UConn Names Warde Manuel AD

[Rumrunner]

Who knows if he'll turn out to be a great hire (personally I like the fact that he was hired within hours of interviewing, presumably after other candidates were paraded in). But I think it's a stretch to read the tea leaves of his hire and divine prospective conference affiliation. The AD's job stays largely the same whether he's employed at Michigan or Buffalo. Just the budget is bigger.

The only meaningful conference expansion correlative issue MIGHT be the answer to this question: Would the hire have signed on knowing, e.g., that his new employer will be in a football mid major conference for an appreciable overlapping of his projected tenure?

The answer here would be, yes, Warde Manuel most likely would have taken the job even if he knew UConn would be stuck in the BE for the forseeable future. As Memohis has shown, one man's garbage is another man's treasure. Going from an AD budget of $25m to one almost $70m is an appreciable step up. Obviously UConn didn't get the proven AD at a big-time bcs conference. The one thing that tempers my pessimism is that he has been at Buffalo for 6 years and perhaps he was so dynamic and sought after that he waited for the right job to come to him. But like Lady Gaga that goes both ways. It very well may mean that he was passed up by other programs. Fingers crossed it is the former.

 

[kibblesnbits]

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.

To the extent this is a story outside the college athletic community it is limited to here in CT and Buffalo. It will hit today's papers in both places and then the primary coverage will occur after the introductory press conference. The old rules about putting out press releases are pretty much dead as we are in a 7x24 electronic news world. Controlling when the initial info gets out is generally out of the PR department's control as it will go into widespread distribution the moment the first reporter gets wind of it (versus the old days when things were governed by when that reporter had a deadline and even if he picked it up earlier his competitors would generally not have it until a day after that). Now the most they can really control from a timing perspective is the formal introduction.

 

[FDNY99]

I'm interested to see Upstater's take on this hire. He has had the opportunity ti see how Manuel operates from the inside. Personally I like this hire, his Michigan experience running the football program is HUGE. Only time will tell how this hire works out...but I am excited about it.

 

[huskyrob1]

Could it be as bad as hiring a basketball coach from Northeastern? sarcasm off

Or maybe after all is said and done, hiring the greatest bball coach in womens bball history at a Dunkin Donuts over a cup a coffee? I like this hire, Herbst made the right move hear and I think we can kiss the Big Catholic Basketball Onlys Who Didn't Give A About Football Until It Was Too Late Conference goodbye. Just reinforces my belief that we will end up in the Big 10 rather than the ACC.

 

[UConnRock]

This board cracks me up sometimes. UConn hires Pasqualoni and a faction is up in arms saying we should have hired a young up-and-comer who would bring in new ideas and some energy to the program. Then UConn hires Manuel, and a similar faction says UConn shoud have hired a well seasoned veteran AD.

I love the hire. He is a football guy, with a football background from one of the most tradition-rich programs in the country. He sharpened his skills in a tough environment bringing more success and recognition to the Buffalo program than anyone could have expected.

 

[spsct]

I'm quite happy with this hire. Young, progressive, and aggressive.

 

[SubbaBub]

Looks like a very good long term hire, assuming he stays long term. Which brings me to our very short term problem. The clock is ticking on the big time nature of Uconn athletics. Without a better conference affiliation FB will regress and BB will be entirely dependent on the ability of JCs successor.

The young man needs to get on it, pronto. What gives me confidence is that the question of conference affiliation had to have loomed large in the selection process.

Sent from my MB860 using Tapatalk

 

[Jarhead_1775]

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. "

Clearly they didn't poll Dan before releasing their opinions.

 

[gars44]

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.

That's a good point, but not one that you can let affect your decision. If he has the opportunity to move up in 5 years, it means he did a great job, which is what we want. So, have to live with that ......

 

[gars44]

Looks like a very good long term hire, assuming he stays long term. Which brings me to our very short term problem. The clock is ticking on the big time nature of Uconn athletics. Without a better conference affiliation FB will regress and BB will be entirely dependent on the ability of JCs successor.

The young man needs to get on it, pronto. What gives me confidence is that the question of conference affiliation had to have loomed large in the selection process.

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I don't think football has to regress. The reconstituted big east isn't worse with the departure of WVA, Syr and Pitt. The first round was the big blow. The latter three are easily replaceable in football, and they have been. Not so in basketball, esp., Syr. But Memphis for Pitt? Temple for WVA basketball? Not the end of the world as we know it.

 

[Excalibur]

This board cracks me up sometimes. UConn hires Pasqualoni and a faction is up in arms saying we should have hired a young up-and-comer who would bring in new ideas and some energy to the program. Then UConn hires Manuel, and a similar faction says UConn shoud have hired a well seasoned veteran AD.

I love the hire. He is a football guy, with a football background from one of the most tradition-rich programs in the country. He sharpened his skills in a tough environment bringing more success and recognition to the Buffalo program than anyone could have expected.

No idea if it's the same people complaining. I, for one, wasn't a fan of the P hire, but am happy with this one.

 

[upstater]

I'm interested to see Upstater's take on this hire. He has had the opportunity ti see how Manuel operates from the inside. Personally I like this hire, his Michigan experience running the football program is HUGE. Only time will tell how this hire works out...but I am excited about it.

Manuel's considered a great guy and my dealings with the AD office are mostly through basketball. Solid students, some have some real talent and may do it for a living. I have one of those right now. Always comes to class except for games (and really, it's hard to overestimate how much time they miss because of games; it's incredibly difficult).

What I like about the way the AD is run that diverges from a, let's say, SEC mentality? They allow their students to venture into the university and take classes/majors that suit them. This is not par for the course at many places.

From reading the comments here, the fundraising stuff and the AAU is overblown. Buffalo is hanging by a thread when it comes to the AAU, and UB does not fundraise well. Jumping from $11 million to a $25 million budget is practically due to increased subsidies from the university in a time of cuts. Maybe that's the only criticism of Manuel, he was mildly tone deaf in speaking of the budget increase. It's part of his job to defend his turf, and that's appreciated. He has to do it. But, better to keep it short and sweet. It's a bit difficult to defend openly.

That being said, every job is different. He is well-liked so that may indeed translate to increased fundraising. He may experience greater challenges with the academic side at UConn, I don't know why that would necessarily be the case. I don't think it should, but it may be. I hope he's successful and stays at UConn a long time because that will mean UConn is successful. For someone born 2 months before I was, he has grown kids! and that's impressive to me. Can't imagine having a child at 25.

I can't say much about his coaching selections. Turner Gill was a homerun for Buffalo who then kinda flopped at Kansas, but that may say more about Kansas than it says about Gill. I like the bball coach a great deal but he's been here longer than Manuel. The football coach was a MAC assistant who became a Cincy assistant and didn't seem to be the most imaginative choice out there. I believe the game in the MAC is knowing the region and that tends to take precedence over other things, even though Gill came out of left field and did just fine. It's hard to recruit to Buffalo for football, IMO, and though you can promise students a solid education, there's not much jump to the program.

In fact, I've been saying for years they should ditch it and start a top notch hockey program instead. I feel pretty strongly that Buffalo would be one of the best hockey schools in the nation in short order. Having lived in Conn. and Boston and several other towns with strong hockey (Providence, Ann Arbor, etc.) Buffalo is by far and away the most hockey-crazed place I've ever lived in.

All in all, a good hire, but I think it's also impossible to predict what he'll do given the huge differences between Buffalo and UConn.

Oh, I left out the best thing. He does very well in marketing and certainly raised AWARENESS of the athletic programs.

 

[uconndogs]

Thanks Upstater. Excellent analysis.

For those looking for a silver bullet to the ACC or BiG, it does not exist and certainly does not exist with the selection on one person.

 

[SubbaBub]

I don't think football has to regress. The reconstituted big east isn't worse with the departure of WVA, Syr and Pitt. The first round was the big blow. The latter three are easily replaceable in football, and they have been. Not so in basketball, esp., Syr. But Memphis for Pitt? Temple for WVA basketball? Not the end of the world as we know it.

As an up and coming FB program our three best recruiting tools have been 1. Access to the BCS, 2. Nationally recognizable brand as a university through our BB success which generated enough financial support to... 3. Build top level facilities.

Without a new conference #1 is all but gone, #2 takes a hit now the BE BB is weakened which means we will have trouble keeping up with respect to #3.

Dollars, exposure, and relevance are all pointing down relative to the other 5 conferences. Unless the on-field results are there quickly, recruits will go elsewhere. Boise has been the only nationally relevant team in the past decade. We will see if they can keep it up now that the P12 is upgrading its programs and head coaches. Everyone else is at a disadvantage that is about to get worse unless the BE getsthe a lot better.



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[CTMike]

Manuel was very well spoken in the introductory presser. Someone asked about conference realignment... (was impossible to hear the questions)... he noted that, on a personal level, he found all the realignment a bit "puzzling". But from a UConn perspective... it's just too early to offer anything other than "We are part of the Big East and look forward to dominating." I'm quite, quite sure he's aware that it's a prominent issue though.

 

[Waquoit]

I love the hire. He is a football guy, with a football background from one of the most tradition-rich programs in the country. He sharpened his skills in a tough environment bringing more success and recognition to the Buffalo program than anyone could have expected.

Good points. I think that's just what we were looking for.

 

[mattp]

i think many of you are overlooking that he's on the NCAA Committee for Academic PErformance or whatever it's called. it should help us on the academic side of things, which had been becoming a little bit of a problem. maybe he'll figure how to get us in the 2013 NCAA tournament. as far as scheduling, we pretty much all hated our 4 game home and home scheduling of Buffalo, and while it might be a black mark on JH for setting it up, Manuel did a good job from his end in getting it done. Buffalo's improved a lot over the last decade. i'm pretty excited for this hire. plus he looks friendly

 

[Chuck Tilson]

http://www.uconnhuskies.com/genrel/021212aad.html

Well I like the fact he Played football at Michigan! Hathaway couldn't play darts! Didn't fit AD mould in my small opinion.

 

[HuskyOfLeisure]

More importantly, will he use any of the information he reads on the Boneyard to make institutional decisions?!?!

 

[TexanMark]

He was an associate AD at Michigan and got his own dep't. at Buffalo, one of the worst in FBS. In three years he took their overall budget from $11 million to $25 million, and was on the 40 under 40 list, which is huge. He's on a ton of important NCAA committees. I'll trust their judgement.

Shaking head yes...looks to be a great hire.

 

[Buffalofan425]

I'm a student at the University at Buffalo and I would like to address some things.

First of all, we are one of the youngest D1 programs in the nation, let alone D1 FBS. Second of all, we have been to the NIT (someone before said we haven't).

UB is an exceptionally good academic school. All of our programs are ranked within the top 10% in the nation. It's a flagship school of NY's system. We have 30,000 kids...20,000 of which are undergrad, and 10,000 of which are grad. I'm from Massachusetts so I am very familiar with UConn. We are ranked 111th in the nation overall by USNWR.

Now onto athletics. We have had a decent athletics program at UB for over 110 years (started in 1890's...our school was established in 1846). We reinstated our athletics program in the 1980's...(we were D3) and then we instantly became D1 in the 90's. We became a member of the MAC in '99. Have we had a successful football team? Probably not. Our budget every year used to be $4.5 million. What is UConn's right now? 75 million? 50 million? Right now our budget is $25 million. Probably less than half that as yours. Is that UB's fault? I don't think so. NY state cuts our budget so much that we get squished. Warde was the guy that made things happen at UB. He increased our budget 5x over 6 years.

If you think that Buffalo is not big time right now, have another look at the pre-warde era. Today we were on ESPN 3 times. 7 years ago, we wouldn't even be mentioned in months.

 

[TRest]

I'm a student at the University at Buffalo and I would like to address some things.

First of all, we are one of the youngest D1 programs in the nation, let alone D1 FBS. Second of all, we have been to the NIT (someone before said we haven't).

UB is an exceptionally good academic school. All of our programs are ranked within the top 10% in the nation. It's a flagship school of NY's system. We have 30,000 kids...20,000 of which are undergrad, and 10,000 of which are grad. I'm from Massachusetts so I am very familiar with UConn. We are ranked 111th in the nation overall by USNWR.

Now onto athletics. We have had a decent athletics program at UB for over 110 years (started in 1890's...our school was established in 1846). We reinstated our athletics program in the 1980's...(we were D3) and then we instantly became D1 in the 90's. We became a member of the MAC in '99. Have we had a successful football team? Probably not. Our budget every year used to be $4.5 million. What is UConn's right now? 75 million? 50 million? Right now our budget is $25 million. Probably less than half that as yours. Is that UB's fault? I don't think so. NY state cuts our budget so much that we get squished. Warde was the guy that made things happen at UB. He increased our budget 5x over 6 years.

If you think that Buffalo is not big time right now, have another look at the pre-warde era. Today we were on ESPN 3 times. 7 years ago, we wouldn't even be mentioned in months.

A: I thought UB would be ranked a lot higher than 111 by USNWR.

B: Was the basketball facility a renovation of existing space, or a new project and how much did it cost? How much was paid by private funds vs. state dollars?

 

[Buffalofan425]

Ok good, because many seem to dismiss UB's academic accolades.

Warde had to fight for private donors a lot. I believe the practice facility came out of private donation $$.

It should also be noted that our arena (Alumni Arena) had a $6.2 million upgrade this past fall and winter. We got a whole new sound system, lighting system, video production suite, and a HUGE HD videoboard. It was funded by many organizations...but I believe the main funds we got it from were private.

 

[Buffalofan425]

Also one more thing. Warde is a BIG guy. I had the honours to take his wife's coat last weekend at an American Heart Association Ball in Buffalo. Warde stands at what it seems to be 7 feet tall.


Fun fact: his wife's name is inscribed in that very expensive coat of hers'.

 

[FDNY99]

Thanks Upstater

Manuel's considered a great guy and my dealings with the AD office are mostly through basketball. Solid students, some have some real talent and may do it for a living. I have one of those right now. Always comes to class except for games (and really, it's hard to overestimate how much time they miss because of games; it's incredibly difficult).

What I like about the way the AD is run that diverges from a, let's say, SEC mentality? They allow their students to venture into the university and take classes/majors that suit them. This is not par for the course at many places.

From reading the comments here, the fundraising stuff and the AAU is overblown. Buffalo is hanging by a thread when it comes to the AAU, and UB does not fundraise well. Jumping from $11 million to a $25 million budget is practically due to increased subsidies from the university in a time of cuts. Maybe that's the only criticism of Manuel, he was mildly tone deaf in speaking of the budget increase. It's part of his job to defend his turf, and that's appreciated. He has to do it. But, better to keep it short and sweet. It's a bit difficult to defend openly.

That being said, every job is different. He is well-liked so that may indeed translate to increased fundraising. He may experience greater challenges with the academic side at UConn, I don't know why that would necessarily be the case. I don't think it should, but it may be. I hope he's successful and stays at UConn a long time because that will mean UConn is successful. For someone born 2 months before I was, he has grown kids! and that's impressive to me. Can't imagine having a child at 25.

I can't say much about his coaching selections. Turner Gill was a homerun for Buffalo who then kinda flopped at Kansas, but that may say more about Kansas than it says about Gill. I like the bball coach a great deal but he's been here longer than Manuel. The football coach was a MAC assistant who became a Cincy assistant and didn't seem to be the most imaginative choice out there. I believe the game in the MAC is knowing the region and that tends to take precedence over other things, even though Gill came out of left field and did just fine. It's hard to recruit to Buffalo for football, IMO, and though you can promise students a solid education, there's not much jump to the program.

In fact, I've been saying for years they should ditch it and start a top notch hockey program instead. I feel pretty strongly that Buffalo would be one of the best hockey schools in the nation in short order. Having lived in Conn. and Boston and several other towns with strong hockey (Providence, Ann Arbor, etc.) Buffalo is by far and away the most hockey-crazed place I've ever lived in.

All in all, a good hire, but I think it's also impossible to predict what he'll do given the huge differences between Buffalo and UConn.

Oh, I left out the best thing. He does very well in marketing and certainly raised AWARENESS of the athletic programs.