The View From Section 241 -- Maine

[History Geek]

No kidding. But when the school itself builds it's football marketing around tailgating why would anyone be surprised people tailgate through the start of the game?

The program itself chose to sell the tailgating experience over the game experience.

I think there is something to your point. Its what to sell when the d 1-a tradition is still in its nascient stages and the on field product takes a dive. How do you get people to go? Sell the tailgating atmosphere. I also eagerly await the day when the game is the most important thing. However, for many of those who attended UConn in their 40s and 50s, the party in the Yale Bowl lot was more important than the game. Trust me, it pissed me off. I played for UConn (ok, stood on the sidelines as a walk-on my freshman year), and it was like pulling teeth to get people to go into the game with me. All I'm saying is that while you are right that taigating has been promoted more that the game recently, it is part of our culture for a long time.

 

[whaler11]

Let's play guess who said it.

I know my business acumen has been challenged by some posters recently but I've been in negotiations with hundreds of people who are savvier then your average university president.

It would be me Art. If you weren't such a dope you might comprehend that people have work experiences. When you've spent years negotiating with CFOs and Presidents of large corporations, you learn some things. It's not exactly an earth shattering revelation that the people who
run big companies know more about business than University Presidents.

Pull your head out of your rear end every once in a while - you might actually learn something.

 

[whaler11]

In case you are new or were on vacation, this thread is classic boneyard. I've also included the top contributors to the thread. Grab some popcorn. Try and guess who was trying to make his point the only correct view.

Thread:
UConn President Says No Plans To Lobby Big 12

1. 56
   whaler11
   Kickoff: 11:11, Male
   
2. 16
   FfldCntyFan
   Illigitimis nil carborundum, Male
3. 15
   sportsart
   College Football has stage P5 cancer., Male
   15
4. superjohn
   Male
   15
5. MattMang23
   Contrarian, Male

You know you can go back to being a who talks about who they blocked anytime you want right.

Do we need to go back over your last 200 posts and count how many are about me?

Why are you obsessed with me Art?

Do you not see the irony of what you post? Your absolute lack of any self-awareness?

 

[Pudge]

Business

I would argue that a University President is an enormously complex multifaceted layered executive position. That goal setting may not always be nearly parallel to CEOs. And, while it is transactional, it is not as whirlwind as - say - a Pfizer executive. Your stakeholders are quite different as well.

Yes. I am a son of a college president. Herbst is in a different realm from probably all but 50 to 65 other like jobs. And today, it's rare that they stay more than 5/6 years.

 

[whaler11]

Art I will take your lame passive-aggressive way out this with a block.

Feel free to try and desparage me all you like going forward.

You are too stupid to waste time on. Normally I wouldn't block someone but you really are just an absolute clown and there is no risk of missing anything interesting because you have never posted even a single thought that could be considered insightful.

Good luck with your bake sales. Keep those orange slices coming! Enjoy your emojis - I hope you have a successful year in 8th grade.

 

[whaler11]

Business

I would argue that a University President is an enormously complex multifaceted layered executive position. That goal setting may not always be nearly parallel to CEOs. And, while it is transactional, it is not as whirlwind as - say - a Pfizer executive. Your stakeholders are quite different as well.

Yes. I am a son of a college president. Herbst is in a different realm from probably all but 50 to 65 other like jobs. And today, it's rare that they stay more than 5/6 years.

Certainly it's a difficult job. At it's core it's a political job. There are 12-15 people on the Boneyard who understand the economics of conference realignment better than the majority of college presidents.

If Herbst was the business person that C-Suite executives are, she doesn't really display it by making a tiny fraction of what many of them make.

 

[sportsart]

 

[whaler11]

I think there is something to your point. Its what to sell when the d 1-a tradition is still in its nascient stages and the on field product takes a dive. How do you get people to go? Sell the tailgating atmosphere. I also eagerly await the day when the game is the most important thing. However, for many of those who attended UConn in their 40s and 50s, the party in the Yale Bowl lot was more important than the game. Trust me, it pissed me off. I played for UConn (ok, stood on the sidelines as a walk-on my freshman year), and it was like pulling teeth to get people to go into the game with me. All I'm saying is that while you are right that taigating has been promoted more that the game recently, it is part of our culture for a long time.

I'm not saying it was good or bad. I'm just saying when you think so little of the product you are selling why would your customers think differently. Tailgating is part of everyone's culture.

It's like selling Cheerios by talking about how great milk is.

 

[businesslawyer]

Certainly it's a difficult job. At it's core it's a political job. There are 12-15 people on the Boneyard who understand the economics of conference realignment better than the majority of college presidents.

If Herbst was the business person that C-Suite executives are, she doesn't really display it by making a tiny fraction of what many of them make.

Come on. As someone who makes plenty of money, it's not fair to judge people's intelligence or even business acumen by what they make.

More importantly, how in the world did this hockey game break out of the 241 analysis?

 

[whaler11]

Come on. As someone who makes plenty of money, it's not fair to judge people's intelligence or even business acumen by what they make.

I generally agree. I shouldn't have put it like that.

My inital comment that made Art so upset was geared towards the average college president anyway - not Herbst or anyone else specifically anyway.

I could be wrong - maybe college presidents actually have more business acumen than actual business people. That seems pretty absurd on it's face and would mean they made some pretty strange career choices but you never know.

The answer to your question is quite obvious....

 

[sportsart]

Now it was geared toward the average college president? You really can't make this up. I pulled the comment from a post/thread about Herbst.

Love it.

 

[whaler11]

Now it was geared toward the average college president? You really can't make this up. I pulled the comment from a post/thread about Herbst.

Love it.

Good lord you quoted it 15 posts above. THE THIRD TO LAST WORD IS AVERAGE.

It said AVERAGE then and it says AVERAGE now.

Maybe comprehend what you read before you become so outraged you have to stalk a poster.

 

[Jimmy Serrano]

Will the 2 of you please get a room?

 

[Chin Diesel]

Come on. As someone who makes plenty of money, it's not fair to judge people's intelligence or even business acumen by what they make.

More importantly, how in the world did this hockey game break out of the 241 analysis?

You better take control of your thread.

Obvious first game analysis hiccup on your part.

By mid-season your analysis will have 5-6 pages of debatable analysis before it gets thread jacked.

Also, you were screwed by a benign game plan that really left all of us, yourself included, to say "Well, that sucked".

Take better notes for Navy and get to your 200 level posting.

 

[sportsart]

He's right. My point was him implying Herbst was an average college president.

It's a shame. I knew he couldn't ignore me for long.

I did have fun though. Next time he's a douch, which should be soon, I'll do an entire "best of" thread.

 

[Dream Jobbed 2.0]

 

[uconnphil2016]

You guys both need to chill. This is a freakin message board lol don't take it so seriously

 

[uconndogs]

These threads become unreadable with this bulls**t. C'mon guys!

 

[Nostical]

When you think so little of the product you are selling why would your customers think differently. Tailgating is part of everyone's culture. It's like selling Cheerios by talking about how great milk is.

I'm not so sure. First, tailgating at The Rent needed to be hyped. It actually wasn't a part of everyone's culture. The process needed to be developed and refined by lots of folks who hadn't participated during our Div 1A days.
It was more about trying to "package the product" of UConn football, and it needed the attention. It wasn't about selling the greatness of milk, it was putting the Cheerios in a colorful box and using an advertising jingle so people would recognize it on the shelf. Then, the more they got to eat those small, dry, round circles--by adding milk--the more Cheerios they bought. For anyone who's now totally confused, tailgating is milk, Cheerios is football. Bottom line, you can love milk and pour lots of it in a bowl, but if the Cheerios don't taste good, you'll likely end up slurping up the milk and leaving the now mushy cardboard morsels in the bottom of the bowl.
This is exhausting--lol.

 

[Palatine]

I'm not so sure. First, tailgating at The Rent needed to be hyped. It actually wasn't a part of everyone's culture. The process needed to be developed and refined by lots of folks who hadn't participated during our Div 1A days.
It was more about trying to "package the product" of UConn football, and it needed the attention. It wasn't about selling the greatness of milk, it was putting the Cheerios in a colorful box and using an advertising jingle so people would recognize it on the shelf. Then, the more they got to eat those small, dry, round circles--by adding milk--the more Cheerios they bought. For anyone who's now totally confused, tailgating is milk, Cheerios is football. Bottom line, you can love milk and pour lots of it in a bowl, but if the Cheerios don't taste good, you'll likely end up slurping up the milk and leaving the now mushy cardboard morsels in the bottom of the bowl.
This is exhausting--lol.

This is where a university with a first class PR department would get the word out. UConn tailgating is perfect feature for almost every local broadcast outlet and blog. It should be aimed at non-football fans. Our media relations are still in the dark ages

 

[Pudge]

Certainly it's a difficult job. At it's core it's a political job. There are 12-15 people on the Boneyard who understand the economics of conference realignment better than the majority of college presidents.

If Herbst was the business person that C-Suite executives are, she doesn't really display it by making a tiny fraction of what many of them make.

Honestly ... this is stupid. It shows an ignorance of the scope of what happens on a college campus these days & the scope of mission the President pursues. Guess what ... watch what happens to a State U when they have a series of awful Presidents. I can provide examples.

 

[Pudge]

This is where a university with a first class PR department would get the word out. UConn tailgating is perfect feature for almost every local broadcast outlet and blog. It should be aimed at non-football fans. Our media relations are still in the dark ages

I have always agreed with you on this. Just simply a poor component of an Athletic Department that has so much excellence overall.

 

[whaler11]

Honestly ... this is stupid. It shows an ignorance of the scope of what happens on a college campus these days & the scope of mission the President pursues. Guess what ... watch what happens to a State U when they have a series of awful Presidents. I can provide examples.

Which has nothing to do with my point.

We are going to have to agree to disagree. I don't believe that
university presidents are the most talented business people in the world. I have the strange inclination to believe that business leaders may be actually be better at business than non-business people.

You really have to close you eyes to a lot of realities to convince yourself that people in a college administration are as business savvy as people who run actual businesses - but whatever floats your boat.

 

[J187Money]

Which has nothing to do with my point.

We are going to have to agree to disagree. I don't believe that
university presidents are the most talented business people in the world. I have the strange inclination to believe that business leaders may be actually be better at business than non-business people.

You really have to close you eyes to a lot of realities to convince yourself that people in a college administration are as business savvy as people who run actual businesses - but whatever floats your boat.

100%. My father and father-in-law spent their entire lives in college administration. They were very talented in what they did, and of course there are many "business" aspects to what they did, and they were more than competent. However, they chose to go into college administration, and not business, and so they didn't spend 20/30+ years honing their skills in the "for-profit business" world, which operates very differently than does a state-run university.

 

[Pudge]

Which has nothing to do with my point.

We are going to have to agree to disagree. I don't believe that
university presidents are the most talented business people in the world. I have the strange inclination to believe that business leaders may be actually be better at business than non-business people.

You really have to close you eyes to a lot of realities to convince yourself that people in a college administration are as business savvy as people who run actual businesses - but whatever floats your boat.

IF ... you see the EXECUTIVE role as the capacity to set a path for a large (or small) coherent goal-oriented organization and accomplish that with the resources and timeframe provided, then that is a business. It is not all about transactions. How to set a course; how to lead; how to team build; how to budget and prioritize. That - to me - is all about business. You can manage/lead a Not-for-profit in equally enormous accomplishment as you can run Pfizer.

 

[whaler11]

IF ... you see the EXECUTIVE role as the capacity to set a path for a large (or small) coherent goal-oriented organization and accomplish that with the resources and timeframe provided, then that is a business. It is not all about transactions. How to set a course; how to lead; how to team build; how to budget and prioritize. That - to me - is all about business. You can manage/lead a Not-for-profit in equally enormous accomplishment as you can run Pfizer.

It's similar in some ways and very different in others.

I'd wonder why executives who could run a Pfizer would choose to run a school... you don't usually see people willing to work for 1/10th or 1/20th of their market value. Maybe this collection of university presidents is more business savvy than actual business people... if so they have really sacraficed their personal gain. I've worked for complete clowns who make triple the university president median comp.

 

[31GuardTrap]

Show me a team not named Alabama, Ohio St. and Louisville that didn't finish their games with areas of concern to work on. UConnJim's accurate comments need to be mixed into the fruit salad of analysis. For sure there were lemons vs Maine but I also saw lots of lemonade. I'll predict right now we head to Houston at 4-0 and play to a much wider and more attentive audience. Beating them down there will make a more important statement than anything else. I've got my flight booked. Let's head down there and show lots of blue in their stadium.

I am giving you a stick with a picture of my face glued to it. I can be there that way.

 

[31GuardTrap]

You better take control of your thread.

Obvious first game analysis hiccup on your part.

By mid-season your analysis will have 5-6 pages of debatable analysis before it gets thread jacked.

Also, you were screwed by a benign game plan that really left all of us, yourself included, to say "Well, that sucked".

Take better notes for Navy and get to your 200 level posting.

Wait....i'm at 200 level.

 

[sdhusky]

Good lord you quoted it 15 posts above. THE THIRD TO LAST WORD IS AVERAGE.

It said AVERAGE then and it says AVERAGE now.

Maybe comprehend what you read before you become so outraged you have to stalk a poster.

i don't think you are very good at blocking another poster.

 

[huskypantz]

You really have to close you eyes to a lot of realities to convince yourself that people in a college administration are as business savvy as people who run actual businesses - but whatever floats your boat.

Hmmm - there are different kinds of business savvy. In the for-profit world, you shutter a business segment because it's revenue-neutral or provides modest returns. College presidents are a little more philanthropic. Otherwise, there would be no schools of social work. I've worked in health care all of my life, similar scenario. While my employer is now for-profit, there are general components that are known money losers. You don't have an emergency department because you're looking to generate a profit - you do it because it's a critical component of the health care continuum. Yet all of our hospitals have emergency departments, go figure. Our president's a damn brilliant and savvy dude who I'd put in a room against anyone you could offer up.