Mike Thomas Reported G-O-N-E

[Captain Kangaroo]

Decision Expected Soon On New UC Athletic Director

Reported by: Dennis Janson

Web produced by: Neil Relyea

10/19/2005 11:07:57 PM

A major announcement is anticipated from the University of Cincinnati about its athletic program.

9Sports anchor Dennis Janson has learned that Bob Goin's successor as athletic director may be Mike Thomas.

Thomas, who's currently the athletic director at the University of Akron, emerged as the front-runner among three candidates to success the retiring Goin.

So far no comment from anyone in the department other than that Thomas is a candidate.

An official announcement could come as early as Thursday.

[zipsbandman]

You knew it was going to happen sooner or later. I'm sure that Proenza will hire the right person who shares his vision on moving this athletic program forward. The joys of being a midmajor.

I do wonder how this affects stadium plans, though.

[Z-P]

Good for The Boss!!!! I mean if it's a sweet deal for him

nm

[GP1]

Good for him! Mike is a real nice guy if you have ever had the chance to talk to him.

I'm sure the money alone would be hard to turn down. They also need someone down there to turn around the basketball mess. He did a good job of that here.

The good news is that the Dow was finally up yesterday 128 points. I'd rather lose an AD in lieu of money.

We'll be OK. I don't think this will hurt the stadium plans. They have too much momentum already.

[Captain Kangaroo]

We'll be OK. I don't think this will hurt the stadium plans. They have too much momentum already.

Some of that may depend on who he takes with him to Cinci.

[UA Fan]

http://news.enquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/art...T0101/510200397

Who will be our interim AD?

[Captain Kangaroo]

http://news.enquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/art...T0101/510200397

Who will be our interim AD?

If anyone suggests him, they get banned from the board for life:

[Zippy989]

[zip37]

If eiher of the previous 2 presidents at our fair institution where here, I would be sweating bullets--but I hink Pres. Proenza shares a great vision for athletics and acaemics-- good fortune, Mike and thsnks for the job you did for us.

With ball ammunition lock and load.

[Zipsrifle]

Sorry to see him go, but can’t say we didn’t think it would happen. We all know we’re a stepping stone. IMO, Cincy is just a bigger stepping stone. Thanks Mike for a truly outstanding job! You really turned this program around!

BTW, I think the stadium won’t slow down. Proenza is behind it and he’ll keep it going. He knows how important it is to the University. One more thing, I saw a blog through the ABJ and the guy (Rasor) brought up some good points. Why is Thomas leaving? Sure Cincy has a good BB team, but our FB team is at least as good as theirs, our BB team looks to be nearly as good, we’ve got the #1 Soccer team in the country too. Obviously Cincy is a bigger name and I’ll bet Thomas thinks he can turn that program around pretty quickly, then jump to the next job.

[InTheZone]

I have mixed feelings on Thomas. The guy has done great things for the athletic department in the short time he's been here, and he made a great hire in JD Brookhart. Personally though, despite the face he puts forward to the public, I think the guy's a real snake. I guess I just can't get past the way in which he let Lee O go. Now, I totally agree with the move, under Lee Owens the program was going no where and it was time to move on, but the backhanded and sleazy manner in which Thomas fired Owens is one of the most unprofessional and downright unhuman things I've ever heard of in sports. If you don't know the story consider yourself lucky. Thanks for all you did Mike, but good riddance.

[Sloopy]

ITZ - I don't know what "story" to which you are referring but if you are still peddling that "Lee got let got by a note" crap it has long ago been proven untrue. I have some friends very close to that situation, one who is a HS coach now in Stark County, and he told me something very different. I think you are calling the wrong guy the snake here andthe source that gave you the story had an agenda.

As for someone leaving, wish them well and move along. The next person in the chair should be able to keep the program moving in the right direction.

[AkronURocks]

Congrats to Mike!

ITZ, I disagree with what happened with Lee O. Lee was lucky he had his last year, Mike could have easily sent him on his way a year earlier. Things like that happen in this business. It was time for a change and Mike made one. We are all fortunate he made the move and hired a great replacement.

I too wonder who will jump ship and head south with Mike? I know UAM shares Virginia ties with Thomas and wouldn't be surprised to see him at UC before too long. That would be another tough loss for the University. Lets hope President Proenza acts fast and find a replacement as capable as MT.

[Captain Kangaroo]

I saw a blog through the ABJ and the guy (Rasor) brought up some good points.  Why is Thomas leaving?  Sure Cincy has a good BB team, but our FB team is at least as good as theirs, our BB team looks to be nearly as good, we’ve got the #1 Soccer team in the country too.

I would say there are about 600,000 reasons why Thomas left. They all look like a dollar bill. I'm guessing his salary jumped from around $200K to at least $800K.

Beyond that, to say our basketball program is nearly as goos as UC's is pretty...ambitious? UC has made the NCAA's each of the past 16 seasons. We've never even won a game at Gund Arena. They draw 15K per game and are regularly in the Top 20. We draw 3.5K and have never even sniffed the top 20. The Big East is a 6-7 bid NCAA tourney conference. The MAC is a 1 bid conference 9 out of every 10 years.

While UC's football program is down this season, they still are in the Big East...a BCS Conference with 5 guaranteed bowl slots. They also have a beautiful 35K seat on-campus stadium. UC is also in a major market...Akron can't even support one local TV station.

Cincinnati soccer? Wonder if MT waves a little cash in front of Coach Lolla to turn UC's soccer fortunes around? Does UC even have a soccer program?

Thomas gave it his all while he was here. The athletic future of the school has never looked brighter. The stadium is the one piece of unfinished business he left. I have my fingers crossed that it doesn't lose steam, because if you've sat in the Rubber Bowl stands this year, you know that thing's got 1 year MAXIMUM left in it. Maybe we can play in Canton for a year while our stadium's being built?

I also have big concerns regarding the Marketing Dept. If UAM follows his former UVA colleague to Cinci, do we go back to buy-one-get-one-free's on the side of Acme Grocery bags and "Ketchup Soup" commercials during game breaks? People scoff at the "paltry" 10k that attended the CMU game including the 1,000 or so students that attended. In 1999 that that game would have drawn 1k, with hardly a student to be found.

Never forget....this (below) happened before. If it happens again, all the progress we've made over the past 5 years will be for naught. If we make the wrong hire...like Helsel...like Crawford...like Faust...like Hipsher...the Roxanne Allen...like Lisa Fitch...it will set us back a decade. We cant afford that.

[a-zip]

I said weeks ago we need to keep the good people we have in place or all efforts will be wasted. I don't understand why we don't throw a little cash around to keep these people.

[Captain Kangaroo]

I said weeks ago we need to keep the good people we have in place or all efforts will be wasted. I don't understand why we don't throw a little cash around to keep these people.

We can't compete with the cash UC can offer, or the Big East Conference. We just have to find a way to reload.

You like to think that, with all the positive progress that been made over the past 5 years, and with what's planned for the next several years, that the Akron AD's position should draw a good talent pool.

[zipsbandman]

No cash in the world would have been able to stop this from happening. We are AKRON. They are CINCINNATTI. Need I say more?

What we need to do is to continue to dedicate ourselves to improving this program. We have a lot of the pieces in place thanks to some good leadership including MT. However, we need to do more. Look at our football stadium. It's miles off campus in the middle of nowhere crumbling apart. Look at our bball arena. It's nothing more than an oversized high school gymnasium at best. Until we start making something of ourselves, this will continue happening.

[UA Fan]

I said weeks ago we need to keep the good people we have in place or all efforts will be wasted.  I don't understand why we don't throw a little cash around to keep these people.

We can't compete with the cash UC can offer, or the Big East Conference. We just have to find a way to reload.

You like to think that, with all the positive progress that been made over the past 5 years, and with what's planned for the next several years, that the Akron AD's position should draw a good talent pool.

If we could hire a Mike Thomas 5 years ago with where we were at then, we should be able to get someone of equal caliber (I used that word for zipsrifle) being further along now. Somebody will want to be doing the groundbreaking and ribbon-cutting for the new stadium and get the backslaps for the MAC titles which will in turn propel them into a higher profile job. A major aspect of the job now is fundraising, corporate sponsorship, marketing, and facilities development...it's not just about hiring/firing coaches anymore. Proenza will hire the right person. I'm more concerned about finding a replacement for L.P. when that time comes.

Also, realize that UC came to AKRON for their AD, not Miami, OU, BG, Toledo and especially not Can't. Yes, UC has more money and a big-time hoops conference and assuming MT makes the right BB HC hire there and gets their football program on track he will probably end up in the ACC or Big10. Good luck to us all.

[Z-Pouch]

I agree - It's Proenza that is key in continuing to move the University further along. Lose him, we should all be concerned. I'm confident that LP will find an equal or better AD then Thomas to keep this rolling. Proenza knows the promotional importance of the Universities athletic programs.

[GP1]

In order to throw money around, one must first have money to throw around. MAC schools simply don't have the money to throw around. Low attendance is one reason for that. If a MAC school gets 20,000 for a game, it is a huge crowd. If Cincy gets 20,000 for a football game, it is a disappointment.

Be thankful for what we have. We play in a good conference with good competitive players. We may not have the big crowds yet, but I could really care less how may people are there as long as I get to see a good game. I don't even think the MAC will ever draw good consistent crowds. It just is not in the culture of the people in the midwest to support MAC schools on a mass basis.

I don't even mind Akron being a spring board for people to go to another program. I like people who want to do better in their lives. One question the candidates should be asked is, "Where do you see yourself in seven years?" If that person answers anything other than being at a large university with national recognition as an athletic director, Akron should not hire the person.

Mike Thomas can leave this program with his head held high. Prior to him, we had a bunch of paper pushers in the position lacking any philosophy about what they wanted the program to look like. Anyone who thinks he did a poor job is just being foolish. Looking at the big picture, he rescued football and m basketball from the throws of mediocrity and the programs are moving forward in a positive direction. Look where the other "football" team is now....#1 nationally. Baseball now has a coach with a direction and with the old coach last season they made the playoffs for the first time in several years. In the classroom (even though I could care less about this issue), we compete with the rest of the conference for the top position from a position of last when he started. Cincinnati made a good hire. You can't sneak your way around a hiring board at a school like that.

As far as how he fired Owens, I could give a how he did it, as long as it got done. I doubt he left a note for the guy. If I was the AD after the Can't game in 2003, I would have fired that guy walking off of the field.

One question, and I've always been curious about this. What the Hell were the players praying about after that 2003 Can't game on the field? I can only imagine the following......"Dear Lord. Only through divine intervention could we have lost this game today. Thank you for showing yourself to us on this field of play. We praise your most holy name. Amen." If you think about it, it would have been the most fitting prayer.

[zip37]

If it ain't a state secret, who/what is UAM? Big east vs MAC-- no contest.

Cap't Roo-- you left out Mike Bobinski-- he was a big time screw-up.

WBALAL

[zipboy]

Not much more to add than to reiterate

1. I wish MT well. He came at the right time and worked wonders.

2. LP is still the key. I still can't believe we were lucky enough to get him. I was unfortuante enough to be a student during the Peggy Gordon Elliot (now banished to president of South Dakota State) era. I trust LP will get the right person.

3. Let's hope UAM stays. UC has a strong program now so there may not be an opportunity for a move in the next year or 2 anyway.

4. If Huggins had stayed at Akron, would we be in UC's position now?

5. Given the support of the administration and the momentum going on now, this has to be seen as a good job. I expect a strong candidate pool. Maybe we can David Diles back in Div 1? Attendance would at least skyrocket

6. This thread is going to give me nightmares, pictures of Dennis Helsel and Gerry Faust in the same thread.

[Zipsrifle]

6. This thread is going to give me nightmares, pictures of Dennis Helsel and Gerry Faust in the same thread.

I accept this tropy on behalf of Syracuse University.....

2. LP is still the key. I still can't believe we were lucky enough to get him. I was unfortuante enough to be a student during the Peggy Gordon Elliot (now banished to president of South Dakota State) era. I trust LP will get the right person.

I was there with Peggy too. Couldn't even pay to repair the concrete steps in front of the Student Center, just blocked them off. LP comes in and rips out the steps AND the student center! :blink: That guy is flat out amazing! I've read about some of the other things he's working on. He's the kind of guy that can throw an entire city on his back and carry it to greater things! I don't think it's possible to replace LP! I think we should name the stadium after him.

[grice]

Three's company? It might be if you look at the Akron to Cincinnati connection. When Bob Huggins left UA for Cincinnati it was AD Mike Bokinski who had to hire the next coach (Hipsher). Later Bokinski left for Cincinnati to take the Xavier AD job. Now Mike Thomas is in Cincinnati, and as the new Bearcat AD he will have to hire the next replacement for Bob Huggins.

[Buckzip]

I think you forgot Coleman Crawford after Huggins.