UConn Names Warde Manuel AD | Page 3 | The Boneyard

UConn Names Warde Manuel AD

Status
Not open for further replies.
sportsart said:
Sorry Bigeastconf......All the people you posted quotes from have zero boneyard posts and zero likes. Not buying it.
Expand ...
LOL. At first I was all excited about Reese Witherspoon, but then I looked again and it was Reggie.
 
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!
 
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.
 
sportsart said:
Sorry Bigeastconf......All the people you posted quotes from have zero boneyard posts and zero likes. Not buying it.
Expand ...

I laughed at this. Paused. And starting laughing even more. Awesome post haha.
 
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!
 
I wonder if this hire provides a little insight into where Herbst thinks our future lies.
 
.-.
Smart and young maybe one day when coach P departs he will find one young and smart as he.
 
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.
 
Jimdish255 said:
If I've got any recruiting visits scheduled this week, I'm pretty happy they didn't wait.
Expand ...
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...
 
.-.
brasssbonanzaa said:
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...
Expand ...


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.
 
Jimdish255 said:
An OSU guy praising a Michigan guy? That's good enough for me.
Expand ...
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!
 
Fishy said:
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.
Expand ...
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.
 
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.
 
Fishy said:
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.
Expand ...

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.
 
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.
 
.-.
Devland said:
Could it be as bad as hiring a basketball coach from Northeastern? sarcasm off
Expand ...
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.
 
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.
 
I'm quite happy with this hire. Young, progressive, and aggressive.
 
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
 
bigeastconf said:
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. "
Expand ...

Clearly they didn't poll Dan before releasing their opinions.
 
Excalibur said:
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.
Expand ...
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 ......
 
.-.
SubbaBub said:
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
Expand ...
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.
 
UConnRock said:
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.
Expand ...


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.
 
FDNY99 said:
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.
Expand ...

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.
 
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.
 
gars44 said:
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.
Expand ...

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.



Sent from my MB860 using Tapatalk
 
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.
 
.-.
Status
Not open for further replies.

Forum statistics

Threads
168,269
Messages
4,560,826
Members
10,451
Latest member
WashingtonH


Top Bottom