UConn Names Warde Manuel AD

[Jimdish255]

I love the hire. Like most people I don't have any idea about the details of the process or the talent pool that was receptive to the job. His age and experience are both a plus for me. My hope is that he recognizes that our participation in a competitive and stable football conference is a crucial element that will determine the overall success of the department he's taken charge of.

Warde's got a tough job given all the cr-p the NCAA seems intent on dishing out to us and the instability within the conference. But he's also got the support of a lot of people that want to see us do well and build on our history of success on and off the field. It's a great opportunity but I hope he's asked all the right questions going in and comes prepared to see this through and get us back on solid ground. If he is I'm on board 100%.

 

[brasssbonanzaa]

Seems like he could have a lot of potential, and his experience is solid. But what numnut decided to release this information on a Sunday night?! Whoever made that decision in the PR department should be fired!

 

[Jimdish255]

some nice quotes from the article, including several, notable big 10 leaders and a dukie for good measure:
Lloyd Carr, Head Football Coach (1995-2007), Assistant Football Coach (1980-94), University of Michigan“Warde had a very good playing career at Michigan, and he was the type of player that you wanted in your program. He was a very good student, good in the locker room, and was a team player. He then developed an excellent background in athletic administration here at Michigan and then at Buffalo, as he gained experience working in academics, fundraising, and a number of different sports. He is a bright person and an excellent communicator. I think that the coaches and student-athletes at Connecticut will really embrace what he stands for.”
Gene Smith, Director of Athletics, Ohio State University“First of all, Warde and [his wife] Chris are very good people and have a great family. Warde is a leader in our industry, and he understands the challenges that one faces in trying to run a collegiate athletic program. I also think he is going to be a huge asset to the university outside of athletics, as he really understands how all of higher education operates.”
Kevin White, Vice President and Director of Athletics at Duke University,
“Simply said, Warde Manuel represents a brilliant appointment at UConn! Warde has very quickly become one of the most respected leaders within college athletics. He is strong and determined, perhaps humble to a fault, highly empathetic, certainly task-oriented, and inordinately passionate about providing the very best student-athlete experience possible. Above all of that, Warde is a guy that – all day, every day – simply ‘drips with integrity.’ Unequivocally, the Huskies couldn’t have made a better hire!”

An OSU guy praising a Michigan guy? That's good enough for me.

 

[Jimdish255]

Seems like he could have a lot of potential, and his experience is solid. But what numnut decided to release this information on a Sunday night?! Whoever made that decision in the PR department should be fired!

If I've got any recruiting visits scheduled this week, I'm pretty happy they didn't wait.

 

[B1GEast]

Looks like a good hire, not too many people on this board are qualified to give their opinion on what it takes to hire an AD or run a university. This seems like a great hire, a young guy who's going to take Uconn to the next level, it takes a lot of
chuts pa to make a hire like this. Good job Susan!

Read what people in the know are saying:

Kevin White, Vice President and Director of Athletics, Duke University
"Simply said, Warde Manuel represents a brilliant appointment at UConn! Warde has very quickly become one of the most respected leaders within college athletics. He is strong and determined, perhaps humble to a fault, highly empathetic, certainly task-oriented, and inordinately passionate about providing the very best student-athlete experience possible. Above all of that, Warde is a guy that -- all day, every day -- simply `drips with integrity.' Unequivocally, the Huskies couldn't have made a better hire!"

Reggie Witherspoon, Head Men's Basketball Coach, University at Buffalo
"Warde is going to be a great ambassador for the University of Connecticut and he is going to immediately exude energy into the campus. Warde stands firm on academic principals first and foremost and he is also an extremely competitive person who wants to win. The people of Connecticut will be thrilled by him and feel good about being in his presence."

Lloyd Carr, Head Football Coach (1995-2007), Assistant Football Coach (1980-94), University of Michigan
"Warde had a very good playing career at Michigan and he was the type of player that you wanted in your program. He was a very good student, good in the locker room and was a team player. He then developed an excellent background in athletic administration here at Michigan and then at Buffalo, as he gained experience working in academics, fundraising and a number of different sports. He is a bright person and an excellent communicator. I think that the coaches and student-athletes at Connecticut will really embrace what he stands for."

Gene Smith, Director of Athletics, Ohio State University
"First of all, Warde and Chris are very good people and have a great family. Warde is a leader in our industry and he understands the challenges that one faces in trying to run a collegiate athletic program. I also think he is going to be a huge asset to the university outside of athletics as he really understands how all of higher education operates. "

 

[Sean]

Shoutouts from tOSU, Duke, Michigan. He's got enough connections.

 

[Excalibur]

Anyone thinking we were getting a sitting BCS conference AD is crazy. It's tough to realistically criticize this hire. Only worry is that with his relative youth and B1G background, he may be looking at moving on/up in 5 years or so.

 

[CTMike]

Looks like a good hire, not too many people on this board are qualified to give their opinion on what it takes to hire an AD or run a university. This seems like a great hire, a young guy who's going to take Uconn to the next level, it takes a lot of
chuts pa to make a hire like this. Good job Susan!

Read what people in the know are saying:

Kevin White, Vice President and Director of Athletics, Duke University
"Simply said, Warde Manuel represents a brilliant appointment at UConn! Warde has very quickly become one of the most respected leaders within college athletics. He is strong and determined, perhaps humble to a fault, highly empathetic, certainly task-oriented, and inordinately passionate about providing the very best student-athlete experience possible. Above all of that, Warde is a guy that -- all day, every day -- simply `drips with integrity.' Unequivocally, the Huskies couldn't have made a better hire!"

Reggie Witherspoon, Head Men's Basketball Coach, University at Buffalo
"Warde is going to be a great ambassador for the University of Connecticut and he is going to immediately exude energy into the campus. Warde stands firm on academic principals first and foremost and he is also an extremely competitive person who wants to win. The people of Connecticut will be thrilled by him and feel good about being in his presence."

Lloyd Carr, Head Football Coach (1995-2007), Assistant Football Coach (1980-94), University of Michigan
"Warde had a very good playing career at Michigan and he was the type of player that you wanted in your program. He was a very good student, good in the locker room and was a team player. He then developed an excellent background in athletic administration here at Michigan and then at Buffalo, as he gained experience working in academics, fundraising and a number of different sports. He is a bright person and an excellent communicator. I think that the coaches and student-athletes at Connecticut will really embrace what he stands for."

Gene Smith, Director of Athletics, Ohio State University
"First of all, Warde and Chris are very good people and have a great family. Warde is a leader in our industry and he understands the challenges that one faces in trying to run a collegiate athletic program. I also think he is going to be a huge asset to the university outside of athletics as he really understands how all of higher education operates. "

Quite frankly, those are perfect quotes. Very encouraging.

 

[fgbrault]

It sounds like a great appointment. He has big school experience at Michigan (including reporting responsibility for their biggest programs, football and basketball) and ultimate bottom line responsibility at Buffalo. Many times the choice is between a 2nd or 3rd guy from a major university or a top guy from a smaller one - in this case UConn gets the benefit of both. Only time will tell, but my gut reaction is that this is a winning move.

Good point. after all, Calhoun was a head coach from a relatively miner basketball program.

 

[sportsart]

Sorry Bigeastconf......All the people you posted quotes from have zero boneyard posts and zero likes. Not buying it.

 

[junglehusky]

Sorry Bigeastconf......All the people you posted quotes from have zero boneyard posts and zero likes. Not buying it.

LOL. At first I was all excited about Reese Witherspoon, but then I looked again and it was Reggie.

 

[huskymedic]

A bit more on the NCAA

http://www.buffalonews.com/sports/colleges/university-at-buffalo/article720840.ece

>Manuel
is among three ADs on the 15-person committee called NCAA Working Group on Collegiate Model-Rules. Other institutions represented include some of the bigger names on the college landscape: Clemson, Stanford, Oklahoma, Texas, Tennessee, LSU and Georgetown.

While the rules have been through deregulation, additions and deletions, never has the NCAA undertaken a thorough bylaw-by-bylaw, sentence-by-sentence examination of a Division I manual that goes 426 pages, including the index. Manuel, a Michigan graduate in his seventh year at UB, was invited to participate in the unprecedented process.

"Any time any important effort comes up in Division I .‚.‚. Warde Manuel's name appears on the list as somebody who can contribute," said Kevin Lennon, NCAA vice president for academic membership and affairs. "Then we just have to figure out if he has enough time to do it because we recognize Warde and others have full-time jobs on their campuses."<


He's got the requisite Rolodex!

 

[Fishy]

Why, I like the cut of this young man's jib. He's got moxie, and panache and then more moxie. And his bio has more abbreviations that mine does by a factor of about 20.

I think he's going to be a fine athletic director.

 

[ConnHuskBask]

Sorry Bigeastconf......All the people you posted quotes from have zero boneyard posts and zero likes. Not buying it.

I laughed at this. Paused. And starting laughing even more. Awesome post haha.

 

[huskymedic]

I was excited until I saw this...

“@mark_may: Big congrats to Warde Manuel the new AD at UCONN well deserved big fella !”

We're DOOMED, doomed I tell ya!

 

[metsfan2323]

I wonder if this hire provides a little insight into where Herbst thinks our future lies.

 

[CAPS]

Smart and young maybe one day when coach P departs he will find one young and smart as he.

 

[Sean]

Good point. after all, Calhoun was a head coach from a relatively miner basketball program.

UTEP? I always thought Calhoun was from Northeastern.

 

[jrazz12]

Looks like a very good hire.

I may be searching for things, but to me this move screams B1G. AAU reference, Michigan man, plus Susan's prior posturing. I hope that's the case.

 

[B1GEast]

Sorry Bigeastconf......All the people you posted quotes from have zero boneyard posts and zero likes. Not buying it.

hysterical

 

[brasssbonanzaa]

If I've got any recruiting visits scheduled this week, I'm pretty happy they didn't wait.

That's why you release this information tomorrow morning. You release things on Sunday that you don't want anyone to care about. At least it wasn't last Sunday...

 

[jpm25]

I wonder if this hire provides a little insight into where Herbst thinks our future lies.

Hopefully you don't mean the MAC

 

[Fishy]

That's why you release this information tomorrow morning. You release things on Sunday that you don't want anyone to care about. At least it wasn't last Sunday...

You don't always get the chance to decide when something becomes a story - apparently, the story was going to break this evening anyway. At that point, you have to put out your release.

 

[Da_Aisijimo_Gou]

An OSU guy praising a Michigan guy? That's good enough for me.

It's possible, but unlikely too many viable candidates could tick off many more requirements boxes. Manuel's bio and the reference quotes sure reflect success, and suggest multiple important connections: Big 10 (Michigan, OSU), ACC (White of Duke, Manuel's prior Georgia Tech experience as an academic advisor and then assistant AD of academic affairs), a historically important midwest program UConn recently defeated (Smith, an alumnus of ND, White's prior employer), the Big 12 and Pac 12 (White's prior employers), NCAA (academics as a member of the Division I Committee on Academic Performance, and a boat load of other NCAA committees model, major and minor sports experience in football and track at Michigan), academic performance (personally symbolized by academic success and graduate degrees, and in Buffalo's dramatically improved athletic achievements), women's sports, community, and business leadership (national and Buffalo awards), football country/deep south background (New Orleans native), etc.

Now, if Manuel will help lead UConn out of the BE cluster mess. Please!

 

[Da_Aisijimo_Gou]

You don't always get the chance to decide when something becomes a story - apparently, the story was going to break this evening anyway. At that point, you have to put out your release.

Exactly! This highly complementary Buffalo News article indicates University of Buffalo "... President Satish Tripathi informed the UB Council of Manuel's decision Sunday night...".

On a related topic, "UConn moved quickly to hire Manuel. The university contacted him through Atlanta-based Parker Executive Search to gauge his interest three weeks ago. Seven candidates were brought in to interview for the position Thursday and Friday, a source told The News. Manuel was interviewed Friday. UConn's initial plans included interviewing more candidates this week, a source said, but Manuel was offered the job three hours after his interview."

The latter is further evidence Pres. Herbst is not afraid to make decisions.