UAM...........

[Z-P]

I can't believe the silence here about the loss of such a significant guy.Are we all so shocked and pissed we just don't know what to say? Maybe we all understand and appreciate what he did.............and what he has meant to our program and we simply wish him the best personally, and are ready to let him move on to a well deserved "promotion"................the one he didn't get here but really deserved.I'm kind of happy for UAM, if it means a better opportunity (I guess) or does MT simply understand what UAM can do, and sees he needs his help to advance his own resume? Not to knock THE BOSS, because he's great too...............but I'm just "out of wind" on this dealio.Here's a scary note..............I got a call tonight from "soccer guy" thanking me for my support of Zips Athletics. That's a first. Maybe someone has hit the switch and decided they'd better get their asses in gear because "the guiding light" (marketing wise) is moving south. Coincidence? No..............Listen..................this is HUGE. Know what? A guy once told me this: "You're thru your best period before you know you are in it"................hope that's not the case here.

[zippyrifle32]

i'm not going to say that he deserved the promotion or not. but i willl say i like what mack has in store for us and his vision of where we should be. i really buy into that. now, uam is a great guy and it is too bad to see him, but maybe it's just that he wants to stick around mike thomas.

[fear the brown roo]

personally i would loved to have seen waddell become the AD. i think he did a fantastic job at his post and would be a great AD. the "fear the roo" campaign was his baby. i think a great strength of his is his ability to listen and consider ideas from anyone. believe me, i am nobody but a friend to the programs but mike would seriously listen to any thoughts i had and consider them. mike has given his all to the university even to the point of endangering his health. i know this was not an easy decision for mike to make. for some reason, he really loves akron and the university and WANTS to be here. even with a substaintial increase in salary from cincy, he had a difficult time deciding to leave. i wouldn't be surprised to see mike back here again someday. when the day comes that mack decides to move on, i'd lay money that you'll hear of mike interviewing at akron. mack is the man and gets my support but i've suddenly become a cincy fan (as long as they are not playing the zips). onward and upward.

[Blue & Gold]

I don't think there's much to say. I believe everyone was expecting this move and that everyone is disappointed by it. I believe everyone truly appreciates what UAM has done here at the U and we love him as much as he loves us. This was a rational move for UAM, and though he has a new job now, I hope that in his heart he remains a Zip! Hopefully we'll see UAM in blue & gold again one day!

[UADavid]

ftbr, great post.

[grice]

UAM did a fine job and was very creative. MAC to Big East, people move up. In the future, UA will probably lose more coaches and staff that results from this university having success. People around country are starting to take notice.

[liljc]

I hope all of you are right and Waddell does eventually come back to Akron. I, don't believe it will ever happen, personally. He's a difference maker. Look are this place. His influence is everywhere. My guess is that a major program ( Big Ten, ACC, SEC, etc) plucks him away from Cincy. When it happens, I will, again be very happy for him. Good luck , Mike. Give 'em hell.

[Zip Watcher]

I'll add the following:#1: Each and every one of us in the Zips Nation owes a debt of gratitude to UAM. Under his watch, we saw what a big time Athletic Department looks like, long before it was matched on the courts and fields of UA. The production value of the events at UA are at or above those of most BCS level programs. That's important to moving forward. UA needs to think bigtime and act bigtime in order to become bigtime. Kudos to Mike for helping UA see that.#2: He's done this job .. Asst. AD for Marketing .. at UA for several years now. He's done this job smashingly for several years now. What else can we ask of him here? He's set the table for a sound and cohesive marketing plan for UA Athletics for years to come. You ever do the same job for 7 years without moving up or on? I certainly can't criticize someone for pursuing new challenges.#3: Read his letter again. He speaks of opportunities, both "professional and educational." There's a lot to that. Life is about learning and moving upward and onward with new lessons. He sees a chance to move closer to his ultimate professional goal and is going after it. I hope that I'd have the fortitude and awareness to recognize such an opportunity and follow it in the same manner.#4: Don't assume it's all about the Benjamins. That's an insult to UAM & his family. Maybe your sole motivation is the almighty dollar .. good for you if it is. I find that most people aren't that simple. Coin doesn't hurt & it has to be considered, but be careful about jumping to that conclusion. Many of you know UAM better than I am fortunate to, and I'll bet anyone who knows him would agree that coin alone doesn't drive the guy. He's a better man than that, and he deserves more than to have Zips fans posting that kind of BS around here.#5: Mike's pursuing a dream & sees an opportunity to move closer to and better prepare himself for reaching that dream. It's easy for most people to give up on a dream. Way easier than chasing one. If you aren't striving for a dream, then you can't fall short if you don't attain it. Props to Mike for getting after it. I know he'll get to it. I've been blessed to get there once & it's damn rewarding & fulfilling when you do.#6: More than one time in the remainder of UAM's long and successful career, UA will be in need of a new Boss. He'll be on the short list. Count on it. And if & when he does ride back into town on the hood of Z-P's Pinto .. he'll come back with a boatload of new experience, ideas and wisdom. And UA will be better for it.Finally ..I'll always have a healthy respect for UAM. I'll always remember that HE was the AD the night that UA won the MACC @ Ford Field. He's the only AD in UA history to claim a football title. We've been blessed to see him work his magic in helping awake the Zips Nation from a deep, deep slumber. Things evolve and times call for new people and new challenges. God speed Mike & family in your next step & hurry back now, ya hear?!Below: UAM & JD accept Motor City Bowl Invite!

[Z-P]

ZW..............that was awsome.Glad that post (and replies) finally dragged you up on the board to dump your bucket. You always speak for the vast majority of we rabid fans, and are easily the most articulate member of The Nation.Also........... you said

"Many of you know UAM better than I am fortunate to, and I'll bet anyone who knows him would agree that coin alone doesn't drive the guy. He's a better man than that, and he deserves more than to have Zips fans posting that kind of BS around here."

Well put, and needed on the board right the hell now.I'll see all you cats tomorrow and we can have a good cry together.As UAM ALWAYS SAID......................Go Zips!

[zipper]

Under his watch, we saw what a big time Athletic Department looks like, long before it was matched on the courts and fields of UA. The production value of the events at UA are at or above those of most BCS level programs. That's important to moving forward. UA needs to think bigtime and act bigtime in order to become bigtime. Kudos to Mike for helping UA see that.

Waddel is the greatest, no doubt about it. But really, let's be fair. MT, or as some of you call him, the BOSS, gets the credit for bringing UA up to the level it is. He also gets the credit for hiring UAM, a wise move that he obviously still believes because he's taking him with him. It all flows from the top....thus LP also gets credit here, as well. Imho, Thomas + Proenza did the deal for us - ultimately it was that "marriage" that made it happen. Not to take anything away from UAM, but our success has been more than just on the marketing side, although that was certainly the most visible. We hired great coaches and we also went up academically. And let's not forget that new facility sitting there and the bricks laid for the new stadium. There's a lot more to running an athletic department, and I know it's anathema to say this, but Mack seems to have ALL the pieces and the experience. If we really want our department to continue to excel, we can't be guilty of homerism.That said, UAM will be greatly missed. I only hope Mack has someone up his sleeve to replace him.

[Big Zip]

Mike has done a wonderful job as Assoc. Dir. of Athletics Marketing, but I honestly think Mike shined as bright as he did was because of the past. Let me explain, Mike followed Joe Dunn and although most of us like Joe I'm not sure if he was a professional marketer? He was a career UA guy who ended up doing marketing. He never worked for a school like Mike worked at to see how things were run at those Institutions. Enter Mike Waddel -- Mike came (I believe) fresh from Army and the new branding campaign at Army -- enter a new branding campaign at Akron shortly thereafter. Life is a series of life experiences and those life experiences are how we learn. Sometimes we are able to take what we've learned somewhere else and apply in our next role. Mike had the opportunity to see how things are run elsewhere and then was able to put his own twist on it here at Akron. The biggest example of this is the Fear the Roo campaign. We've all talked about how it was stolen from Maryland -- yeah Mike thought it would work here, but he didn't invent it. Please don't take this post the wrong way -- someone could have come in her and failed miserably were he has succeeded, but I believe strongly their are other Mike Waddel's out there waiting for their opportunity to make something happen. People with new and fresh ideas. Which brings me to Mack being hired -- Akron's has a lot of things working well for it right now and Mack will bring new ideas to the Akron post. There is a chance for the program to advance quicker under Mack right now -- new influx of fresh ideas. In the meantime Mike is moving on to gain more life experiences thus making him a stronger candidate the next time this job comes open and putting him in the drivers seat. I thought the half - empty mentality of this board was going away. These are opportunities to continue moving forward for everyone. Not to say it wouldn't have happened with the same people in place, but we're past that now -- we need to embrace the change and be comfortable with ambiguity.I had an opportunity to meet Mike when he first came to the U. His enthusiasm and excitement were contagious then and I'm sure they'll be at Cincy. I wish him the best of luck!

[GP1]

Everyone can be replaced. The best thing about what Mike did at UofA is put the school in a good position to replace him. How did he do that? Easy, by doing a great job. Great managers and organizations create succession plans for the day they eventually need to be replaced or move on to another position. Mike T. and Mike W. created a great foundation for the future. It is now up to the new AD and his staff to build upon this foundation. The future of UofA sports is bright because of what Mike and Mike did here.Anyone who tells you that you can't get blood out of a turnip needs to look no further than what Mike T. and UAM did at Akron. When they came to Akron, things were a complete disaster and look at it now. The turnip is bleeding.Here is my tribute to UAM...A couple of years ago, I wanted to hold an American Institute of Architects tour at the new fieldhouse and recreation center. It had nothing to do with the Athletic Department. UAM assisted me in organizing this meeting even though it had NOTHING to do with his job responsibilities. It didn't take a lot of extra work for him, but he did the extra work anyhow. Most government employees would never take the extra mile for anyone, for anything. About 30 local architects showed up for the tour. The day and tour went off real well and eveyone was happy and impressed by the building. The difference between good and great is only 10%. UAM gave me an extra 10%. Thanks UAM. See you in Cincinnati.

[zipper]

What Thomas did best, imo, was bring in people with big time roots. Waddel had been at Army, North Carolina, and Virginia, which was probably where Thomas knew him from.

[RowdyZip]

This is really tough. A sad day...well a sad day for UA, but we sure are happy for UAM...Now my tibute...A few years back, I was a sophomore here at UA, I had just taken on a full time job and decided to continue school part time. Over the basketball season in 00-01 I started to get into Zips athletics. Then I learned of a weekly radio show at the Spaghetti Warehouse. I figured I'd check it out, go sit with a some other Zips fans, get some good food and check out the show on 1350. Little did I know it would become a ritual. Over the next two years I hit the Spaghetti Warehouse (usually with the now ex-girl in tow) every thursday. Sometimes we'd get free appetizers. about 80% of the time we were the only fans there. 99% of the time we were the only students, except for the time students were on the show. It was nice to meet some of the guys from the teams, like charlie and derrick tarver, but the reason I kept going back was Mike. After a couple weeks he noticed our enthusiasm, came and introduced himself and thanked us for coming. He asked if we could get some more folks to come, and from time to time we did. Back then most of my friends arent the zips nuts they are now that we are successful. He even paid for dinner once for the girl and me! This is how much he yearned for the support of the community and students, how much he wanted the best for this school...anyways, Mike, if you read this, we'll miss you and best of luck.Sincerely...Judge Judy.(that's a little inside joke...related to an incident at the OU football game a ways back)

[Z-P]

How THE BOSS got his gloss……….a UAM story.Early on in his tenure at UA, Mike was connecting flights at some airport I can’t remember now………..and spotted me walking down the concourse to my connecting gate.He called out (at that time I really didn’t know him well) and stopped me. I knew who he was, but he reintroduced himself anyway…………..like somebody else posted, Mike’s got an easy way with people and can move in and out of social situations with great ease.We yuked it up for a few minutes, when suddenly his cell phone rang. He gave it one of those cursory looks in advance of blowing it off…………….when he suddenly blurted out “oops, sorry ZP but I’ve got to take this one, it’s THE BOSSâ€â€¦â€¦â€¦â€¦..He told THE BOSS he bumped into ZP from the famous “Blue Board†(that’s how long ago this was) and MT passed along a message UAM gave to me…………he said “THE BOSS†sends his regards.Bingo, that’s how UAM glossed MT soooooo many years ago………….Just another UAM story before we see him for the last time in blue and gold.

[zip37]

After he's out of town, I'll let all of you know what he told me yesterday at the Go Zips Lunch, it will give us an insight to what a CLASSY GUY he is, Cincy is indeed fortunate to have both MT & MD .a.k.a. UAM. Bless you Mike for all you did for US (the U of A) and good fortune to you. Hope to see you back as AD in the future. (Dare we hope? YES!)

[fear the brown roo]

After he's out of town, I'll let all of you know what he told me yesterday at the Go Zips Lunch, it will give us an insight to what a CLASSY GUY he is

come on now, don't tease us like that. give us a clue at least.