Vic Schaefer to Texas

[Plebe]

@Plebe was at this game too. I think you had just moved to Austin a couple days before. ?? Snow storm later that night delayed everyone's flights out the next day.

Oh yeah, that's right. More like an ice storm. My workplace shut down and I got an extra day off, right after MLK Day. Austin doesn't deal with ice very well

 

[SECbbfan24]

Vic's kind of old to be starting over isn't he?

Aston was not a very good coach but its not quite the rebuild like it was at Miss St, where it was a historic bottom dweller SEC program and trying to recruit in Starkville.

It will be much easier to recruit kids to Texas, Austin is easier to sell, academics, facilities.

It may take him 2 or 3 years but it will be much easier to turn that around then what he did down at MSU.

 

[nwhoopfan]

Walz has a $500K car allowance??? Wow - that'll support a hell of a car! At one point I had a $700/month car allowance, and I thought I was hot s***. What kind of car do you drive for $500K?

I read too many things today. I looked again to double check. Now I'm seeing $500/month. Don't believe everything you read on a message board. My bad.

 

[KnightBridgeAZ]

@Plebe was at this game too. I think you had just moved to Austin a couple days before. ?? Snow storm later that night delayed everyone's flights out the next day.

Its been quite a while since my one visit - Jody was still the coach - Rutgers played there on January 2nd (I think) one year. We spent New Years Eve in San Antonio and the fund raising arm of Rutgers had a nice get together for fans in Austin on the 1st. In any case, older it might have been, but the inside was still a nice place to watch a game. Amenities, I don't remember. The outside, which I have seen often visiting my family in the Austin area, was boring, of course.

 

[triaddukefan]

Yeah it looked like an oil storage tank that's been stucco'd over & painted. Not even orange...

View attachment 52735

I wasn't in Austin for very long, but two things I wanted to see.... The Drum.... and 6th street.

I guess that was considered great architecture back in the late 70s

Had an Off-season thread idea about this kinda stuff back in 2016.... maybe I'll get around to it in the next few months. I tend to procrastinate.

 

[soxfan23]

Mississippi State was willing to match/exceed what Texas offered.

I am not talking salary, I am talking how much money they spend on their programs. Facilities, recruiting budgets, assistant coaching budgets, etc.

 

[HuskyNan]

Well before UCONN hired a high quality coach they had 1 winning season in their history, whereas we were making the tournament before I’d even heard of Vic. Is that because Starkville, MS was easier to get talent to than it was to get it to Storrs, CT, before we each hired quality coaches? I’m just using your logic to raise a counter question.

I believe PoppaBear is a Baylor fan.

 

[MSUFan2003]

I guess it's now obvious that Vic's plan was always to go back to Texas. He was just waiting for his opportunity. I can't fault him for that. Home is home. I'm very surprised at the timing, but it just confirms that he was getting back to Texas the first chance he got. He basically built a national powerhouse, assembled the most talent he's had, and then set fire to it. I have whiplash from all of this.

I really feel for our players though. They seem genuinely blindsided like the fans. That's got to be extremely tough and confusing for them. I'm sure they're extremely hurt right now. I'm sure some will transfer, and I don't blame them. I wish all of them success with whatever happens.

 

[HuskylnSC]

Let's be real folks. If Vic wasn't from Texas and had his parents living in Texas, he wouldn't have left for the Texas job. Yes, Texas had to give him a raise to make the move, but this really wasn't about MSU not willing to pay him his worth. Texas was fortunate this worked out, and so quickly.

I was reading on another board that the deal was finalized before the announcement on Aston. According to the other poster Texas knew they had Vic in hand before telling Aston

 

[UConnCat]

 

[HuskylnSC]

Well before UCONN hired a high quality coach they had 1 winning season in their history, whereas we were making the tournament before I’d even heard of Vic. Is that because Starkville, MS was easier to get talent to than it was to get it to Storrs, CT, before we each hired quality coaches? I’m just using your logic to raise a counter question.

You Never heard of Starkville MS. It's a great and beautiful town I know of my college days that it is full of, how can I say this, attractive residents. And I believe it is where Johnny Cash was arrested for picking flowers.

 

[HuskylnSC]

Vic's kind of old to be starting over isn't he?

He won't be starting over. He has a coaching staff in place (assuming they come with him),prospects lined up, and transfers coming. It will be one of the fastest assents up the top 25 we have witnessed.

 

[eebmg]

TX - Baylor will be a great matchup to watch in the coming years. Since I am not a fan of either, can watch as a total bystander

 

[msf22b]

It just occurred to me that this deal was done several days ago. Aston is canned 2 days ago and Vic is hired today. I got to believe the TX AD knew he had a deal with Vic before he decided not to renew Aston’s contract.

When you add in the current situation relative to travel and face to face meetings, I seriously doubt if there was much of an interview process involved in the hiring.

And the timing is really insulting to Aston
They couldn't have waited a few days just for appearances?

So obvious.... while she was still officially engaged (or perhaps a day or two afterwards)...they were obviously finalizing his agreement behind her back.

Aston is not one of not one of my fav coaches.
But to treat her in such a disrespectful manner is unnecessarily cruel.

 

[southie]

I was reading on another board that the deal was finalized before the announcement on Aston. According to the other poster Texas knew they had Vic in hand before telling Aston

That makes sense. I've never seen Texas move so fast in a coaching hire.

 

[oldude]

That makes sense. I've never seen Texas move so fast in a coaching hire.

Assuming that the AD had already made the decision not to retain Aston, he would have been foolish not to get his ducks in a row before announcing his decision to let her go. In a sense, the fact that Aston’s contract was up at the end of this season, coming on the heels of a disappointing 19-11 season, provided the TX AD with a large window of opportunity to line up the best available coach.

 

[HuskyNan]

And the timing is really insulting to Aston
They couldn't have waited a few days just for appearances?

So obvious.... while she was still officially engaged (or perhaps a day or two afterwards)...they were obviously finalizing his agreement behind her back.

Aston is not one of not one of my fav coaches.
But to treat her in such a disrespectful manner is unnecessarily cruel.

Insulting how? she knew she was done there when Texas declined contact negotiations to extend her term as head coach. I’d be shocked if she weren’t aware she was on the hot seat before the season began. She may even have known about Schaefer as it appears she didn’t protest or make a big stink.

 

[southie]

Assuming that the AD had already made the decision not to retain Aston, he would have been foolish not to get his ducks in a row before announcing his decision to let her go. In a sense, the fact that Aston’s contract was up at the end of this season, coming on the heels of a disappointing 19-11 season, provided the TX AD with a large window of opportunity to line up the best available coach.

It actually seems that Karen's fate was already decided several months ago; I linked the below article a couple of days ago:

Bohls: Time for Texas to make a bold statement in women's basketball | Hookem.com

It’s time to scare Kim Mulkey over her morning coffee. Seriously. Time to deliver a message to the Baylor dynamo before her first Red Bull. Or maybe Mulkey eats nails for breakfast. Advertisement Regardless, Texas needs to step to the plate, be Texas for a change, pay market value or above and...

www.hookem.com

This part is actually very harsh, but I guess it is accurate:

The announcement that Texas was moving on from Aston was no surprise, however bad the optics.

For all practical purposes, she was fired a year ago.

Del Conte and the Texas administration effectively made the decision to change directions a year ago when they let Aston enter what would be her final season here with but a single year left on her contract.

Such policy rarely happens in big-time sports unless the bosses have already lost confidence in the coach, and this was the case here.

Aston’s final-year agreement expires in August. In letting her contract lapse, Texas basically fired her a year ago, barring a major turnaround in the fortunes of a basketball program that had moments of big success but had faltered of late, especially in recruiting, and had fallen far distant of powerhouse Baylor. Del Conte clearly saw the lack of progress and moved on.

 

[southie]

Insulting how? she knew she was done there when Texas declined contact negotiations to extend her term as head coach. I’d be shocked if she weren’t aware she was on the hot seat before the season began. She may even have known about Schaefer as it appears she didn’t protest or make a big stink.

Honestly, I can't believe Karen (or her agent, if she has one) allowed her contract to get beyond having 2 years remaining at any time. At that point, I would have demanded a 2-3 year extension based on my most recent job performance (4 consecutive Sweet 16's), or started looking elsewhere.

From a negotiating perspective, she lost all leverage continuing to allow her employment years/months to dwindle with no commitment from her boss(es). And, with her last two seasons being her worst (since her initial year at Texas), she did not make a strong case to get an extension. It's unfortunate for her that it turned out that way; but, Chris Del Conte played it smarter IMO.

Maybe Karen was a casualty of the transition in ADs between Plonsky and Chris Del Conte. From his perspective, he played it perfectly (other than not moving a week or two faster for our liking in officially announcing she was not being extended). He basically let her "audition" to keep her job, and she didn't produce at a high enough level

 

[HopJim]

He isn't a bad coach but is not what MSU is looking for if they want to stay or continue at the level they are on. My take it they try to go after a big HC on the national level and if they can't get them they try to hire J. Harris. That is what I am hearing, unless Harris doesn't want the job. Harris stated she would not be opposed to being a HC if its the right situation. Considering she also basically built and recruited that entire roster in its current shape, its almost as good as it gets for her.

Have to agree that hiring the best recruiter as Head Coach has merits. Bring in a strategy focused assistant if needed but keep the flow of players.

 

[oldude]

I know Vic’s decision hurts quite a bit down in Starkville, but I didn’t realize how much it hurt until I took a look at the Bulldogs website. There is absolutely no mention of Vic, just a letter from the AD about the search for a new coach that doesn’t even mention the old coach or why the job is open in the first place. In addition, Vic’s bio has been expunged from the website, while those of all the assistants, including Blair Schaefer, remain on the site. It’s as if Vic’s 8 years at MS St never happened.

Is this what happens when someone on Facebook blocks you from their “Friends” list?

 

[HopJim]

Austin has an international airport and an interstate running through it. That would have to make recruiting visits much easier for prospective student athletes.

Plus it's Austin. Really cool town.

I have to smile at the posts comparing Starkville, MS to Austin. Sort of like comparing Storrs, Conn to …..

 

[CocoHusky]

Honestly, I can't believe Karen (or her agent, if she has one) allowed her contract to get beyond having 2 years remaining at any time. At that point, I would have demanded a 2-3 year extension based on my most recent job performance (4 consecutive Sweet 16's), or started looking elsewhere.

From a negotiating perspective, she lost all leverage continuing to allow her employment years/months to dwindle with no commitment from her boss(es). And, with her last two seasons being her worst (since her initial year at Texas), she did not make a strong case to get an extension. It's unfortunate for her that it turned out that way; but, CDC played it smarter IMO.

Maybe Karen was a casualty of the transition in ADs between Plonsky and Chris Del Conte. From his perspective, he played it perfectly (other than not moving a week or two faster for our liking in officially announcing she was not being extended). He basically let her "audition" to keep her job, and she didn't produce at a high enough level

When we last talked about this in a thread about coaches being on the hot seat Karen's name was certainly included in the discussion. I though the explanation from a Texas poster (I don think it was you), which made sense at the time, was that it was a matter of "priority" for Texas. Texas had a new AD? Football had priority? Men's basketball had the second priority (Smart Extension) and they would eventually get to Karen. If fact this poster also said that they would not be surprised if Karen's extension or lack of would be handled by the AD for women's sport. Am I misremembering any/all of this? BTW FSU is in a similar mess with Sue Semrau.

 

[southie]

When we last talked about this in a thread about coaches being on the hot seat Karen's name was certainly included in the discussion. I though the explanation from a Texas poster (I don think it was you), which made sense at the time, was that it was a matter of "priority" for Texas. Texas had a new AD? Football had priority? Men's basketball had the second priority (Smart Extension) and they would eventually get to Karen. If fact this poster also said that they would not be surprised if Karen's extension or lack of would be handled by the AD for women's sport. Am I misremembering any/all of this? BTW FSU is in a similar mess with Sue Semrau.

It wasn't me, I don't think.

This situation was very different as only once at Texas (softball coach Connie Clark in 2017-18) has a head coach gone into their final contract year with no apparent extension on the way; she was also not extended (although she issued a resignation statement after her final 2018 season).

While Texas women's hoops fans are ecstatic about this hire, Texas men's hoops-only fans are livid. They can't believe our AD is paying $2 million a year for a new women's hoops coach, and a $1.25 million buyout to MSU to get him, but won't axe men's basketball head coach, Shaka Smart, since he still has 3 years remaining with a guaranteed $10.5 million payout if fired.

 

[msf22b]

Insulting how?

Even if one takes into consideration the subsequent posts,
There is still an appropriate (and better) way to manage such actions.

It is not necessary for the university (in a sense) to gloat about their exceptional hire by trumpeting to the world that negotiations were ongoing at the same time that a person in that position was still ( at least technically) under contract.

The civilized way was for her to have been dismissed earlier or her non-renewal made public, and then after a appropriate interval the new hire announced.

There is a right way to do things and an insulting way.
There is no (obvious) reason to treat Aston in such a humiliating manner...She was (seemingly) an honorable person and performed her services in a decent, non-scandalous manner.

 

[southie]

Even if one takes into consideration the subsequent posts,
There is still an appropriate (and better) way to manage such actions.

It is not necessary for the university (in a sense) to gloat about their exceptional hire by trumpeting to the world that negotiations were ongoing at the same time that a person in that position was still ( at least technically) under contract.

The civilized way was for her to have been dismissed earlier or her non-renewal made public, and then after a appropriate interval the new hire announced.

There is a right way to do things and an insulting way.
There is no (obvious) reason to treat Aston in such a humiliating manner...She was (seemingly) an honorable person and performed her services in a decent, non-scandalous manner.

While I understand your point, none of us know all the interactions and communications between the new Texas AD and Karen Aston over the last 2 years since he arrived at Texas. Pretty sure every coach receives feedback and job evaluations on their performance, as well as objectives and goals they are expected to meet each season.

For those of us who have watched Karen all these years, she seemed to have lost the passion for coaching these last two seasons; and, her teams' performance certainly reflected that.

 

[HuskyNan]

Even if one takes into consideration the subsequent posts,
There is still an appropriate (and better) way to manage such actions.

It is not necessary for the university (in a sense) to gloat about their exceptional hire by trumpeting to the world that negotiations were ongoing at the same time that a person in that position was still ( at least technically) under contract.

The civilized way was for her to have been dismissed earlier or her non-renewal made public, and then after a appropriate interval the new hire announced.

There is a right way to do things and an insulting way.
There is no (obvious) reason to treat Aston in such a humiliating manner...She was (seemingly) an honorable person and performed her services in a decent, non-scandalous manner.

In the end, athletics at elite, powerful schools like Texas is a business. Aston is an intelligent woman and I’m sure she was quite aware of this.

Just curious - would you be as concerned about the football coach’s feelings if Texas didn’t renew his contract?

 

[cbraarj]

I read too many things today. I looked again to double check. Now I'm seeing $500/month. Don't believe everything you read on a message board. My bad.

It happens.

 

[Golden Husky]

MSU = Michigan State University Spartans
USC = University of Southern California Trojans

Stop trying to confuse me!

 

[HuskyNan]

MSU = Michigan State University Spartans
USC = University of Southern California Trojans

Stop trying to confuse me!

Who is UT?