Rumor: Warde Manuel- Virginia Tech AD Finalist

[CTGoonie]

Nobody here knows what really went down behind closed doors. I'd like to think that Herbst turned down the ACC because she knows Delany will be coming with an invite soon. That is based in fact as much as any other theory.

 

[UConn07]

Nobody here knows what really went down behind closed doors. I'd like to think that Herbst turned down the ACC because she knows Delany will be coming with an invite soon. That is based in fact as much as any other theory.

Well I'm also holding out hope for the same but at this point all there's left to do is complain...

 

[UConn990411]

You hit the nail on the head here. He screwed up the most important thing that will impact this school over the next decade by going to watch the women's basketball team. Think about that. Football coaches can be replaced. So can basketball coaches. Conferences cannot. Louisville and Jurich worked 10x harder than Warde at that and look at the results. That's not spinning anything. That's fact.

You admit that Louisville's AD had A LOT of pull in the ACC talks, then say most schools that is at a Presidential level. The future of the entire athletic department over the next several years resided solely on the ACC decision and Warde decided to go watch women's basketball instead of fight for a spot. Fact.

This is pure idiocy manufactured to support your irrational hatred of Warde. Try having a clue what you're talking about before rambling on so much.

Also, I'm shocked at how quickly this thread turned stupid. Shocked.

 

[UConn9604]

http://courantblogs.com/uconn-women/virginia-tech-looking-for-an-ad-guess-who-is-on-the-list/

Here's the actual blog post: http://www.thekeyplay.com/content/2014/january/21/according-greg-roberts-ad-finalists-are

If blogs were always right, we'd have joined every league but the Pac-12 by now.

 

[noeynox]

Tom Jurich was quick to act and hired Bobby friggin' Petrino. Bobby Petrino. Let that set in a bit. That hire might be the single worst hire since we hired Paul Pasqualoni/George DeLeone. It was so bad that Jurich had to put in absurdly large buyout clauses because he doesn't trust his new hire.

Come on. Petrino may have issues off the field, but HE IS GOING TO WIN. That is all THAT MATTERS. Comparing him to those two duds as a hire is silly.

 

[ShakyTheMohel]

Pressers don't shape the basis of my opinion on anyone. We need a guy who is the total package.

I use the presser as a basis because that is something that is actually tangible. When and who he hired is tangible. What happened during conference realignment is speculation and rumor and I am not going to base my opinion on WM on message board gossip.

 

[ShakyTheMohel]

Come on. Petrino may have issues off the field, but HE IS GOING TO WIN. That is all THAT MATTERS. Comparing him to those two duds as a hire is silly.

I agree...if all you care about is winning...Petrino is a good hire. But...they sold their soul for the victories. I would think that UL had built up enough cache that they wouldn't have to be so desperate to win that they would do this. But..obviously they are.

 

[tcf15]

A Dime Back ‏@ADimeBack 1h
@jacobscourant Is this you talking based on your sources, or mentioning because of John's article? I don't trust the source in John's piece.

Jeff Jacobs ‏@jacobscourant 36m
@ADimeBack Based on John's article, but heard a few other things generally.​

 

[gioff23]

I agree...if all you care about is winning...Petrino is a good hire. But...they sold their soul for the victories. I would think that UL had built up enough cache that they wouldn't have to be so desperate to win that they would do this. But..obviously they are.

Petrino only works for 2-3 years and then he and the program implode., Proven over and over and over agian. He is a vampire

 

[CL82]

You have no idea how hard he was working behind the scenes. Neither do I, neither does anyone. Assuming he was sunning himself on the beach instead of working on our behalf is so full of stupid. Typical BY know-it-all "facts", when really, they are your opinions, and based on wholly incomplete information at that.

True Mike, we don't know, although the evidence that available to us seems to suggest the former rather than the latter.

Let's see what happens when he's next given an opportunity to respond to that by the Horde. I don't expect our athletic director to respond to every blog rumor, but hopefully a reporter will ask him directly. A simple direct answer indicating that he's not going anywhere and he believes in the University of Connecticut will say a lot. It is a little scary if the man who is responsible for running on Athletic Department is shopping his resume.

 

[ZooCougar]

I use the presser as a basis because that is something that is actually tangible. When and who he hired is tangible. What happened during conference realignment is speculation and rumor and I am not going to base my opinion on WM on message board gossip.

What's tangible is that we are in the AAC. Warde is by no means terrible, but I wouldn't call him exceptional.

 

[CTMike]

Putting aside any silly talk of WM hate/blame...

IF he's looking around... I would agree that it's not a good sign for UConn athletics.

 

[ConnHuskBask]

I'm not sure if WM being at the women's game factored into anything.

The facts are he was at the game to begin with and when given an interview all he could muster was " well, I think they should choose us, but I'm biased."

More so than anything during CR what has killed us is public perception starting with the Fiesta Bowl and spiralling out of control until the night Ville got the nod.

It still shocks me to this day that UConn stood back and just took the abuse about a) winning the BE b) not selling tickets through the school c) getting beat by 28, when VT got beat by 28 too.

Ditto for the old Big East never defending itself as everyone in the world took shots at the conference.

I'm still so angry about everything and it just feels like within even a little but of PR acumen the Big East would still be here and/or UConn would be in a better place.

For fcks sake in 2011 we made the BCS, won a basketball championship, had a top 30 media market, had some reach in NYC, great school academically yet we never sold ourselves, EVER.

 

[ZooCougar]

I'm not sure if WM being at the women's game factored into anything.

The facts are he was at the game to begin with and when given an interview all he could muster was " well, I think they should choose us, but I'm biased."

More so than anything during CR what has killed us is public perception starting with the Fiesta Bowl and spiralling out of control until the night Ville got the nod.

It still shocks me to this day that UConn stood back and just took the abuse about a) winning the BE b) not selling tickets through the school c) getting beat by 28, when VT got beat by 28 too.

Ditto for the old Big East never defending itself as everyone in the world took shots at the conference.

I'm still so angry about everything and it just feels like within even a little but of PR acumen the Big East would still be here and/or UConn would be in a better place.

For fcks sake in 2011 we made the BCS, won a basketball championship, had a top 30 media market, had some reach in NYC, great school academically yet we never sold ourselves, EVER.

This. Sitting back and letting everyone else define UConn was the biggest crime.

 

[CTMike]

This. Sitting back and letting everyone else define UConn was the biggest crime.

Fair.

 

[businesslawyer]

You have no idea how hard he was working behind the scenes. Neither do I, neither does anyone. Assuming he was sunning himself on the beach instead of working on our behalf is so full of stupid. Typical BY know-it-all "facts", when really, they are your opinions, and based on wholly incomplete information at that.

Native Americans worked their butts off performing rain dances during droughts. And, eventually, it rained again. That does not establish a cause and effect relationship.

 

[noeynox]

Cornhusk and zoo, this has been my gripe also. Only issue is it predates this admin. We laughed at su and their being nyc team and ru having a fake waiting list for tickets. We did nothing on that front. Hathaway was a waste of oxygen as an ad.

 

[Sea Goat]

Native Americans worked their butts off performing rain dances during droughts. And, eventually, it rained again. That does not establish a cause and effect relationship.

More likely, it established an "in spite of" relationship.

 

[4UConn]

As critical as I have been of WM, what UConn needs now is stability in the Athletic Dept. Manuel leaving at this time would be a setback, and would be seen as a setback by other conferences.

 

[UConn07]

This is pure idiocy manufactured to support your irrational hatred of Warde. Try having a clue what you're talking about before rambling on so much.

Also, I'm shocked at how quickly this thread turned stupid. Shocked.

My only response to this will be:

Jurich outworked Manuel to get the ACC bid plain and simple, any other opinion is 'pure idiocy'

http://sports.yahoo.com/news/ncaab--louisville-s-move-to-acc-a-sporting-miracle-192050157.html

http://theadvocate.com/sports/4788693-32/ad-jurich-making-big-moves

 

[06029]

As critical as I have been of WM, what UConn needs now is stability in the Athletic Dept. Manuel leaving at this time would be a setback, and would be seen as a setback by other conferences.

Because athletic departments never have turnover. Get a grip. People explore options all the time. If they aren't, then they tend to be in the I'm just happy to have any job group and as someone who employs people, I hate that group. I encourage all of my key people to explore their options and to know their value. Because, I may drop dead one day or they just might get tired of working for a d*i*c*k like me. Trust me, I am always exploring what top people are worth because I am trying to hire them and trying to keep my key people appropriately compensated.

If he wants to leave, that is his personal call. He may have reasons for wanting to leave, may view VT as a step up or it may be a 100% financial decision on his part. Everyone is replaceable with somebody equally as competent or better. Of course that requires someone competent enough to find the replacement. But to suggest that WM leaving is a setback is just plain silly.

 

[UConn07]

This. Sitting back and letting everyone else define UConn was the biggest crime.

Exactly.

 

[metsfan2323]

As critical as I have been of WM, what UConn needs now is stability in the Athletic Dept. Manuel leaving at this time would be a setback, and would be seen as a setback by other conferences.

Most agree the conference realignment is above Warde's pay grade; knowing that I don't think Warde advancing his career will have any effect at all on our chances for an upgrade.

 

[itgoeslike]

The Diaco hire moved WM from "questionable" to "good" in terms of the job he's doing, at least from my perspective. He still hasn't earned the "excellent" rating, but he has laid the groundwork for it. If he earns that "coveted" rating UConn will be in a good place.

I do agree that UConn has continually undersold itself. Although, some of the missteps outlined above predate WM. UCONN, unfortunately suffered a lapse of leadership at the worst possible time (prior to SH). I think WM is just finding his voice now. Clearly we would have benefitted from more of that earlier, but I think it runs counter to his management style, especially during the first few months on the job.

VT, even though it's in a P5 conference and a good school, is not the same as leaving for Michigan or Texas. The fact that he's just pulling together the pieces for success at UConn might give him pause to see it through (assuming the rumors are true). The perceptions and implications surrounding a potential and/or real departure are more problematic than any real administrative hiccups. If the rumors are bogus, it would benefit UConn as a whole and FB recruiting if WM came out and made a statement that reinforces his commitment to UCONN and communicates its past accomplishments and its future potential. I guess we'll find out when and if it happens.

 

[UConn07]

Because athletic departments never have turnover. Get a grip. People explore options all the time. If they aren't, then they tend to be in the I'm just happy to have any job group and as someone who employs people, I hate that group. I encourage all of my key people to explore their options and to know their value. Because, I may drop dead one day or they just might get tired of working for a d*i*c*k like me. Trust me, I am always exploring what top people are worth because I am trying to hire them and trying to keep my key people appropriately compensated.

Ding ding - I agree with this and in the end can't blame Warde for looking. Winners are always trying to better themselves and put themselves in a better position. I am always looking, doesn't mean I'm going anywhere from my current job. People who settle are doomed to hate their position.

Now this by no means, means I think Warde has done a good job for UCONN as a whole. He has done great with scheduling and hiring coaches, but the one thing that really matters in the grand scheme of things, conference realignment, speaks for itself.