This criticism is very easy now, at least with KO, but few people were upset at the time. Back then, the program desperately needed to keep KO at all costs. As for fighting it now for just cause, well, just about every AD department in America would do the same. DB stepped into a sh$t storm and his main objective at the time was to prove that UConn was still a player. These extensions, at those times, calmed our fan base and proved just that. No one saw the avalanche that was going to happen, particularly with KO and the mens hoops program. It did and AD David Benedict responded accordingly. He responded by landing the best coaching option out there. What other better and smarter ADs would have accomplished that?

 

[Hoophound]

PS: If we had AD Dave instead of Warde we would have been in the ACC right now.

I have no idea if this is true, but I often think it. Even though many claim Warde and Susan couldn’t do anything, I disagree. When Dave came in our staff was wildly upgraded and it was pretty clear a commitment was made to really step things up and get serious. I never felt that happened prior. Whether that was Susan realizing she screwed up or Dave telling Susan how to run a big time AD, we’ll never know. I tend to think Dave has a vision and would have chased the ACC bid hard and worked it.

 

[Huskygrad88]

I don't hate DB. I just think he is a DB and is over his head with this position
Quite a few people I know who give big money to the school feel the same as I do but will continue to write checks due to their love and alliance to UConn
Because DB and Herbst have drawn a line and to them it is all or nothing with KO doesn't make it smart or right and equitable to all concerned. They should have let him go for performance results reasons alone and worked out a deal
I want to go on with the program and let Dan Hurley and staff have no distractions - it's hard enough to recruit the better players without a cloud over the program. The next few are critical years for Dan Hurley and we all want success.
I am thrilled that Herbst has thrown in the towel and will be as happy when DB walks away which will be much sooner than later
UConn desperately needs a bona fide AD, unlike the last 3 or 4

I have no idea what a good or excellent AD even looks like, but to state that they should have just "worked out a deal" is a ridiculous way to create a criticism. It is not that simple. KO had a contract that stated how much he was owed. It would be just as ridiculous for me to blame KO and say they offered him a deal and said "read the contract and pay me". Both parties dug in; both parties got us here. In the big picture situation we are in (which has a line of people to blame), if its $10 mil or $0, I have to side with team $0

 

[Hans Sprungfeld]

... if its $10 mil or $0, I have to side with team $0

Me too... to which my mind INSTANTLY goes, "That can't possibly be right."

Lots of cognitive dissonance.

I want very much to believe that the exact same process attaches to whoever sides with 'team $10 mil.'

Neither represents a good outcome.

 

[Chief00]

I really don’t have a problem with what Dave said. He is pretty much on target. I wouldn’t fall prey though to a few vocal critics about MBB seating. Overall, I think it’s fair. The university needs the donations to generate income and part of that is a perk of better seating.

Please keep in mind, the system has already been adjusted to add points for season tickets in various sports, being a UConn graduate, years of giving and so on. So Jacobs is a little behind the curve.
The other thing that’s happened is these donations are no longer tax deductible if you get a benefit ( previously were 80%), so if Dave wants people to donate he must be careful because one incentive was already taken away.
My experience is the folks who complain haven’t really given more than a nominal amount, if at all.

 

[Chief00]

On the KO thing - don’t be fooled - it’s very unlikely to be zero or $10 million. It’s all negotiations talk - the risk if they lose is too great for either side not to get a deal. But, I will say the University feels they hold a strong hand of cards.