Sign of Change? - Um ...

[Athlete94]

No, this only magnifies that the leadership of this program and it starts from the top down (Herbst, Benedict to Diaco), has no long term plan. This move FV is out is tough to swallow. This guy is being used as a scapegoat and nothing less. The mess here is beyond FV, it has to go all the way to the top on down to the team. Most of us feel BD has made many questionable calls on the sidelines that would make you scratch all the hair off your head, but this mess goes beyond those calls. Yes, this team was a mess when he came in and yes the first year was a disaster but what about PP last year and the years prior to that. The folks at the top then and now have allowed this to happen, their judgement and decision making that have led us here should be looked at as well. I am not happy with the team and BD performance but this can not be all on BD, I don't believe that. Accountability starts at the top and works its way on down, anyone who owns or runs any type of business knows that.

Now having said all of the above, this can not be the only change, shake up has to occur on both sides. The defense yes was on the field a long time and that has to be draining but the approach has to wear on the players too. Players follow the lead of their leadership and the plan in place. If that plan is not working, you adjust and change. There was clear progress on the defensive side of the ball and then the obvious shift started and they started a downward spiral as well. The same has to be said on the offensive side of the ball. What went wrong, how did this team get so bad so quickly, where did that progress go?? Simple, coaching and the coaching philosophy happened. If BD is in charge of the program and I assume most head coaches are involved in some aspect on both sides of the ball are, he had input on all of this. That says volumes on what someone in good at. Not everyone is a head coach, not every great college or pro player can lead. We all have limitations, clearly BD has his or the folks at the top are dictating his every move and that I doubt.

BD seems like a genuine guy, I am not disputing that, I believe he does have the best interest of the players and school at heart, but sometimes heart isn't enough. A good leader surrounds themselves with people who are good at what you are not. Again, that isn't the case here. If this isn't recognized at the top of the chain, then we have a bigger problem. There are clear issues on the D and O sides of the ball and BD or DB must see this and make the changes needed. I heard many times watching many D1 games that a team takes on it coaching identity by year 3. Wow, did we ever see that?? I do not think BD is a stupid, I think he has to be bright or wouldn't have been considered to be our coach. What I do believe is if the changes are not obvious to him or the administration, then we will never get back to being a program that was gaining respectability among the media, future players and coaches in college ball. Clearly, money is driving the bus because we see changes at big time programs and small time D1 programs.

Having said all of the above, all we can do is wait and see. If the moves are done to bring in qualified coaches who are allowed to coach their offensive and defensive philosophies then we will see real change. If new coaches are brought in and we see much of the same, then you point it back to leadership and that is ultimately on BD and DB who would allow it to continue. At that point, change is made, money or not. If it isn't done, then we have no right to be a D1 football program.

Ok, rant over... Go Huskies!

 

[Alum86]

OP has all the stages of grief accept anger and is already at acceptance.
I know most here never were in Denial stage (we knew he was a kook from the get go).

I cannot accept this inept individual roaming the sidelines next year, confused and incoherent calling for a fair catch. Can't.

 

[brasssbonanzaa]

OP has all the stages of grief accept anger and is already at acceptance.
I know most here never were in Denial stage (we knew he was a kook from the get go).

I cannot accept this inept individual roaming the sidelines next year, confused and incoherent calling for a fair catch. Can't.

Then find $3.4M or $5M and donate it to the school. We all want him gone, but it's not Benedict's fault that he's still here.

 

[superjohn]

It starts at the very top, Susan Herbst is not the "rock star" many of us once thought. She's more like Milli Vanilli.

 

[Alum86]

Then find $3.4M or $5M and donate it to the school. We all want him gone, but it's not Benedict's fault that he's still here.

Has Benedict said it's the money? Suzy? I'd like to hear that from them. Say CT is broke, so we are keeping an incompetent at his job because it costs too much to fire him. We'll just tiptoe around it and pretend he ain't dead man walking ne t year.

 

[brasssbonanzaa]

Has Benedict said it's the money? Suzy? I'd like to hear that from them. Say CT is broke, so we are keeping an incompetent at his job because it costs too much to fire him. We'll just tiptoe around it and pretend he ain't dead man walking ne t year.

They will absolutely not say that, and they shouldn't. If they're keeping him they have to support him, at least publicly. Coming out and saying he's only staying because we can't afford to fire him is setting a horrible precedent and would dissuade coaches from ever coming here. No matter how much you or I hate Diaco, it's the wrong thing to do for the program and the school. Saying nothing publicly makes that statement without saying it.

 

[RioDog]

3.7 million = 5% of AD budget; .03% of total 2017 university budget for all campuses (excluding UConn health).

.03%. Really? I understand things are tight for UConn and the State, but seriously, this is so clearly a penny-wise pound-foolish move that I can only conclude that A) collectively the Administration are just morons, or B) they really give 2 schitts about playing a major role in College athletics. To my admittedly novice eye there seems to be a least a possibility of 3.7 million dollars worth of wiggle room there, and that's without even TRYING to raise some additional cash from donors. Can somebody smarter than me about the inner workings of large public organizations please explain how the money is an insurmountable issue?

It seems as though they're not even trying. And that's a serious charge.

EDIT: Laziness is another possibility, but that seems implausible.

 

[CTBballfan243]

It starts at the very top, Susan Herbst is not the "rock star" many of us once thought. She's more like Milli Vanilli.

I think Susan Herbst has done a really good job as President of the University of Connecticut. Look what she has done with research at UConn, opening the Hartford campus. She is doing a lot of really good stuff for the institution. It is coming along nicely. UConn's reputation academically is growing.

 

[Storrsbred]

Is this (could this be) a temporizing move? Believe someone mentioned this as a possibility previously.

If this is the only public announcement before the New Year, outside of announcing the new OC, I think he goes in January. If this is the decision made, saying nothing at this point makes sense.

 

[HuskyHawk]

Has Benedict said it's the money? Suzy? I'd like to hear that from them. Say CT is broke, so we are keeping an incompetent at his job because it costs too much to fire him. We'll just tiptoe around it and pretend he ain't dead man walking ne t year.

Are you really suggesting that the AD and President should call a press conference and announce (a) Bob Diaco sucks and we wanted to fire him, but (b) the school and state doesn't have the money for his buyout, so we're stuck with him. Yeah, those last couple thousand season ticket holders would react well to that. Along with any recruits we were trying to land, and hell, the current players. That would guarantee a zero win season next year.

Instead the message is that we're giving him a chance to fix the mess he made, along with some more aggressive oversight. Plus we are reigning him in a bit, to minimize his ability to screw up. Who knows, maybe this is what he needs. He wasn't ready to be a HC. He really needed a strong, experienced voice on his staff, countering his wacky tendencies and encouraging normal fundamental coaching decisions. If that frees him up to focus on the defensive side of the ball, where we know he can coach, maybe the miracle happens. But that strong OC needs to have veto power over punting from the opponents 42 on 4th and 1 while down 14, or faking a FG in a 7-0 game on 4th and 16.

 

[Alum86]

Newsflash, Hawk: He can't coach defense either.

 

[upstater]

3.7 million = 5% of AD budget; .03% of total 2017 university budget for all campuses (excluding UConn health).

.03%. Really? I understand things are tight for UConn and the State, but seriously, this is so clearly a penny-wise pound-foolish move that I can only conclude that A) collectively the Administration are just morons, or B) they really give 2 schitts about playing a major role in College athletics. To my admittedly novice eye there seems to be a least a possibility of 3.7 million dollars worth of wiggle room there, and that's without even TRYING to raise some additional cash from donors. Can somebody smarter than me about the inner workings of large public organizations please explain how the money is an insurmountable issue?

It seems as though they're not even trying. And that's a serious charge.

EDIT: Laziness is another possibility, but that seems implausible.

The vast majority of the university budget isn't fungible. It's already assigned. The money has to come out of the AD, and it should. Like today.

But to give but one example, the annual fungible budget of a school like Arts & Sciences is likely around $10-$15 million. This is the amount of expenditures it likely has after paying for staff and faculty.

 

[RioDog]

The vast majority of the university budget isn't fungible. It's already assigned. The money has to come out of the AD, and it should. Like today.

But to give but one example, the annual fungible budget of a school like Arts & Sciences is likely around $10-$15 million. This is the amount of expenditures it likely has after paying for staff and faculty.

Well that certainly makes sense, but my doubt remains. Is it reasonable to assume that 99.7% of the budget is assigned? Seems very inflexible and bad practice. And 95% of AD money? While more plausible, it still seems as though a 2017 buy-out wouldn't be an insurmountable challenge. Understand that I'm not disagreeing with your post, I'm just still scratching my head, and struggling with the idea that, given the monies involved, if there was will on the part of the administration they could find a way.

 

[UConnNick]

It starts at the very top, Susan Herbst is not the "rock star" many of us once thought. She's more like Milli Vanilli.

I'm sick and tired of seeing the term "rock star" in connection with ANY member of the UCONN school or athletic administrations.

The only rock stars currently involved with the school administration or athletics are Geno Auriemma and Nancy Stevens.

 

[upstater]

Well that certainly makes sense, but my doubt remains. Is it reasonable to assume that 99.7% of the budget is assigned? Seems very inflexible and bad practice. And 95% of AD money? While more plausible, it still seems as though a 2017 buy-out wouldn't be an insurmountable challenge. Understand that I'm not disagreeing with your post, I'm just still scratching my head, and struggling with the idea that, given the monies involved, if there was will on the part of the administration they could find a way.

You have to realize the university has a $300 research budget, which obviously is assigned specifically to the task of the awards. So $1B is already $700M. Add in Administration at $50M (at a minimum, they comply with regulations), housing and food (10-15% of the total budget at most schools), and you're down to $500M. Add in buildings, utilities, police, staff, etc., and you're probably down to $400M. Engineering and Medical swipes a huge chunk. Professor salaries, then staff. It all basically evaporates.

Put it this way--when the state cuts $20 million in funding, and each college is told that they will have to do with $5-7M in less funding the following year, people run around with their hair on fire.

The part of this with which I agree with you is that Diaco must be fired now, and by not doing it, Herbst is simply cowering in a corner praying for it all to end well. She's gambling. I've seen Presidents do this up close. I've seen Presidents practically vomit knowing they've cornered themselves. To me, they look like gamblers at the roulette table. And it's not that they want to win back their losses. They want to win the last hand which will allow them to somehow have one more move. Essentially, Herbst is gambling that the fans won't completely abandon football next year, causing an even bigger hole in the athletic budget.

 

[UConnNick]

Has Benedict said it's the money? Suzy? I'd like to hear that from them. Say CT is broke, so we are keeping an incompetent at his job because it costs too much to fire him. We'll just tiptoe around it and pretend he ain't dead man walking ne t year.

They can't for two reasons. One is they'd have to admit they made a big mistake, which makes them look like the incompetent nitwits they are. Two, it's an admission they want Fiasco outta here, which undermines his entire regime while he's still here. You can't send that message to potential recruits.

 

[UConnNick]

You have to realize the university has a $300 research budget, which obviously is assigned specifically to the task of the awards. So $1B is already $700M. Add in Administration at $50M (at a minimum, they comply with regulations), housing and food (10-15% of the total budget at most schools), and you're down to $500M. Add in buildings, utilities, police, staff, etc., and you're probably down to $400M. Engineering and Medical swipes a huge chunk. Professor salaries, then staff. It all basically evaporates.

Put it this way--when the state cuts $20 million in funding, and each college is told that they will have to do with $5-7M in less funding the following year, people run around with their hair on fire.

The part of this with which I agree with you is that Diaco must be fired now, and by not doing it, Herbst is simply cowering in a corner praying for it all to end well. She's gambling. I've seen Presidents do this up close. I've seen Presidents practically vomit knowing they've cornered themselves. To me, they look like gamblers at the roulette table. And it's not that they want to win back their losses. They want to win the last hand which will allow them to somehow have one more move. Essentially, Herbst is gambling that the fans won't completely abandon football next year, causing an even bigger hole in the athletic budget.

If that's true, then she's a blithering idiot who knows nothing about how athletics impact a major university.

 

[RSTuthill]

Having said all of the above, all we can do is wait and see. If the moves are done to bring in qualified coaches who are allowed to coach their offensive and defensive philosophies then we will see real change. If new coaches are brought in and we see much of the same, then you point it back to leadership and that is ultimately on BD and DB who would allow it to continue. At that point, change is made, money or not. If it isn't done, then we have no right to be a D1 football program.

Ok, rant over... Go Huskies!

Disagree, we can raise our voices as you have done. Keep it constructive, no hate, no flaming. Just make our valid points as you have done and keep making them until we are heard.

 

[upstater]

If that's true, then she's a blithering idiot who knows nothing about how athletics impact a major university.

It's the exact opposite.

She knows all too well.

 

[UConnNick]

It's the exact opposite.

She knows all too well.

If so, are you suggesting that since she knows what she's doing, she's deliberately trying to de-emphasize athletics at UCONN?

 

[upstater]

If so, are you suggesting that since she knows what she's doing, she's deliberately trying to de-emphasize athletics at UCONN?

No, she's in a corner. Sunk costs prevent her from ever deemphasizing UConn sports. She is in hell with no options, basically. She has committed to losing $35 million a year on UConn sports. Diaco's buyout takes her to $40m. In other words, no other school in the world loses more on sports than UConn.

Why oh why they added a hockey team, and why oh why they are thinking of lacrosse, that is anyone's guess, because they are crazy for doing it.

 

[businesslawyer]

He is saying that she doesn't think she can afford the buyout right now, even understanding how bad keeping him here might be. To argue with her over whether he should stay or not is one thing. But to be challenging her conclusion that she can't afford the cash to buy him out WHEN SHE KNOWS THE CASH AVAILABLE AND WHAT WOULD HAVE TO BE CUT TO FIND IT AND YOU DON'T is silly.

 

[whaler11]

He is saying that she doesn't think she can afford the buyout right now, even understanding how bad keeping him here might be. To argue with her over whether he should stay or not is one thing. But to be challenging her conclusion that she can't afford the cash to buy him out WHEN SHE KNOWS THE CASH AVAILABLE AND WHAT WOULD HAVE TO BE CUT TO FIND IT AND YOU DON'T is silly.

It is probably fair to talk about some parts of the equation because her guess isn't any better than ours.

How much do they lose in ticket revenue? How much do they lose in donations? How much does it impact the other sport's revenues?

Why are they paying so many athletic directors? Why are there three SIDs?

There probably isn't an outcome that doesn't end in sports being dropped in the fairly near future.

Not making this move increases the chances that the sport that is dropped is football.

The calls to drop football are going to become very loud and it keeps getting harder to come with a coherent reason why they aren't right.

What's the endgame? You still have to fire him and it's still 3.4 million until calendar 2018. Are we going to sit here next year waiting to see if we can afford to fire him because revenues are even lower and you have to consider the same cuts?

 

[RioDog]

You have to realize the university has a $300 research budget, which obviously is assigned specifically to the task of the awards. So $1B is already $700M. Add in Administration at $50M (at a minimum, they comply with regulations), housing and food (10-15% of the total budget at most schools), and you're down to $500M. Add in buildings, utilities, police, staff, etc., and you're probably down to $400M. Engineering and Medical swipes a huge chunk. Professor salaries, then staff. It all basically evaporates.

Put it this way--when the state cuts $20 million in funding, and each college is told that they will have to do with $5-7M in less funding the following year, people run around with their hair on fire.

The part of this with which I agree with you is that Diaco must be fired now, and by not doing it, Herbst is simply cowering in a corner praying for it all to end well. She's gambling. I've seen Presidents do this up close. I've seen Presidents practically vomit knowing they've cornered themselves. To me, they look like gamblers at the roulette table. And it's not that they want to win back their losses. They want to win the last hand which will allow them to somehow have one more move. Essentially, Herbst is gambling that the fans won't completely abandon football next year, causing an even bigger hole in the athletic budget.

For me it's unfathomable. But I guess my perspective is distorted by my fan goggles. Save a couple of million over the short term, which makes the bean counters happy, and set the most important athletic program back by, who knows, possibly decades, with the specter of having the rest of the AD dragged down with it. Is this that pivotal a moment? I am an amateur observer to be sure, but this feels like the most significant moment in UConn athletics since at least the first men's BB NC in '99. So I guess I have to hang my hat on unlikely miracles for the foreseeable future. In 2010 I hoped that I might get to see UConn football challenge for a national championship in my lifetime. That hope is all but gone with this current decision by the administration.

 

[UConnNick]

No, she's in a corner. Sunk costs prevent her from ever deemphasizing UConn sports. She is in hell with no options, basically. She has committed to losing $35 million a year on UConn sports. Diaco's buyout takes her to $40m. In other words, no other school in the world loses more on sports than UConn.

Why oh why they added a hockey team, and why oh why they are thinking of lacrosse, that is anyone's guess, because they are crazy for doing it.

I think hockey and lacrosse had to do with wanting in to the Big 10. They have established a hockey league and want a lacrosse league. As for lacrosse, she's pandering to a particular constituency of alums who want it and are apparently significant contributors.

But again, these are all decisions she already signed off on or has seriously considered, most notably Fiasco's extension. If she perceives herself as being in a corner now as you say, she put herself there with boneheaded fiscal decisions. She's got no one to blame but herself.