Dayton Targets Dambrot

[GoZips]

Went to the Dayton boards to see what they are after for a new basketball coach.

This is no joke. Dayton Targets Dambrot

[Quickzips]

Hardly looks like "targeting" to me. Personally, if you want to keep your thumb on the pulse on this one I suggest going over to the forum at udpride.com. That is the main hangout for Dayton fans. Hardly a mention on there of Dambrot. I doubt there is much interest either way.

[UA Fan]

http://www.daytondailynews.com/dayton-spor...ob-1123826.html

College coaches began to convene at the Final Four on Thursday, and four names reportedly are popping up frequently in discussions about the UD job: Drexel coach Bruiser Flint, Akron coach Keith Dambrot, Ohio U. coach John Groce and Duke associate head coach Chris Collins.

“I’d say we’ve had an incredible level of interest both from sitting head coaches and from associate head coaches from very successful major institutions,” said Wabler, who’s conducting the search with associate AD Dave Harper.

[GP1]

KD would be nuts to go to Dayton. Why leave being treated like a king at Akron to go somewhere and be taken less seriously. It makes no sense. KD isn't going anywhere.

[zip37]

I KNOW this is the first time Keith hss been 'looked at'

[zip37]

NOT!!!! April fool.

[zippyman23]

KD would be nuts to go to Dayton. Why leave being treated like a king at Akron to go somewhere and be taken less seriously. It makes no sense. KD isn't going anywhere.

Not sure to what extent either party is interested, but Dayton could easily triple his salary. I think he would have a hard time turning down that job if it was offered to him.

[zen]

KD would be nuts to go to Dayton. Why leave being treated like a king at Akron to go somewhere and be taken less seriously. It makes no sense. KD isn't going anywhere.

Not sure to what extent either party is interested, but Dayton could easily triple his salary. I think he would hard time turning down that job if it was offered to him.

I'd give a hometown discount. I sizable one. But I would not turn down tripling my paycheck

[ZachTheZip]

He's an Akron alumnus. Dayton is rumored to be willing to pay seven figures.

I would hope Dambrot would stay. I think he has a job here until retirement assuming he doesn't regress to MAC West levels. He's the best coach in the history of the program. But at UD he's just another coach and he's done some things that would make him unpopular there like being friends with LeBron and the CMU incident.

[zipboy]

Per the Detroit News Greg Kampe is openly campaigning for the job.

Greg Kampe's name has been tossed out there as a candidate for the head coaching job at Dayton, left open with the departure of Brian Gregory who took the position at Georgia Tech this week.

Kampe, who has been the coach at Oakland University since 1984, has heard the rumors. He is in Houston for this weekend's Final Four.

"Some of the coaches have come up to me, talking about my name being mentioned with the Dayton job," Kampe told The Detroit News on Thursday from Houston. "I haven't talked to anyone from Dayton, but I'd be interested to talk to them about it.

"The only place I'm leaving Oakland for is a place where I could win and win big. I'm talking national championships. I want to go to a place that has high expectations, a chance at getting to the Final Four for a shot at the national title. I think you could do that at Dayton."

From The Detroit News: http://detnews.com/article/20110401/SPORTS...e#ixzz1IJpkl3II

[Dave in Green]

The older you get and the more you've seen and understand about life, the more you realize that there is a point beyond which more money truly isn't everything.

At UA, KD is making enough money for his family to live comfortably if not ostentatiously. If he tripled his salary, he could start living more ostentatiously. But would he feel more fulfilled? Would he be more satisfied? Would he be happier?

Unlike some of the younger coaches out there, KD has been around long enough to have a better understanding of himself and what works best for him. He's the only one who can answer the question of whether he wants to be tossed into the coaching grinder like most other college coaches, or whether being a longtime coach at his alma mater is the fulfillment of his coaching dream.

One of the biggest longterm impacts a coach can make is to leave a legacy that's remembered and honored long after he's gone. One way to achieve that would be to build the UA program into a perennial national power. As a selfish Zips fan, that's what I'd like to see.

But the important thing is for KD to do what's right for himself. I just hope if he does decide to leave for a higher-paying position that it all works out well for him. I hope he doesn't become another in the band of vagabond coaching castoffs with suitcases always packed, always waiting to be fired for not producing immediate results and constantly on the search for new opportunities.

[ZachTheZip]

If he's being lured by the promise of an always full arena and a better salary, maybe we should try investing some money into getting those things right here for a guy who has brought us to the big dance twice in three years.

[Zipmeister]

KD would be nuts to go to Dayton. Why leave being treated like a king at Akron to go somewhere and be taken less seriously. It makes no sense. KD isn't going anywhere.

Not sure to what extent either party is interested, but Dayton could easily triple his salary. I think he would hard time turning down that job if it was offered to him.

I'd give a hometown discount. I sizable one. But I would not turn down tripling my paycheck

K.D would fit in well at Dayton. UD's practically all home game ooc schedule makes Akron's ooc schedule look pretty tough.

[Quickzips]

If he's being lured by the promise of an always full arena and a better salary, maybe we should try investing some money into getting those things right here for a guy who has brought us to the big dance twice in three years.

Neither is exactly an easy task to put together. KD is the highest paid coach in the MAC right now as it is, and well he probably does deserve more in the larger picture of collegiate basketball, does the University have the $ to pony up if it comes down to that?

Attendance is probably an even bigger hurdle. For all the theories that have been floated about quick fixes to get fans to the JAR, it really is a complex, uphill battle. You've got to fight a pretty fan un-friendly arena, a lack of quality OOC opponents willing to make the trip to said arena, a veritable whos who of terrible teams from inside the conference, a generally apathetic community, a lack of a solid tradition (at least in comparison to UD) of excellence.

[ZachTheZip]

Alright, so taking a deeper look, Dambrot makes $320k base, and can earn around $307k in bonuses by fulfilling certain criteris, such as winning the MAC regular season, the MAC tournament, progressing in the Dance, etc.

I don't know how many of the goals were met or how much they were worth, but I would venture a guess that he made at least $400k.

Out of all the teams that went dancing, Dambrot was the 47th-highest paid coach out of the 59 teams that salaries were known for. However, he has the 23rd-highest potential bonus payout. So, his contract is heavily based on incentives compared to other schools who went dancing. Data comes from USA Today

I think Dambrot deserves to make about $400k base and keep the incentives about the same when I look at the list and compare us to where we like to think of ourselves in relation to where we stand among mid-majors.

[UA Fan]

Let's not kid ourselves. Being "King of the JAR" is not a very high aspiration in the world of Div. 1 college hoops, hometown or not. He would have a lot more of everything to work with at Dayton. The risk is if it didn't work out at UD, he would probably end up at Ashland for the rest of his career. If he stays at Akron he has some security/longevity and some facility upgrades will be in the mix at some point before he's done. I think it would be a very tough decision for him if they want him.

[Captain Kangaroo]

But at UD he's just another coach and he's done some things that would make him unpopular there like being friends with LeBron and the CMU incident.

You are utterly amazing...

"I'd like to buy you for what you know, and sell you for what you think you know."

Look at Kentucky's present Head Coach. Look at his track record. Do you think winning trumps everything in college athletics?

No D1 school is going to overlook a great coach because he's friends with one of the world's greatest basketball players. Shockingly, most Universities think it might be a unique recruiting advantage?

The CMU stuff is WAY old. In the world of college athletics, it's been expunged. No one cares about anything but his wins and losses now. And at Dayton, they might care that he graduates his kids too.

Amazing...

[taxpayer]

Akron's AD BETTER be in Houston and not straying to far from KD......I believe some minor facility improvements have been promised but so far nothing is occuring. Facilities go along way in recruiting and KD presently is doing very well with the challenges the JAR presents. He brings in good kids, wins and graduates his players and I think he's trying to push the program as high as he can......but he needs a partner in his efforts.....UA's administration and wallet. I don't want to be in the position of seeing him leave because he's not receiving the Unversity's support. Everyone wants this program to play with the big boys, well you gotta ante up to get into the game. I believe KD is doing his part.......now it's the AD & administration's move

[Dave in Green]

The only thing about the CMU incident that's even remotely close to relevant today is that it's now totally irrelevant, and, except for the "ir," relevant and irrelevant are spelled the same.

[GP1]

The CMU stuff is WAY old. In the world of college athletics, it's been expunged. No one cares about anything but his wins and losses now.

The cmu stuff is old, but in the insane world of universities, nonsense like that matters. It shouldn't matter, but it does and sometimes presidents don't like to fight those battles.

Like I've said before, KD has it as good at Akron as he is going to have it anywhere at this point in his career. He would be foolish to leave Akron for another school.

[Captain Kangaroo]

Akron's AD BETTER be in Houston and not straying to far from KD......I believe some minor facility improvements have been promised but so far nothing is occuring. Facilities go along way in recruiting and KD presently is doing very well with the challenges the JAR presents. He brings in good kids, wins and graduates his players and I think he's trying to push the program as high as he can......but he needs a partner in his efforts.....UA's administration and wallet. I don't want to be in the position of seeing him leave because he's not receiving the Unversity's support. Everyone wants this program to play with the big boys, well you gotta ante up to get into the game. I believe KD is doing his part.......now it's the AD & administration's move

His salary is fine. Whatever UA pays him is roughly 1/3 what a school like Dayton can afford. There will always be someone out there that will pay him more money, regardless of his salary.

Whether he stays or goes is totally up to KD.

Does KD see Dayton as "the old man's last chance to cash in?"

Does KD see Dayton as the old man's last realistic shot at making a career-defining, deep NCAA tourney run?

Does KD see Dayton as as, worst case, $5,000,000 dollars in his pocket after 5 seasons (a la Waters @ Rutgers).

Or, is KD happy being the King of Akron, winning 20 games, returning to UA for the next 2 seasons with Zeke making some local hoops history? Are his local roots enough to turn down a $700,000 raise? His 401k might be doing great, but it ain't gonna appreciate by $3.5 million over the next 5 years, like his salary would if he moved only 3 1/2 hours away to SW Ohio.

All I know is -- I haven't heard KD publicly deny interest in the job.

I won't rest easy until I hear KD deny interest. Or I hear Zach the Zip state "KD accepted the Dayton job."

Either would mean KD's staying at UA.

[WinZip]

http://www.blackburnreview.com/main/2011/3...l?currentPage=2

[zipboy]

Good posts above. A few extra thoughts

1. Per TomGaffn\ey, KD said that he will not be in Houston for the Final 4. He has a family obligation.

2. I always worry when his name comes up for openings. I know that we are lucky to have him.

3. He has always been a straight shooter. He has consistently said that he is not leaving. At the end of the year when asked about recruiting he mentioned that they know he is not going anywhere and the staff is happy here as well. I don't see him having to go out and deny rumors as they come up although it would make me sleep easier.

4. After the NIT snub several years ago he said that he might leave at some point given his frustation and then backed off of that statement in a few days. Again, if there was a chance that he would leave at some point I feel that he would have at least alluded to that at some point in the past and not do a Mack Rhodes, say one thing and do another.

5. I am sure that he could have left in the past if desired. This time there is a new AD. He seems to like the support that TW is putting behind basketball, at least publicly. Akron pays well for Akron. But we aren't a 1M dollar school.

6. Until ZW sounds alarms, I am going to rest easy and expect KD to be here for the long haul.

[Hilltopper]

Look for an announcement in the near future regarding upgrades to the JAR.

Board of Trustees Meetings:

August 4, 2010, 10 a.m.*, Student Union, Room 339

September 8, 2010, 10 a.m.*, Student Union, Room 339

October 6, 2010, 10 a.m.*, Student Union, Room 339

December 15, 2010, 10 a.m.*, Student Union, Room 339

January 19, 2011, 10 a.m.*, Student Union, Room 339

March 23, 2011, 10 a.m.*, Student Union, Room 339

April 27, 2011, 10 a.m.*, Student Union, Room 339

June 15, 2011, 10 a.m.*, Student Union, Room 339

[GP1]

5. I am sure that he could have left in the past if desired.

To where? KD is always on lists, but never one of the serious candidates. He couldn't go anywhere and be taken as seriously as he is at Akron. He has too much going for him at Akron. Any other school, he is just another coach.

Schools like Dayton aren't looking for a coach in his 50s. They are looking for young guys like at VCU and Butler who create a buzz and are looking for the next step. The only time you hire a guy in his 50s is in a Gary Waters case....a guy who is taking a step back after cashing in and getting fired at a big school. KD isn't a guy who has ever been to the big time and probably won't ever get there. In ten years, he'll still be at Akron, doing well and still be the king.

Don't worry guys, KD is not going anywhere. I don't think he wants to leave and I don't think anyone is taking him seriously.