Yet Another Rutgers Bombshell.

[Ozzie Nelson]

Rutgers officials have postponed a series of on-campus meetings that incoming athletic director Julie Hermann was scheduled to be a part of next week, according to The Newark-Star Ledger.

The twisting in the wind stage has begun

The administration at Rutgers should twist in the wind.

 

[MilliniumPrince]

The fact Rutgers could step into this obvious pile of dog crap after everything that happened is an indictment of their leadership.

The fact a coach once called her players bad things over a decade ago is considered news is an indictment of the general public. If my coach only called us whores or morons during a practice we would have assumed her was severely under the weather. A;nd let's not get into assistant or position coaches....

Now the "fact" she may have fired a woman for having the nerve to start a family....now THAT is news to me. How the heck was that allowed to happen at an institution of higher learning?

 

[UConnCat]

Will Hermann remember her meetings have been cancelled?

 

[msf22b]

Seemingly nothing new tonight.
Checked Newark and Philly papers

 

[msf22b]

A tidbit from the NY Post:

Whether or not that is a sign Rutgers is considering an exit strategy and not going through with Hermann’s appointment is speculative. The only options are for Hermann to withdraw or for the university’s board of governors to rescind the appointment.
Should that happen, Hermann, a former executive senior associate athletic director at Louisville, might find herself out of a job. A source said Louisville had canceled a good-bye party for Hermann.

 

[BooRadley]

Whomever opts to back or oppose Hermann does so at his or her peril until it can be unequivocally determined if the allegations she called players “whores, alcoholics and learning disabled’’ can be determined.

Lenn Robbins: New York Post
_______________


An ominous little twist, threaten the nay-sayers.

I see the obvious balance, a dollop of reality, a bit of maturity, a dose of prudence and even a seasoning of wisdom in the statement you've quoted but I don't see ominous... The words " back or oppose" don't solely rest upon the "naysayers" unless one chooses to ignore a word to suit a personal agenda...

YOPB

 

[msf22b]

This story has legs.

Rutgers AD interviews short, superficial: sources

• By LENN ROBBINS
• Last Updated: 10:12 AM, June 3, 2013
• Posted: 1:15 AM, June 3, 2013

The two finalists for the Rutgers athletic directors job went through a rushed and superficial process by the university’s search committee that had little to do with being an athletic director, three sources told The Post.

 

[meyers7]

This story has legs.

Rutgers AD interviews short, superficial: sources

• 
  [ ]By LENN ROBBINS
  [ ]Last Updated: 10:12 AM, June 3, 2013
  [ ]Posted: 1:15 AM, June 3, 2013

The two finalists for the Rutgers athletic directors job went through a rushed and superficial process by the university’s search committee that had little to do with being an athletic director, three sources told The Post.

Geez if I'd have known it was gonna be that easy, I'd have applied for the job.

 

[Alydar]

My question is who was the person that inserted her into the pool of candidates. It's that person who needs to be questioned. Did they know her or were they instructed to add her name and if the latter, who was the source of the instruction? I suspect that Hermann has a friend in a very high position in NJ. It is quite possible that it was someone in the governor's office. I've had experience seeing this sort of thing in public hiring. Thevetting and interview process is mostly a sham. The hiring decision gets made at a high level, the phone call is made and then it's just a matter of going through the motions in order to comply with the hiring law/policy. That looks suspiciously like what happened in this case.

 

[Aluminny69]

My question is who was the person that inserted her into the pool of candidates. It's that person who needs to be questioned. Did they know her or were they instructed to add her name and if the latter, who was the source of the instruction? I suspect that Hermann has a friend in a very high position in NJ. It is quite possible that it was someone in the governor's office. I've had experience seeing this sort of thing in public hiring. Thevetting and interview process is mostly a sham. The hiring decision gets made at a high level, the phone call is made and then it's just a matter of going through the motions in order to comply with the hiring law/policy. That looks suspiciously like what happened in this case.

In other words, it was Politics. Oops, not supposed to mention politics. (But I still bet politics was involved with the hiring.)

 

[arty155]

My question is who was the person that inserted her into the pool of candidates....

Hi Alydar,
- Regarding your very specific question regarding nomination, articles over the past week imply Julie Hermann's nomination was railroaded through from the outset by Kate Sweeney, co-chair of the Rutgers U search committee. A web-search regarding Kate Sweeney includes numerous references, such as this, implying how Hermann got into the candidate pool.
- Of course what the press implies (or I’m just inferring) may be off target, but I wanted to at least ensure you knew her name was being highlighted now in the press as being involved early.
- Hope that may be of some help regarding this specific question, anyway.

 

[KnightBridgeAZ]

Hi Alydar,
- Regarding your very specific question regarding nomination, articles over the past week imply Julie Hermann's nomination was railroaded through from the outset by Kate Sweeney, co-chair of the Rutgers U search committee. A web-search regarding Kate Sweeney includes numerous references, such as this, implying how Hermann got into the candidate pool.
- Of course what the press implies (or I’m just inferring) may be off target, but I wanted to at least ensure you knew her name was being highlighted now in the press as being involved early.
- Hope that may be of some help regarding this specific question, anyway.

I would add that that appears to be a very accurate article, except that the actual voting members of the committee were only 6. And they split 3 - 3, apparently with Barchi breaking the tie.

It "was" a 2 person race, at least among the 6 that got to vote, and I don't think that one person - even a committee co-chair - can have so much power that Julie's choice was guaranteed. I do think that she expedited her through the process.

 

[DobbsRover2]

Well of course the stuff keeps coming, though the USA Today story is from a few days ago. The cost for the various scandals is now set at $2.3 million for payoffs and legal costs for the school and expected to rise to far greater heights as all the suits are added up in the future. Rutgers is cited as having the 2nd most subsidized athletic department among public universities (after UNLV, UConn is 33rd of 228 schools at $17 million to Rutgers' $28 mil). Naturally there are a lot of angry politic1ans asking hard questions, but that of course gets into politics which is a no-no.

Does sound like a lot of Rutgers people are being paid a lot of money to screw up in outrageous ways.

 

[Ozzie Nelson]

 

[msf22b]

Thursday

The Newark Star Ledger and the New York Post are still pursuing the Rutgers/Hermann debacle but without any significant news. Columnists from both papers voiced displeasure with the form and length of the so-called press conference.

Reading between the lines, there were two potential problems for the University

• Jim Delan, the Big-10 commish noted (if not exactly criticizing) that the recent spate of bad news had dampened any good feelings and excitement that would normally occur in such an important move. His statement was restrained but covered his organization's behind if anything further goes amiss.
• It was noted that Ms Julie meets this very evening with a group of University heavy hitters. If for some reason the evening does not go well, it would not be surprising for support for her appointment to evaporate.

 

[Icebear]

Jim Delany.

 

[VAMike23]

Jim Delany.

Btw, he's been there for what seems like forever --

 

[KnightBridgeAZ]

Thursday

The Newark Star Ledger and the New York Post are still pursuing the Rutgers/Hermann debacle but without any significant news. Columnists from both papers voiced displeasure with the form and length of the so-called press conference.

Reading between the lines, there were two potential problems for the University

• 
  [ ]Jim Delan, the Big-10 commish noted (if not exactly criticizing) that the recent spate of bad news had dampened any good feelings and excitement that would normally occur in such an important move. His statement was restrained but covered his organization's behind if anything further goes amiss.
  [ ] It was noted that Ms Julie meets this very evening with a group of University heavy hitters. If for some reason the evening does not go well, it would not be surprising for support for her appointment to evaporate.

''What we focused on and continue to focus on is the quality of the institution,'' Delany said. ''It's membership in AAU. It's resilience. It's tradition. We believe then, and now, that (Rutgers) will be a great member of the Big Ten conference, notwithstanding the fact that they had a number of high-profile situations that have received a lot of coverage.
''I won't be coming in to provide advice. I'll be coming in to provide support.''

And the problem with Delaney's remarks are?????

 

[Fishy]

What can Delaney say?

"Holy crap, this place is a tire fire...I cannot believe we invited this train wreck into the Big Ten. I need a drink."

I am sure he's thinking that, but he can't say it.

 

[DobbsRover2]

What can Delaney say?

"Holy crap, this place is a tire fire...I cannot believe we invited this train wreck into the Big Ten. I need a drink."

I am sure he's thinking that, but he can't say it.

Well, he could have said, "Rutgers is joining the B10 at a great time for our conference and we're unreservedly excited about that." Um, but wait a minute, no I guess somehow he couldn't.

What he did say about Rutgers' entrance, like "But there should be, in my view, far more momentum than there is. But I understand why there’s not. Now all we can do is keeping pushing forward through the fog," is one of the most damning displays of faint praise that you'll ever see. Yup, no problem there. All is well in the state of Rutmark.

And Hermann's meeting with the Rutgers booster where all the incidents of her past were ignored and she just tried to spin out positive vibrations about future meeting with donors was a wonderful act of whistling into the dark ill-smelling clouds rolling in from the south. Her newfound Rutgers faithful are claiming a media hatchet job by services like ESPN for reporting about all the crap in her past that she thought she had buried and are saying the attacks are all motivated by ...... oops, can't go there because there's no saying "boo" about you know what.

 

[KnightBridgeAZ]

Well, he could have said, "Rutgers is joining the B10 at a great time for our conference and we're unreservedly excited about that." Um, but wait a minute, no I guess somehow he couldn't.

What he did say about Rutgers' entrance, like "But there should be, in my view, far more momentum than there is. But I understand why there’s not. Now all we can do is keeping pushing forward through the fog," is one of the most damning displays of faint praise that you'll ever see. Yup, no problem there. All is well in the state of Rutmark.

And Hermann's meeting with the Rutgers booster where all the incidents of her past were ignored and she just tried to spin out positive vibrations about future meeting with donors was a wonderful act of whistling into the dark ill-smelling clouds rolling in from the south. Her newfound Rutgers faithful are claiming a media hatchet job by services like ESPN for reporting about all the crap in her past that she thought she had buried and are saying the attacks are all motivated by ...... oops, can't go there because there's no saying "boo" about you know what.

We all get it - its a bad hire. I am embarrased for my uniuversity and the stinko job they did hiring an AD. All is not rosy in NJ - doners ARE pissed and I suspect her ability to do the job has been compromised. And I give to RU and yes, I am reconsidering how much I give.

That said - no one has mentioned her acceptance of blame for making the experience of the Tennessee Volleyball team miserable - which she did do. And claiming to have grown from the experience. All in her press conference the other day. Why I am disappointed is she didn't do it when she should have, and lied when the issue was originally raised.

Sorry, the media DO have agendas - part is to sell papers (? what do you call it on the internet?) - and bringing up justifiable concerns about the hire was just media doing their job. Continuing to follow the story when it is pretty much a non-story crosses the line IMHO.

And no one from outside would understand about the Star Ledger - the state newspaper that has consistently taken as its mission to present every failing - real in this case, imagined in some - at Rutgers as major news. This is the paper that published how much the fan base hated Vivian on the day that RU first hosted the BET. She got a standing o, her first, that day, when she walked into the arena. Same author, IIRC.

And

 

[UcMiami]

We all get it - its a bad hire. I am embarrased for my uniuversity and the stinko job they did hiring an AD. All is not rosy in NJ - doners ARE pissed and I suspect her ability to do the job has been compromised. And I give to RU and yes, I am reconsidering how much I give.

That said - no one has mentioned her acceptance of blame for making the experience of the Tennessee Volleyball team miserable - which she did do. And claiming to have grown from the experience. All in her press conference the other day. Why I am disappointed is she didn't do it when she should have, and lied when the issue was originally raised.

Sorry, the media DO have agendas - part is to sell papers (? what do you call it on the internet?) - and bringing up justifiable concerns about the hire was just media doing their job. Continuing to follow the story when it is pretty much a non-story crosses the line IMHO.

And no one from outside would understand about the Star Ledger - the state newspaper that has consistently taken as its mission to present every failing - real in this case, imagined in some - at Rutgers as major news. This is the paper that published how much the fan base hated Vivian on the day that RU first hosted the BET. She got a standing o, her first, that day, when she walked into the arena. Same author, IIRC.

And

Nice post. But ...
I think this would have died pretty quickly if Hermann had shown a modicum of honesty when the story first came up. Her denials and loss of memory are just not believable - when you get 'fired' as a coach, you remember all the details involved. And unless you have spent years in court, you remember everything about the few instances you are there. So, with her reaction to the first stories it is like blood in the water for the sharks of the media.
On top of that 'story' you then have to look at the process involved in the hire that left EVERYONE at Rutgers so completely unprepared to deal with these issues. Either they knew about these issues but decided no one else would do any research so they could just ignore them, or they did such a slipshod job in the hiring process that they had no idea about any of this. Neither option is good for their reputation.
From reports, it sounds like the answer is they did know about some of this, but they still didn't recognize the need to prepare themselves and their hire to deal with it.
While the Star Ledger may have it in for Rutgers, Rutgers has made it very easy for them in this instance by displaying incredible incompetence initially and in their ham handed responses.

 

[cabbie191]

KnightBridge - To start, I want to express my appreciation for your contributions to the Boneyard. You write well, bring great insight into Rutger's women's basketball, and in the current instance, the University/New Jersey as a whole. I'm sorry that as an avid RU fan, you are having to experience what must be a really miserable post-season.

We all know that eventually these controversies will be done and over with, and that life at RU will go on, so perhaps the following is either/or moot or silly. But I'm wondering if you could address Rutger's incoming membership in the Big Ten. Is this something that in your opinion RU fans in general welcomed with open arms (did you?), and if so, are there any regrets? And any sense that some fans think that the university should withdraw its membership acceptance?

Because I live in Wisconsin and am a Badger fan as well as a Husky fan, Rutger's membership is of particular interest to me.

 

[ScarlettB]

KnightBridge - To start, I want to express my appreciation for your contributions to the Boneyard. You write well, bring great insight into Rutger's women's basketball, and in the current instance, the University/New Jersey as a whole. I'm sorry that as an avid RU fan, you are having to experience what must be a really miserable post-season.

We all know that eventually these controversies will be done and over with, and that life at RU will go on, so perhaps the following is either/or moot or silly. But I'm wondering if you could address Rutger's incoming membership in the Big Ten. Is this something that in your opinion RU fans in general welcomed with open arms (did you?), and if so, are there any regrets? And any sense that some fans think that the university should withdraw its membership acceptance?

Because I live in Wisconsin and am a Badger fan as well as a Husky fan, Rutger's membership is of particular interest to me.

I'm not KnightBridgeAZ, but I am an RU fan, so I hope you don't mind if I share my opinion. I think most fans were very happy to be invited to join the B1G. Personally I would have preferred the ACC, but only because it would have been easier for me to travel to games. The B1G is a more prestigious conference (at least in football and that is where the money is). I do not think RU should consider withdrawing its membership acceptance. Did Penn State get kicked out or withdraw after a much more serious situation? How about Ohio State, whose president just resigned because of major gaffes and whose football team was banned from the post season last year (and whose's former head coach Tressel was forced out) for NCAA violations? There is no reason RU should be treated any differently than other institutions in the conference.

 

[cabbie191]

I'm not KnightBridgeAZ, but I am an RU fan, so I hope you don't mind if I share my opinion. I think most fans were very happy to be invited to join the B1G. Personally I would have preferred the ACC, but only because it would have been easier for me to travel to games. The B1G is a more prestigious conference (at least in football and that is where the money is). I do not think RU should consider withdrawing its membership acceptance. Did Penn State get kicked out or withdraw after a much more serious situation? How about Ohio State, whose president just resigned because of major gaffes and whose football team was banned from the post season last year (and whose's former head coach Tressel was forced out) for NCAA violations? There is no reason RU should be treated any differently than other institutions in the conference.

Scarlett - thanks for your response. I've also appreciated your contributions here! I absolutely expect that Rutger's membership status will be unchanged, and you're right - RU ought not be treated any differently than anyone else. All schools have their warts from time to time - witness the ban on our men's basketball team participating in last year's tournaments.

The one difference in this situation that seems to me to be somewhat unique is that these incidents have come to light just as a school is getting ready to join a conference, not while already a member. I was just curious how fans felt it in general about this.