egregiousbob

In citing Athens, Oxford and (historically) BG, you are criticizing three of the most successful programs and cultures in the league. They apparently don't have any problem getting players to walk across campus to morning workouts.

Interesting process by which Tim Albin ended up going to a program he did not want to lead. It should be a lesson on how not to advance your career. His first contract at Ohio was for $500K, with automatic bumps every time he won 8 games. His first year was a disaster, 3-9, although that could be partly blamed on the fact that Frank Solich didn't retire until late July. He initially had a five-year deal with "outs" after years one and two. Ohio's AD wasn't thrilled with being trapped into giving him the job due to Solich's strategically late announcement. Ohio stuck with him through year one, found more money for assistants' salaries in year 2 and urged him to replace some of the "buddies of Frank" that were still on the staff. With those changes, including the hiring of Brian Smith as OC, they won 10 games and made the MACC in year 2. He got another bonus. In the middle of year three, the AD boosted his pay to ~$730,000 and retained all the bonuses already built into his contract. He ended up winning 10 games again but lost a couple of key games (including Miami at home) that kept the Bobcats from the MACC. Here's where it gets interesting. The AD agreed to begin another renegotiation at the end of year three...with Albin's agent pointing to Jason Candle of Toledo ($1M+) as the benchmark. Of course, Albin hadn't won a MACC yet, so the AD told him that seemed high. Unfortunately for both parties, 40+ players went for $$$ in the portal after the 2023 season. Suddenly 80% of offensive production was gone. Given this fact, the AD delayed renegotiation until she could determine if the program could maintain its trajectory. You don't give a guy a $1M deal in the midst of a downturn. When Albin and team started out slow in 2024 - losing to Syracuse, badly to KY and also badly at Miami - the AD said let's wait until the end of the season, but promised a new and better deal. At this point, Albin and his agent got scared. They figured 2024 would be mediocre and that they'd better play the "2 straight 10-win seasons" card while they could. They reached out to several programs. UNCC (Charlotte) expressed interest. But as Ohio started to string together wins in October and November, UNCC told Albin take it or leave it. He played it safe and accepted their first offer...without telling his employers in Athens. Heading into the MACC, Ohio's AD offered him a deal of around $1.3M plus incentives. He hemmed and hawed...but still didn't tell them he had signed the UNCC deal. Ohio wins the MACC, Albin gets on one of the team buses back from Detroit and then sees on Twitter that UNCC is telling people that he is their new coach. At this point, he panicked, asked the bus driver to pull over, and got into his wife's car (behind the bus) - still without telling players or staff that he was leaving. He skips the game night celebration in Athens. He does not address the team until 2 days later. In essence, Albin bet against himself and his team by signing the UNCC deal under the gun. He would have ended up making more in Athens (and money goes a lot farther there than in Charlotte). By many accounts, he was heartsick he had to leave. But he and his agent had trapped themselves. Ohio fans are angry at how he pursued the new contract but thrilled with his replacement, Brian Smith. The AD is now upping assistant pay again to try to retain most of the staff. The Charlotte program is a mess. It will be a multi-year rebuild, so not sure how attractive it will be for his former assistants. We'll see.

I disagree. Over the years the U has gobbled up empty buildings seemingly without a long-term plan for them. Old Central-Hower High School for one. But the ultimate example is Quaker Square. The fact that University architect Ted Curtis was part owner of that complex should have triggered many alarms at the city and state levels.

Could have said the same about AJ Oulette, a walk-on at OU who was toughness personified. Now a very successful running back in the CFL. In the MAC, toughness often trumps breakaway speed.

Complete speculation on the "journalist's" part. And consider the headline: "Is Akron football coach Joe Moorhead a candidate to become Michigan football offensive coordinator?" Is Taylor Swift a candidate? GP1? Keith Dambrot?

This thread needs to be renamed "With that being said..."

Moorehead describes preseason schedule as "ridiculous and non-sensical." Not a fan of previous AD, I assume.

Agree with your assessment of Ohio. That team is fatally flawed. Further, as long as Akron has Bud Wentz to write checks to acquire the players Groce wants, Akron will be the frontrunner. Perhaps other programs should be rooting for a stock market collapse.

I know you hate Jim Grobe, but he rejuvenated a moribund program at OU in 2 years and UA would likely have 5 wins at this point of the season if he were coach. The program would be clearly on a positive trajectory. Would he be the long-term solution, given his commitment to triple option football? Maybe not, but the team would be a hell of a lot more enjoyable to watch. Attendance would be better as well.

OU graduates more primary care physicians than OSU by far. Also more than Cincy, Toledo, Wright State and NEOMed. There are some very high quality graduate programs outside of Columbus.

Nearly noon and still no mention on Ohio.com...or gozips.com. Reminds us how good national newspapers are.

It could be argued that he was the first of a string of "Faustian bargains" that have put UA in its current condition.

A few MAC schools have learned a painful lesson from the elimination of sports programs - they're also severing ties to dedicated current and future alums who would otherwise be very likely to donate money to the university. One school has determined that its elimination of men's track cost far more over the intervening decade than it saved.

How long will it take the local newspaper to report this news? I'm guessing not before 10:30 am.

Bu that game wasn't on the weekend...:)

You do realize that the political considerations you criticize are responsible for making UA a state university in the 1960s. There's a legitimate case to be made that 2 state universities within 12 miles of one another was simply bad business. As for current round of budget cuts, I have heard there's growing sentiment among trustees and the administration that it's time to de-emphasize football. Simply no ROI in the existing business case.

Disagree. The reality of today's NCAA environment is that ADs MUST spend most of their time on budgetary, compliance and policy issues. Those things are for wonks, not folks who just love being involved in collegiate athletics. He'd be a fish out of water. Given the new Prez's background, the next AD will be a CFO/COO type.

Was told by another AD that he didn't like to be pressed on budget and compliance details. Guessing the department has been source of multiple unwanted financial surprises.

JMU is legit but, yes, the Bobcats pissed down their legs most of the first half last night.

A week after a big win and they don't show up for the first three quarters of the game? Sorry, but that's utterly unacceptable. You need to realize that we're likely to lose more than a handful of the most talented payers to NIL this year. Why would they stay after another losing season and next to zero fan support in the stands?

You seem to take solace in the fact that they woke up late in the third quarter. They were pathetic during a majority of the game. That's on the coaching staff. It's time to PROVE you're better than a 2-10 team. They've not done that thus far. I see zero fire in this coach. I would have been angry about my team's ineptitude during the first half+. Don't look for silver linings...demand accountability.

The Akron/Bud Wentz Zips. Fearful his support will dry up when next recession hits.

OU and BG classes weren't one-time things. Four straight strong classes in Athens (I believe 2023 was largest ever) and three straight for BG. Definite trend. Kent has done pretty well overall throughout this period. There's got to be a reason why Akron, in comparison, has shrunk (undergrad enrollment) for 11 consecutive years. Prospective students and their parents are not seeing the value. Many were scared off by the Scarborough debacle and have not come back, but the seeds of the problem go back further. Retention continues to be a serious concern.

Bring back Gerry.

Do you suppose anyone reviews these programs before posting them? Given the brevity of the segment, they could have easily re-recorded the session to fix the coach's microphone.