UConn selects new AD | Page 3 | The Boneyard

UConn selects new AD

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CTBballfan243 said:
Wasn't there some other guy from Connecticut named Benedict? How did that work out? Just sayin.....
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Yes.......and he (Benedict Arnold) was the hero of the Battle of Saratoga (NY) which many have suggested was a decisive and turning point in the Revolutionary War! In fact a statue of him on his horse is prominently displayed in the Historic Saratoga Battlefield.

After that battle, the British recognized the patchwork colonial army is a force to be reckoned with.

Maybe this Benedict can finish what Warde started, and the P-5 will recognize UConn is a force that cannot be denied and needs to be taken seriously.

Thank God he comes from major school with a strong football background and not a small time New England school
 
The Viking said:
Ironic statement from ESPN considering they conspired along with the ACC to destroy the Big East once the BE rejected their TV offer, eventually leading UConn to be in the sorry spot they're in.
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We have to move forward from this line of thinking. If UConn was stabbed in the back by anyone it was the schools that were in the Big East. They turned down the ESPN offer to in turn betray the schools left behind. Pitt is number one in this dept as it was their AD that spearheaded the movement to reject the offer. Sure they are making more money now, but not a single one of those schools that left is thriving with on field/on court success. Pitt and WVU have had their moments.
 
I think this is a tremendous hire. I think Susan knew exactly what we needed. Benedict is from a P5 (having served at 3 of them in the three strongest conferences) and has football bona-fides. We had to have that and I was not looking forward to some MAC guy trying to move up. He seems to have great connections based on those quotes. Very excited by this move.

We had to be considered a great job, given that our last AD just landed at Michigan. I knew we didn't have to settle.
 
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jostar1 said:
Jeff Jacobs ‏@jacobscourant · 33m33 minutes ago

New UConn AD David Benedict $450,000 salary, up to $100,000 a year in bonuses. $50,000 a year retention bonus if he stays at least 5 years.
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What did Warde make?
 
UC313 said:
http://www.auburntigers.com/genrel/david_benedict_986493.html

Dude gets money.
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Some of my favorite quotes from this:

Football/Rent Expansion: He led a feasibility study for planned renovations to the North end zone at Jordan-Hare Stadium. He coordinated the department's investment and development of a new $14 million video board and sound system and other improvements at the stadium.

Hoops: Serving as sports administrator for Auburn men's basketball, Benedict assisted Jacobs in the national search that landed Head Coach Bruce Pearl. Benedict also provides ongoing support for Auburn football.

Football Gameday Atmosphere (sorely in need of an injection of excitement): The daily grind is worth it for Benedict when it comes time to watch the eagle soar above 87,451 fans at Jordan-Hare Stadium, or listen to the roar of the crowd as the band takes the field. It's all special to him, just as it is to the Auburn Family.

"I don't think people really have a true appreciation of how great the experience on a game day Saturday is at Auburn," Benedict said. "With all the places that I have been, there is no question Auburn is by far and away the best college game day experience I have ever been a part of, both professionally and personal. It is really special."

Fundraising: Auburn - As COO, Benedict directs all day-to-day operations for the department. In his short time at Auburn, Benedict has an impressive track record of success in operational planning, resource allocation, budget development and strong financial management. Partnering with Jacobs, he has led the department's staff in developing strategic long-range plans for a $120+ million budget, facilities, staffing and accomplishing strategic goals.

Minnesota - During his tenure at Minnesota, Benedict worked with the University of Minnesota Foundation to create a framework for the largest athletic campaign in history. He worked closely with the AD to create new strategic plan and master facility plan; played a key role in a highly successful search for a men's basketball coach; managed third party vendors with record results; and served as the athletics department's representative in contract negotiations of the Minnesota Vikings' facility use agreement, which generated a minimum of $6 million over a two-year period.

VCU - Among other highlights, Benedict directed a campaign to raise $3.5 million for a new club seating and suite project, raised $1.5 million in 36 hours to retain Head Basketball Coach Shaka Smart and developed a dynamic sales plan for the ticket sales staff, resulting in record sales in basketball and baseball.

Long Beach - Benedict was Senior Associate Athletic Director at Long Beach State University from 2007-2010. He administered all external areas of the department and directly supervised the baseball program and volunteer boards. While at Long Beach State, Benedict restructured the department's fundraising operation, initiated a $35 million capital campaign, closed a $5 million gift for a new team center, a $1.5 million naming gift for a new tennis facility and two other seven-figure gifts. Overall fundraising totals increased each year of his tenure.

ASU - Benedict was Associate Athletic Director of Development at Arizona State University from 1996 to 2006. During his time at ASU, Benedict raised $5 million for multiple facility renovations and expansions, solicited a $1 million matching contribution for the Annual Fund, implemented new annual giving programs and directed specialty fundraising campaigns.

Media Rights: He also successfully worked with stakeholders to streamline communications and operations related to sports marketing and promotions, television, media relations, ticketing, community outreach and sponsorships.



Bottomline: if there was still any slight sliver of doubt out there in Boneyardland or anywhere else that President Herbst isn't on top of this (and the best possible leader for UConn), this hire should just about seal those up. My goodness, this is a home run hire.
 
From the Courant's story January 27, comparing UConn to Michigan:

AD Salary: Manuel was in the fourth year of a five-year contract at UConn with a base salary of $450,000 a year and academic and athletic performance incentives worth up to $100,000 more each year.

Benedict is basically getting Warde's deal plus the 50K retention bonus because he's a flight risk.
 
Benedict was making $310,000 at Auburn.

" Jacobs’ pay has steadily risen since he started in 2005, from $407,300 to $648,700, and he has been able to hire some help. In January 2014, Jacobs created a chief operating officer position, a No. 2 to take over the department’s day-to-day operations.

For that job, Jacobs chose Benedict, whom he lured away from Minnesota athletics with a salary of $310,000."

http://www.bendbulletin.com/sports/3730517-153/why-wealthy-college-programs-operate-at-a-loss#
 
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MattMang23 said:
From the Courant's story January 27, comparing UConn to Michigan:

AD Salary: Manuel was in the fourth year of a five-year contract at UConn with a base salary of $450,000 a year and academic and athletic performance incentives worth up to $100,000 more each year.

Benedict is basically getting Warde's deal plus the 50K retention bonus because he's a flight risk.
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Makes sense. He's a little lower on the base salary since it's his first full-time AD gig, but the incentives are higher because he comes in with a lot of connections and the expectation is for him to deliver immediately.
 
Drew said:
He's on twitter. @AUTigersCOO
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Thanks Drew, just added and tweeted him my congratulatory/welcome 150 characters! :)
 
Is there any audio-only stream to his presser? My work computer blocks Flash so I can't watch the video from here.
 
Dooley said:
Some of my favorite quotes from this:

Football/Rent Expansion: He led a feasibility study for planned renovations to the North end zone at Jordan-Hare Stadium. He coordinated the department's investment and development of a new $14 million video board and sound system and other improvements at the stadium.

Hoops: Serving as sports administrator for Auburn men's basketball, Benedict assisted Jacobs in the national search that landed Head Coach Bruce Pearl. Benedict also provides ongoing support for Auburn football.

Football Gameday Atmosphere (sorely in need of an injection of excitement): The daily grind is worth it for Benedict when it comes time to watch the eagle soar above 87,451 fans at Jordan-Hare Stadium, or listen to the roar of the crowd as the band takes the field. It's all special to him, just as it is to the Auburn Family.

"I don't think people really have a true appreciation of how great the experience on a game day Saturday is at Auburn," Benedict said. "With all the places that I have been, there is no question Auburn is by far and away the best college game day experience I have ever been a part of, both professionally and personal. It is really special."

Fundraising: Auburn - As COO, Benedict directs all day-to-day operations for the department. In his short time at Auburn, Benedict has an impressive track record of success in operational planning, resource allocation, budget development and strong financial management. Partnering with Jacobs, he has led the department's staff in developing strategic long-range plans for a $120+ million budget, facilities, staffing and accomplishing strategic goals.

Minnesota - During his tenure at Minnesota, Benedict worked with the University of Minnesota Foundation to create a framework for the largest athletic campaign in history. He worked closely with the AD to create new strategic plan and master facility plan; played a key role in a highly successful search for a men's basketball coach; managed third party vendors with record results; and served as the athletics department's representative in contract negotiations of the Minnesota Vikings' facility use agreement, which generated a minimum of $6 million over a two-year period.

VCU - Among other highlights, Benedict directed a campaign to raise $3.5 million for a new club seating and suite project, raised $1.5 million in 36 hours to retain Head Basketball Coach Shaka Smart and developed a dynamic sales plan for the ticket sales staff, resulting in record sales in basketball and baseball.

Long Beach - Benedict was Senior Associate Athletic Director at Long Beach State University from 2007-2010. He administered all external areas of the department and directly supervised the baseball program and volunteer boards. While at Long Beach State, Benedict restructured the department's fundraising operation, initiated a $35 million capital campaign, closed a $5 million gift for a new team center, a $1.5 million naming gift for a new tennis facility and two other seven-figure gifts. Overall fundraising totals increased each year of his tenure.

ASU - Benedict was Associate Athletic Director of Development at Arizona State University from 1996 to 2006. During his time at ASU, Benedict raised $5 million for multiple facility renovations and expansions, solicited a $1 million matching contribution for the Annual Fund, implemented new annual giving programs and directed specialty fundraising campaigns.

Media Rights: He also successfully worked with stakeholders to streamline communications and operations related to sports marketing and promotions, television, media relations, ticketing, community outreach and sponsorships.



Bottomline: if there was still any slight sliver of doubt out there in Boneyardland or anywhere else that President Herbst isn't on top of this (and the best possible leader for UConn), this hire should just about seal those up. My goodness, this is a home run hire.
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Quoted by Dooley. I have nothing further to accomplish here. My work is done. Goodbye Boneyard. Lol.

The more I read about the guy the more I like this hire. He's seen what it takes and done what it takes to get the job done. We needed a strong business guy especially with the dire financial situation the state is facing. Making UConn self sufficient can only be done through athletics. There's not enough money in BioMed, government grants and raising tuition. DB needs to hit the summer golf tourney tour hard and shake some money out of the donors. The only thing I don't like is that DB hasn't stuck around very long in one place. Patoni tiles here we come!
 
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UC313 said:
Quoted by Dooley. I have nothing further to accomplish here. My work is done. Goodbye Boneyard. Lol.

The more I read about the guy the more I like this hire. He's seen what it takes and done what it takes to get the job done. We needed a strong business guy especially with the dire financial situation the state is facing. Making UConn self sufficient can only be done through athletics. There's not enough money in BioMed, government grants and raising tuition. DB needs to hit the summer golf tourney tour hard and shake some money out of the donors. The only thing I don't like is that DB hasn't stuck around very long in one place. Patoni tiles here we come!
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He was at ASU for a long time...then everything he has done since was putting him in position to get this job. He will move on from here if he succeeds which means UConn will be a better place than he found it. I'll take that any day of the week.
 
UC313 said:
Quoted by Dooley. I have nothing further to accomplish here. My work is done. Goodbye Boneyard. Lol.

The more I read about the guy the more I like this hire. He's seen what it takes and done what it takes to get the job done. We needed a strong business guy especially with the dire financial situation the state is facing. Making UConn self sufficient can only be done through athletics. There's not enough money in BioMed, government grants and raising tuition. DB needs to hit the summer golf tourney tour hard and shake some money out of the donors. The only thing I don't like is that DB hasn't stuck around very long in one place. Patoni tiles here we come!
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In fairness to him with regard to his leapfrogging from job to job, he's made a lot of very big steps up when moving, so it's not like he's moved laterally or made small incremental steps from place to place. If you're at VCU and Minnesota comes calling with a deputy AD job, you take it. If you're at Minnesota and Auburn comes calling and offers the position of a C-suite job, you take it. If he's successful enough at UConn that an obvious step up AD job is offered to him, that means we're in a good place.
 
Very well noted fellas. Hopefully this is his pinnacle. I'm all for paving your own way and it appears Benedict has done that throughout his career. I'm very interested in what he can come up with for the upcoming football season in regard to generating more ticket sales. He's gonna have to move fast on it, real fast. IMO, it will be his first measuring stick. If we can jump 1-2k butts in seats per game id call it a win.

On a personal note, I may just have convinced the boss to buy season tix for football through my ranting and raving about UConn getting into a P5.
 
I'm anxious to see what, if any, plans are in store to aggressively sell football season tickets. UConn fans pack buildings to the rafters for hoops and hockey. Understandably, quite a few fans jumped off of the USS Rent as a result of the Pasqualoni tenure. We're now out of that and circling the wagons back up and with a football guy in charge of the AD, I'm really looking forward to the gameday atmosphere improvements and seeing more fans in the stands come summer/fall 2016. Then we can start talking about expansion and all of the exciting stuff that comes with a P5 affiliation.
 
Dooley said:
I'm anxious to see what, if any, plans are in store to aggressively sell football season tickets. UConn fans pack buildings to the rafters for hoops and hockey. Understandably, quite a few fans jumped off of the USS Rent as a result of the Pasqualoni tenure. We're now out of that and circling the wagons back up and with a football guy in charge of the AD, I'm really looking forward to the gameday atmosphere improvements and seeing more fans in the stands come summer/fall 2016. Then we can start talking about expansion and all of the exciting stuff that comes with a P5 affiliation.
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Let's hope that this is Benedict's first ticket push...you can also bank on a football/Rent fan experience questionnaire arriving asap.
 
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FDNY99 said:
Let's hope that this is Benedict's first ticket push...you can also bank on a football/Rent fan experience questionnaire arriving asap.
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Oh boy..... That will not go over well!
 
Doggie Style said:
Oh boy..... That will not go over well!
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The questionnaire was extremely well received after the 2014 season. No only that, but it was clear they listened. The parking g.e.s.t.a.p.o. was not so g.e.s.t.a.p.o.-y and a few were even somewhat personable.

The Football program's biggest problem is not with the general public. The stadium is in a fairly centralized location and an increase in winning should keep the sideline sections reasonably full. Mr. Benedict's focus should be establishing greater student-fan involvement and how to keep sections behind the southeast endzone full until the final gun. Student-section tailgate, accumulated attendance points redeemable for football swag, free refreshments? All ideas need to be fully vetted.
 
Husky25 said:
The questionnaire was extremely well received after the 2014 season. No only that, but it was clear they listened. The parking g.e.s.t.a.p.o. was not so g.e.s.t.a.p.o.-y and a few were even somewhat personable.

The Football program's biggest problem is not with the general public. The stadium is in a fairly centralized location and an increase in winning should keep the sideline sections reasonably full. Mr. Benedict's focus should be establishing greater student-fan involvement and how to keep sections behind the southeast endzone full until the final gun. Student-section tailgate, accumulated attendance points redeemable for football swag, free refreshments? All ideas need to be fully vetted.
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I agree
 
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