Will Benign Neglect Continue As Official Policy?

[RSTuthill]

For the last five years it has been obvious that the BoT's have pursued a policy of benign neglect. We were told that is all that the treasury could afford after it became painfully obvious that Edsall no longer had magic in his bottle.

Then, out of the blue, we get this editorial from downstate titled Let UConn Football Be Bad which publicly advocated for a benign neglect policy -- but more importantly to let the program continue. By implication the writers see the only two choices as killing the program outright or letting it limp along into the future. Increasing UConn's investment for the returns it might provide was not seriously discussed.

The questions I wish to put before this forum are: (1) do you think this existential debate is happening and if so, how do you think it will turn out? and (2) besides more money for ccoaching staff and relaxed recruiting admissions stndards, what else needs to be done to ensure success if the increased investment option is embarked upon?

 

[Skiblets]

Hard to tell. But we have a public expression of support from the head of the Board of Trustees which is a start. We’ll know when we see the budget for the coaching staff. That will speak volumes

 

[Hskies4Ever]

I don’t think we should drop to FCS, but I will say, there needs to be a long term plan in place that includes a pathway to P4 membership, or whatever equivalent realignment brings us (as far fetched and narrow as it may be). Either that, or a pathway to viability as an independent like ND. It involves laying out a timeline with an eye towards TV negotiating rights.

If the plan is to just limp along, then just scrap the program. Connecticut is full of fair-weather fans that like winning. Nothing else will move the needle. The stadium is well off campus and that isn’t changing. Nobody will care about FCS, so it’s FBS or bust. Better decide soon too, lest we keep throwing good money after bad.

 

[Hskies4Ever]

Also, I know none of that answers the original questions… given the small mindedness of the BoT, I assume the conversation is happening. To answer the second question, it needs to be all hands on deck from the BoT, to the President, to admissions, and the athletic dept.

 

[BigTenFan]

Hard to tell. But we have a public expression of support from the head of the Board of Trustees which is a start. We’ll know when we see the budget for the coaching staff. That will speak volumes

I think you are 100 percent correct. No athletic program can be successful without the support of Board of Trustees, President, legislation and governor.

I just don't see that support for the football program. Basketball yes- but not football. We are on our 3rd President in 5 years with a fourth to be named at some point in the next year. We have a legislature loaded people who want to forgive everyone's students loans. Finally, we have a governor who probably has never attended a D 1 football game in his life. You can have a competitive D1 football program and top ranked University....they are not mutually exclusive.
A new coach will help but support from top is far more important.

 

[Nostical]

The present lack of leadership at UConn is glaring and conspicuous, like a decubitus ulcer. And it's everywhere. Most obvious, the presidency is in limbo. Given all the competing interests looking for public funding, what we dearly lack are private boosters with the clout and influence to move the needle with the BOT---and without a full throttled commitment to be excellent at football, why should anyone be writing big checks to support mediocrity. We have many wealthy individuals with a connection and affection for this University but no one can show them a plan to achieve even a modicum of football respectability. Where's the plan? Where's the commitment? Build it, develop it, share it with the "investors" like an IPO roadshow. If you do they just might come on board. If you don't, they never will.

 

[FfldCntyFan]

Benign neglect is a near perfect description for what we are dealing with. It does also include a passive aggressive handcuffing of our athletic department due to lack of final resolution of the dismissal of our prior men's basketball coach. As ridiculous as it is (yet fully illustrative of what we are dealing with) there are still some in considerable positions who believe we would be better off if we kept Ollie for an additional year even if it would have cost us Hurley than doing what we did, leaving a potential financial cost to the move. Out and out insanity.

When you go nearly two decades with the person holding the title of chief executive is merely an interim (whether by design or result) this is what happens to the mentality of those just below that level.

 

[bobbyinaz]

I think everyone agrees that UConn football is at the tipping point and this hire will determine where the program goes.

I do get concerned when I see trial balloons being floated about the next coach being a running backs coach from Penn State who not only has no head coaching experience but has never been a coordinator either.

Random writers with no ties to UConn don't throw names like Seider out there without hearing it from someplace.

I was vocal when Diaco was hired that hiring someone without Head Coaching experience was a mistake (I wanted Pete Lembo) and I was against RE 2.0 because I believe that you can't go back in time.

I graduated from UConn in 1981 (yes it's been 40 years!) and have been donating to both academics & athletics for the last 31 years. In the grand scope of things my annual donations pale when compared to many other larger donors but, if this hire gets screwed up the athletics side will never see another dollar from me.

I'll just double up on my academic giving as my UConn education has served me very well throughout my adult life

 

[huskymedic]

 

[RSTuthill]

I do not know what DiMauro is trying to say other than just kill off the program. That might be an option, but the status quo (benign neglect) is not, at least in my mind. Neither is killing the program. So UConn is left to choose. FCS or increased investment (with increased returns) in FBS. Probably a business case dependent decision with the valuation of university image a major part of it.

 

[FfldCntyFan]

I do not know what DiMauro is trying to say other than just kill off the program. That might be an option, but the status quo (benign neglect) is not, at least in my mind. Neither is killing the program. So UConn is left to choose. FCS or increased investment (with increased returns) in FBS. Probably a business case dependent decision with the valuation of university image a major part of it.

As someone with a bit of a speech impediment (I overcame stuttering as a child by speaking faster than Jim Calhoun could ever speak) I can say with compassion that DiMauro should not do any public speaking.

 

[BlueDogs]

If they kill FBS, they lose my $$ which isn’t a lot in the scheme of things, but if there are a few thousand that think similarly then it will hurt. It will ultimately pull down the the U to a cute little basketball school with a narrowed pool of second tier New England applicants. It will become a regional school which seems to be about the total aspiration of a small minded BoT.

 

[RSTuthill]

As someone with a bit of a speech impediment (I overcame stuttering as a child by speaking faster than Jim Calhoun could ever speak) I can say with compassion that DiMauro should not do any public speaking.

I also still stutter a bit. I still speak publicly tho. It helps to rehearse beforehand. In that case it would help to know the questions beforehand. That was a bit hard for me to watch.

 

[RSTuthill]

If they kill FBS, they lose my $$ which isn’t a lot in the scheme of things, but if there are a few thousand that think similarly then it will hurt. It will ultimately pull down the the U to a cute little basketball school with a narrowed pool of second tier New England applicants. It will become a regional school which seems to be about the total aspiration of a small minded BoT.

All that would be factored into the business case calculations, if they do that.

 

[Adios]

I-I-I-I-I shot the sheriff, but I-I-I-I-I didn't shoot the deputy....

Used to hear that a lot as a kid.

 

[BlueDogs]

All that would be factored into the business case calculations, if they do that.

Unfortunately, if everything was run by classic business case analysis there wouldn’t be Tesla, Spacex, Amazon, the LHC, cancer research, etc.. Vision, risk capital, and execution drives big achievement. Modern Universities are public manifestations of large scale ecosystems of economic, social, health, and intellectual creation that translate into a better communities. These fools get it but don’t believe if it enough to make it a reality, whether it’s investing in computer sciences, raising its research profile with major hires, or investing in its sports which are the most cost vehicle for brand marketing.

 

[UConnJim]

You don’t make future schedules with P5 schools if you are not serious about competing. Doing well with our future schedules means top 25 consideration.

The key question is how much is UConn going to invest in the next football coaching staff?

Here are some salary ranges for head coach by conference from 2020 USA Today:

AAC: $1.5 million to $3.8 million
CUSA: $500k to $1.9 million
MWC: $625k to $1.9 million
MAC: $460k to $1.2 million
SBC: $375k to $1.0 million
UMass: $660k

Most of the salaries skew to the lower end of the range with some outliers.

Edsall made $1.25 million, so $1.5 million and above with incentives should be able to attract a good coach. If we use Diaco’s salary of $2 million, I don’t think attracting a good coach will be a problem. I would rather find the next Lance Leipold and pay him $1 million per year than pay $2 million for a retread or assistant who hasn’t been able to get a HC job.

 

[shizzle787]

You don’t make future schedules with P5 schools if you are not serious about competing. Doing well with our future schedules means top 25 consideration.

The key question is how much is UConn going to invest in the next football coaching staff?

Here are some salary ranges for head coach by conference from 2020 USA Today:

AAC: $1.5 million to $3.8 million
CUSA: $500k to $1.9 million
MWC: $625k to $1.9 million
MAC: $460k to $1.2 million
SBC: $375k to $1.0 million
UMass: $660k

Most of the salaries skew to the lower end of the range with some outliers.

Edsall made $1.25 million, so $1.5 million and above with incentives should be able to attract a good coach. If we use Diaco’s salary of $2 million, I don’t think attracting a good coach will be a problem. I would rather find the next Lance Leipold and pay him $1 million per year than pay $2 million for a retread or assistant who hasn’t been able to get a HC job.

We need to pay the next coach somewhere between $2-3 million. That is how we are going to turn it around.

 

[UConnJim]

We need to pay the next coach somewhere between $2-3 million. That is how we are going to turn it around.

Like I said, finding a program builder like Leipold from a small school can be done cheaply at first, but you have to be careful. I think Buffalo paid Leipold $400k his first year and UConn paid Diaco $1.5 million. Which was the better hire?

 

[Ldandy]

I think everyone agrees that UConn football is at the tipping point and this hire will determine where the program goes.

I do get concerned when I see trial balloons being floated about the next coach being a running backs coach from Penn State who not only has no head coaching experience but has never been a coordinator either.

Random writers with no ties to UConn don't throw names like Seider out there without hearing it from someplace.

I was vocal when Diaco was hired that hiring someone without Head Coaching experience was a mistake (I wanted Pete Lembo) and I was against RE 2.0 because I believe that you can't go back in time.

I graduated from UConn in 1981 (yes it's been 40 years!) and have been donating to both academics & athletics for the last 31 years. In the grand scope of things my annual donations pale when compared to many other larger donors but, if this hire gets screwed up the athletics side will never see another dollar from me.

I'll just double up on my academic giving as my UConn education has served me very well throughout my adult life

You definitely don't want Seider. Uconn and every program in America should stay far, far, away from him.

 

[BigTenFan]

You don’t make future schedules with P5 schools if you are not serious about competing. Doing well with our future schedules means top 25 consideration.

The key question is how much is UConn going to invest in the next football coaching staff?

Here are some salary ranges for head coach by conference from 2020 USA Today:

AAC: $1.5 million to $3.8 million
CUSA: $500k to $1.9 million
MWC: $625k to $1.9 million
MAC: $460k to $1.2 million
SBC: $375k to $1.0 million
UMass: $660k

Most of the salaries skew to the lower end of the range with some outliers.

Edsall made $1.25 million, so $1.5 million and above with incentives should be able to attract a good coach. If we use Diaco’s salary of $2 million, I don’t think attracting a good coach will be a problem. I would rather find the next Lance Leipold and pay him $1 million per year than pay $2 million for a retread or assistant who hasn’t been able to get a HC job.

Dan Hurley makes about 3 million dollars a year. The cost to run an average FBS program is significantly higher than even the top BB programs in the country.
Not sure UConn leaders or taxpayers have the stomach to hire a decent coach and staff
Just for perspective- Greg Schiano @ Rutgers earns $4 million annually with an 8 year deal

 

[bobbyinaz]

Dan Hurley makes about 3 million dollars a year. The cost to run an average FBS program is significantly higher than even the top BB programs in the country.
Not sure UConn leaders or taxpayers have the stomach to hire a decent coach and staff
Just for perspective- Greg Schiano @ Rutgers earns $4 million annually with an 8year deal

Redirect Notice

Maybe more importantly, Schiano was smart enough to hold out for a big pool for his assistants.

It doesn't matter what you pay the head guy. If you don't give him enough to hire & KEEP quality assistants it's not going to change

 

[huskymedic]

You don’t make future schedules with P5 schools if you are not serious about competing. Doing well with our future schedules means top 25 consideration.

The key question is how much is UConn going to invest in the next football coaching staff?

Here are some salary ranges for head coach by conference from 2020 USA Today:

AAC: $1.5 million to $3.8 million
CUSA: $500k to $1.9 million
MWC: $625k to $1.9 million
MAC: $460k to $1.2 million
SBC: $375k to $1.0 million
UMass: $660k

Most of the salaries skew to the lower end of the range with some outliers.

Edsall made $1.25 million, so $1.5 million and above with incentives should be able to attract a good coach. If we use Diaco’s salary of $2 million, I don’t think attracting a good coach will be a problem. I would rather find the next Lance Leipold and pay him $1 million per year than pay $2 million for a retread or assistant who hasn’t been able to get a HC job.

The head coach salary isn’t the main issue… it’s the getting a robust assistant coach salary pool. I believe Houston’s is @ $4.5m, Cincinnati @ $3.8m, Memphis is +/- $3m. UConn is +/- $2m max.

 

[RSTuthill]

The head coach salary isn’t the main issue… it’s the getting a robust assistant coach salary pool. I believe Houston’s is @ $4.5m, Cincinnati @ $3.8m, Memphis is +/- $3m. UConn is +/- $2m max.

Yup.

 

[BlueDogs]

We need to pay the next coach somewhere between $2-3 million. That is how we are going to turn it around.

And budgeting for a good staff to help