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Yes - The Rumor Wheel Spin Landed on Houston


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houston chronicle article
The committee member said Parker Executive Search, which has been orchestrating the process to replace Dave Maggard, brought in USC senior associate AD Brandon Martin and Akron AD Mack Rhoades on Wednesday for interview. The committee member described Martin, whose candidacy has been off the radar per the wishes of Parker Search, as “a superstar” and predicted he will be the last candidate standing. “I can’t believe that anyone could come close to Brandon,” the committee member said. “I don’t know anyone else who could compete with him. The confidence that he has … it was a powerful interview.” Rhoades also made a favorable impression with several interviewers, the committee member said. Martin played basketball at USC from 1993-1996, scoring 1,070 points, and has a doctorate. Another factor tipping the balance toward Martin, the committee member said, is his familiarity with working at a major school in a large metropolitan city. “I heard from a lot of people, 'Akron?'” the committee member said. “`We don’t want to be like Akron. We want to be like USC.’”
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http://www.ohio.com/news/break_news/47770742.htmlOhio.com does too.Edit...Oops just saw that someone else already posted this... :unsure:
My personal feelings are that AD's should be in place longer than the 3 1/2 years Mack gave us. With so many issues to resolve, I doubt they'll bring in a qualified candidate. Good luck to Mack, but I'm a ZIP guy first. Go Zips :wave:
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Amazing. Maybe he can set up a home and home. :blink:
With the "we don't want to be Akron" quip, I'd settle for a game with UH anywhere in any sport. Of course, soccer would be a nice place to start :)
I don't care about Houston. They can keep their home-home booby prize, if such an offer was on the table.It made sense with Thomas & Cincinnati because UC is both in-state and BCS. Houston is a 2,000 miles away, and non-BCS. Not very sexy as far as UA opponents go.
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Wow... I'm shocked that Houston would hand their job to such a young guy with such a short resume.No offense to Rhoades, who seems like a very bright and capable guy, but what-- exactly-- did he achieve at Akron?The stadium? Proenza, LaGuardia and the trustees were far more instrumental. Rhoades was tangentially involved, at best.Dambrot? For gosh sakes, who the heck else was even a possible candidate? The whole world knew Dambrot was our future coach the minute he was hired as an assistant.Caleb Porter? That was a pretty darned good hire, but homw many ADs get hired because they got a great soccer coach, especially one to replace a great soccer coach at nationally-regarded program?Seriously, what did Rhoades really accomplish at Akron that he can point to that would not/could not have happened without him?He must interview really well.

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What bothers me is that, eventually, someone will screw up and we'll end up with a Bobinski or Adams. The search committee has done a good jobthe past two choices. What we need is an AD that wants to come in and grow with the University and stay long-term like Dr. ProenzaMack and Mike did good jobs but stability is important to the alums. athletes, staff, and coaches. :D

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I read the Houston Chronicle article about Mack being a finalist and then went on to read the comments. Almost all the fans posting put Akron down big time. They praised Mack for accomplishing all he did in "a place like Akron." That just pisses me off. None of those idiots have been here. They've never seen the campus and they are extremely arrogant. F U Cougars!Take Mack and be happy. We are getting better every year and we ain't done for sure.Mack served us well while he was here. We'll find another good AD and keep moving up. I'm glad Mack is gone. Since he announced his intentions with pursuing the Rutgers job, and following up with the next open AD position at Houston, it was obvious to all he wanted out. Well Mack you got out and you will get the money you want. Congratulations. Now let's find someone who wants to be here and then get out of his way and let him build a top athletics program. I believe that is exactly what Dr. Proenza wants and I'm eager to get started.Mack who?

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So long as Dr. Proenza has a hand in selecting the new AD, we'll get somebody who shares his vision.Given all the recent hires in the athletic department in terms of new coaching assistants, I have to believe that the next AD will also have a great resume and be someone who sill come in with high expectations. Somebody who is superior to what we were hoping for.

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So long as Dr. Proenza has a hand in selecting the new AD, we'll get somebody who shares his vision.Given all the recent hires in the athletic department in terms of new coaching assistants, I have to believe that the next AD will also have a great resume and be someone who sill come in with high expectations. Somebody who is superior to what we were hoping for.
I have never been a big Mack fan and I'm okay with him leaving. I agree - what did he really accomplish here? That stadium was going up with or without him, and most of the funding was raised by the prior AD. Thomas also hired KD, not Mack, and Caleb was the choice of a search committee before Mack walked into the office and basically just stamped their choice in his first week on the job. There's no strong internal candidate. I'd take an assistant from a BCS program, or someone older (and thus experienced) who probably doesn't want to move.
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No offense to Rhoades, who seems like a very bright and capable guy, but what-- exactly-- did he achieve at Akron?
That is a good discussion topic for the next several days.
The stadium? Proenza, LaGuardia and the trustees were far more instrumental. Rhoades was tangentially involved, at best.
I give him more credit than tangential involvement. The stadium is beautiful, on schedule and funding is going as well as can be expected in this economy. That said, it irks me that some people like to give Mack 100% credit for the stadium. It is untrue.
Dambrot? For gosh sakes, who the heck else was even a possible candidate? The whole world knew Dambrot was our future coach the minute he was hired as an assistant.
Mike Thomas hire. Not Mack. That said -- Dambrot is still here, and appears happy.
Caleb Porter? That was a pretty darned good hire, but how many ADs get hired because they got a great soccer coach, especially one to replace a great soccer coach at nationally-regarded program?
Essentially a Waddell hire from when Mike was Interim AD. Yes Mack signed the contract. But the search and candidates were already underway when Mack was packing cardboard boxes @ UTEP. Waddell-haters and Mack-lovers will throw a hissy fit and stomp their feet when they see this...but it is fact. Hyperbole and agendas, however obnoxious and personal they may be, don't trump facts.
Seriously, what did Rhoades really accomplish at Akron that he can point to that would not/could not have happened without him?
Time to evaluate the "Mack Era." What positives and negatives occurred under his watch. What did he change for the better. What would have changed for the better regardless of the AD? Did he simply walk into a sweet situation, table already set, and parlay it into a huge career advancement...did he reach untold heights in his 3 1/2 years @ UA all on his own? Or, was it somewhere in the middle?
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Here's what Mack did in his time here, as far as I can tell.He renovated the outdoor track just a few months ago so that there are beautiful new stands that blend with the stadium. He built a softball stadium so the team doesn't have to play off campus in an old Great Depression era stadium (sound familiar?). There has been an improvement on the academic side of things, which you don't often hear about.While he doesn't deserve full credit for the football stadium (it was completely inevitable, given how much the RB was costing the school just to keep it from collapsing), he did oversee its almost complete construction and chose the design. He has supposedly set the stage for a renovated JAR but nothing has happened yet and it's supposed to be done by the start of basketball season.He spoke out after the 2007 basketball debacle, which probably got us into the NIT in 2008 where we beat Florida State, thanks to the outrage.There's not really all that much you can do in only 3 years to build a large resume. Rhoades did get lucky and he did walk into a situation where great things were about to happen and everybody knew it. At least we can be thankful that he came here and didn't screw up what was going on.

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I'm kind of surprised and disappointed that this hasn't even been picked up by any major sports news service like ESPN or FoxSports. Not even an AP blurb.
It was on CBS Sportsline
Well, that's something. I just want to leave comments on as many stories as possible. It's nice to go to a news website and not be surrounded by Ohio.com trolls.
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With the "we don't want to be Akron" quip, I'd settle for a game with UH anywhere in any sport. Of course, soccer would be a nice place to start :)
We whooped their women's basketball LAST year. And the only soccer team in town is Brian Ching's Dynamo. Clyde Drexler, COME HOME, we need you, Phi Slamma Jamma. :(Did anyone read the comments -- including the one about "structural problems" in Infocision, and how the Rubber Bowl will last forever, rofl? Where do these people come from?? :rolleyes:
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