The Calhoun Project E:60 | Page 2 | The Boneyard

The Calhoun Project E:60

Excellent episode. I also liked that Coach K talked about that 99 win and Boeheim said that Calhoun's build up of Uconn was the best ever.

It seems the next episodes will be about St Joes.
 
BNich said:
Its a 4 part series so there are still 3 more episodes to air. Not sure if it is an every Sunday morning for the next few weeks or not. Still trying to figure out when the rest of the episodes will air.
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Yeah i was just hoping that each "chapter" was going to be an hour.
 
That was great. Its nice to finally see things like this about Jim Calhoun and UConn since it just seems like JC is so underrated from a national perspective. All of us obviously agree with Coach K when he said Calhoun is one of the greatest coaches in all of sports, not just college basketball.
 
crazyUCfan23 said:
Yeah i was just hoping that each "chapter" was going to be an hour.
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They are probably doing this to boost ratings. They know people are tuning in to watch the Calhoun part. Thats why it was tbe second segment of the show.
 
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The Viking said:
The fact that they haven't done a full 30 for 30 on Geno and Jim being hired within a year of each other at a school many people had never heard of before is amazing to me.
Those two hires are as impactful as anything that has happened in college basketball over the last 30+ years.
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Hail to John Toner!
 
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It's for those who like Classi-Cal:
classiccal.GIF

"You guys understand, you all can only do it, together.
As much as you want to compete against a teammate, compete.
And pick his ass up and beat him again. Make him better. MAKE HIM BETTER!
I know you may find this funny, you don't truly know me yet, I actually take this sh_t really serious, I mean real serious."
 
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Chief00 said:
Who hired the other one - it was a long time ago.
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Toner was still the AD but was in the process of being shown the door. The Calhoun hire was by a committee.
 
Waquoit said:
Toner was still the AD but was in the process of being shown the door. The Calhoun hire was by a committee.
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Yeah don't get your Toner woody at all, but it seems like a thing for you. Let's review what he accomplished for those who may not be familiar with him. Below is roughly in chronological order.

John Toner's Legacy:

UConn Hires Joe Marrone
Soccer coaching legend.

UConn Joins the Big East
In 1979, when former Providence coach Dave Gavitt conceived of the Big East, he invited schools up and down the Eastern Seaboard. Toner was given three days to accept or decline, and on May 26 he accepted, changing the course of UConn and college basketball.

"John Toner's decision in May of 1979 to leave his New England neighbors and move Connecticut into what would become the Big East Conference changed UConn athletics forever," Calhoun said. "John's vision 35 years ago paved the path for the University of Connecticut to win 18 NCAA championships in four sports during the past four decades.

UConn wins NCAA National Championship in Soccer.
1981, if I recall correctly.

UConn wins NCAA National Championship in Field Hockey.
It is a bit of history as it the first woman's NCAA championship in any sport ever. The championship game was actually played at Storrs in 1982.

UConn Hires Auriemma
Toner, who added women's sports to the athletic calendar in the 1970s, in 1985 identified Auriemma, an assistant at Virginia, as the man to make UConn competitive in women's basketball. Within a few years, the Huskies were on the doorstep of the Final Four and have become the premier program in America, winning nine championships.

Said Auriemma: I owe a debt of gratitude to John that can never be repaid. We became friends. I looked up to him and admired him and he'll always have a special place in my heart and in my family's heart. Everyone in the University of Connecticut, in the state of Connecticut and every single person in amateur sports owes him a debt of gratitude.

UConn Hires Calhoun
The Huskies struggled in the early years of the conference, but when Toner looked for a new coach to replace Dom Perno, he chose Calhoun, who was very successful at Northeastern. "Personally, John gave me a great start as head basketball coach at Connecticut," Calhoun said. "And through the years he was always available to me for wise counsel and friendship."

NCAA President/Title IX
"John Toner was a transformational figure on the national collegiate stage, including being a driving force in the late 1970s and early 1980s to add women's athletics under the NCAA umbrella." The growth of women's sports in this country can be directly related to the work that John Toner did to help push forward the Title IX bill. So, I just can't put into words … words at some point lose their factor, their meaning when you're describing someone who was a giant in the world of amateur sports."

Awards and Honors
Distinguished American Award from the National Football Foundation and Hall of Fame, the James Corbett Award from the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics, a Gold Key from the Connecticut Sports' Writers Alliance and Honorary Alumnus from UConn. In 1997, the National Football Foundation inaugurated its John L. Toner Award (given to an athletic director who has demonstrated superior administrative abilities and shown outstanding dedication to college athletics and particularly college football), with Toner as the first recipient.

He is the only school administrator included in the Huskies of Honor at Gampel Pavilion

By any reasonable standard he had an extraordinary career.
 
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CL82 said:
Yeah don't get your Toner woody at all, but it seems like a thing for you. Let's review what he accomplished for those who may not be familiar with him. Below is roughly in chronological order.

John Toner's Legacy:

UConn Hires Joe Marrone
Soccer coaching legend.

UConn wins NCAA National Championship in Soccer.
1981, if I recall correctly.

UConn wins NCAA National Championship in Field Hockey.
Actually won it at Storrs. It is a bit of history as it the first woman's NCAA championship in any sport ever. As I said, it took place at Storrs.

UConn Joins the Big East
In 1979, when former Providence coach Dave Gavitt conceived of the Big East, he invited schools up and down the Eastern Seaboard. Toner was given three days to accept or decline, and on May 26 he accepted, changing the course of UConn and college basketball.

"John Toner's decision in May of 1979 to leave his New England neighbors and move Connecticut into what would become the Big East Conference changed UConn athletics forever," Calhoun said. "John's vision 35 years ago paved the path for the University of Connecticut to win 18 NCAA championships in four sports during the past four decades.

UConn Hires Auriemma
Toner, who added women's sports to the athletic calendar in the 1970s, in 1985 identified Auriemma, an assistant at Virginia, as the man to make UConn competitive in women's basketball. Within a few years, the Huskies were on the doorstep of the Final Four and have become the premier program in America, winning nine championships.

Said Auriemma: I owe a debt of gratitude to John that can never be repaid. We became friends. I looked up to him and admired him and he'll always have a special place in my heart and in my family's heart. Everyone in the University of Connecticut, in the state of Connecticut and every single person in amateur sports owes him a debt of gratitude.

UConn Hires Calhoun
The Huskies struggled in the early years of the conference, but when Toner looked for a new coach to replace Dom Perno, he chose Calhoun, who was very successful at Northeastern. "Personally, John gave me a great start as head basketball coach at Connecticut," Calhoun said. "And through the years he was always available to me for wise counsel and friendship."

NCAA President/ Title IX
"John Toner was a transformational figure on the national collegiate stage, including being a driving force in the late 1970s and early 1980s to add women's athletics under the NCAA umbrella." The growth of women's sports in this country can be directly related to the work that John Toner did to help push forward the Title IX bill. So, I just can't put into words … words at some point lose their factor, their meaning when you're describing someone who was a giant in the world of amateur sports. My thoughts and prayers are with Claire and the rest of the family."

Awards and Honors
Distinguished American Award from the National Football Foundation and Hall of Fame, the James Corbett Award from the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics, a Gold Key from the Connecticut Sports' Writers Alliance and Honorary Alumnus from UConn. In 1997, the National Football Foundation inaugurated its John L. Toner Award (given to an athletic director who has demonstrated superior administrative abilities and shown outstanding dedication to college athletics and particularly college football), with Toner as the first recipient.

He is the only school administrator included in the Huskies of Honor at Gampel Pavilion

By any reasonable standard he had an extraordinary career.
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How he managed two jobs - NCAA President and AD in retrospect was amazing.
 
Chief00 said:
How he managed two jobs - NCAA President and AD in retrospect was amazing.
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He didn't manage two jobs, he neglected his AD job. That why he got forced out. I saw him interviewed on TV when the basketball program was at it's Big East nadir. He said he saw no reason that UConn couldn't "finish in the top half of the Big East in 5 years." Imagine any other AD saying that. Of course at the time he was returning department money to the school and insisting coaches use state cars for recruiting. The only reason he fired Perno was the public uproar when Kelley got busted on weapons charges and UConn couldn't say they were "doing things the right way" anymore. I guess what I resent the most is that his malpractice has been totally expunged from history. The Old Boy network is very strong.
 
Waquoit said:
I guess what I resent the most is that his malpractice has been totally expunged from history.
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But his extraordinary achievements haven’t been, have they?
 
He did make some good hires. But the UConn in the Big East didn't soar until he was gone.
 
Waquoit said:
He did make some good hires. But the UConn in the Big East didn't soar until he was gone.
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Hired three great, not good, coaches.
Joined the Big East.
Two NCAA national championship teams.
Served as NCAA president... among the other things I listed.

Think you are spot on wrong on this Waquoit.
 
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