Athletic Director Status ---- Tom Wistrcill

[zippy5]

No mulligan. He f*&ed that one up.....I get it. He is not the first AD to make a bad FB coach hire.

We now have the best FB coach we could ever get to come to Akron and defensive coordinator too. We have the best basketball coach we could ever get to stay at Akron. We have won a National Championship (and a runner up National Champion) in soccer. Basketball, track most other sports have improved haven't they? Does that one terrible hire warrant his firing 5 years later.

I think your sarcasm detector is breaking down

[UAZipster0305]

I am curious.....what has our AD done that is sooooo bad and holding UA back (no need to mention the iCoach hire, I get that one ;-)

#TeamOhio and iCoach. Those two things alone are worthy of not having a contract renewed. As far as I'm concerned, he got four more years than he deserved.

[LZIp]

i really don't have an opinion on TW one way or the other. I would say the Ianello hire is a fire-able offense itself, but its hilarious how he gets all the blame for that and no credit for anything else.

[RowdyZip]

I was of the opinion that things have gone well enough since the installation of Rob Ianello's pigskin holocaust that the guy deserves to stick around until we see what happens with Bowden at the helm a couple more seasons.

Then I got to thinking...doesn't athletics marketing (or in our case, lack thereof)fall under his scope of responsibility? Why has ZILCH been done for promotions/advertising since Brad Swanson left for Illinois? Hell, steal the Rubber Ducks' marketing guy...at least he's creative!

[Dr Z]

doesn't athletics marketing fall under his scope of responsibility?

Valid point. Judging from the response, it deserved it's own topic found here, under Marketing and Promotions.

[CincyZip]

Thanks Dr. Z!

Something I think Wistricill can improve upon is his relationship with students. I went to just about every home game there was when I was a student but only met him once-- and that was at subway on Exchange.

If I ever make it to the point where I could donate to athletics and he was to "court" me, or whatever the proper term is, I would seriously feel it was strictly money related and not because I am appreciated.

[K92]

I will say that Tom Wistrcill has always been very cordial to me whenever I have had the opportunity to have a couple of words with him. He's not a bad person. He just happened to make the worst football coaching hire of all time. It's sad, really.

[UAZip0510]

Anyone hearing any names?

[ZippyRulz]

Anyone hearing any names?

For what?

[UAZip0510]

For what?

Potential replacements if TW isn't renewed.

[Spin]

I hear a lot of TW backers ask "what has he done to warrant losing his job?" but I don'thear anybody answering the question "What has he done to keep it?"

First we need a definition of what an AD does. I found this "No matter which level, athletic directors oversee all aspects of an athletic program, including hiring coaches, scheduling, budget preparation, promotion, and facility management." at http://sportscareers.about.com/od/careerpaths/a/ADprofile.htm

Pretty thorough definition. So let's look at that for a minute.

Hiring coaches. iCoach was a disaster. no doubt. Firing him over his cell phone while he was driving to his mother's funeral was just plain disgusting. Many times worse than hiring him in the first place IMO. He lost Caleb (probably more to do with MLS economics than TW's management. Then again, if he fired Ron during that moment in his life, how easy could he be to work for?). He hired Bowden, a move that's still up in the air. Does he get the credit for that, or does The Vest?. He did bring in Coach Rembielak, that's a plus, even if that program is still treated as an intramural PIA.

Scheduling. The football scheduling has improved (faster than the team has), but the basketball non-con is still horrible. Something that's well documented in this forum.

Budgeting, we don't really know about that, being on the outside. If he returns money at the end of the FY instead of spending it on upgrades and marketing, that might make him bullet proof to the money people.

Promotion.

Facility Management. I brought this up in another topic http://zipsnation.org/forums/topic/32822-2015-baseball-preview/page-2#entry238844 Come on, how much would it really cost to upgrade that ballpark? Read the review in the last link, and the reply. Is that what you want to read about your university? Granted Zips baseball isn't popular, but how could it be?

Overall I don;'tthink he's done crap. Despite the fact he was too far above me to say "Hi" or even nod when I spoke to him walking by, if he did his job worth a crap I wouldn't mind.

[LZIp]

I've said it before, but I really don't have an opinion either way of him. There is some irrational dislike for the guy for whatever reason (see exhibit A above). I could do a lot of defending of him if I actually cared.

[skip-zip]

Spin, without copying your post, let me just share a couple of factual things I'm aware of before we go any further with this discussion.

1) Yes, ICoach was traveling to the funeral, but requested to be contacted as soon as a decision was made.

2) A key member of the business community and a sponsor was heavily involved in getting Terry interested in the Akron opportunity. And Terry has acknowledged this himself publicly. What was the old O-lie-O State football coach's involvement?

[LZIp]

Spin, without copying your post, let me just share a couple of factual things I'm aware of before we go any further with this discussion.

1) Yes, ICoach was traveling to the funeral, but requested to be contacted as soon as a decision was made.

2) A key member of the business community and a sponsor was heavily involved in getting Terry interested in the Akron opportunity. And Terry has acknowledged this himself publicly. What was the old O-lie-O State football coach's involvement?

was Tressel not apart of the search committee?

[skip-zip]

was Tressel not apart of the search committee?

Spin was implying about whether we should "credit him" with Terry's hiring, and not the AD. I only shared what I know about one of the major players in the process, and the one who actually initiated it. And it was an individual, not the search committee. So, if we're crediting an individual with his hiring for simply being one of the many members of the search committee, that's pretty weak. I'm curious if there's more information that I don't know about.

[Zip_ME87]

If it is simply the iCoach hire (which is all that keeps being mentioned over and over) so be it.

You say that as if that was a simple f up. How much money did UA waste paying iCoach? How idiotic did Akron look with iCoach representing us? How many potential fans were driven away in those 2 years? How many high school football coaches were pissed off by iCoach? How far back did iCooach set UA recruiting? How many other holes can be mentioned that resulted from that hire. I don't know how TW kept from being fired. iCoach should have been fired by Tom's replacement. That one MORONIC decision cost UA a LOT.

[LZIp]

Spin was implying about whether we should "credit him" with Terry's hiring, and not the AD. I only shared what I know about one of the major players in the process, and the one who actually initiated it. And it was an individual, not the search committee. So, if we're crediting an individual with his hiring for simply being one of the many members of the search committee, that's pretty weak. I'm curious if there's more information that I don't know about.

According to this article and Bowden himself, it was indeed the search committee that reached out initially.

Several months ago, Bowden tells me, a representative from one of those executive search firms for college coaches placed a call to him. At the time, Bowden was living in the town of Florence, coaching a Division II football program at the University of North Alabama; he was 54 years old, divorced, and had spent most of the previous decade and a half dabbling in broadcasting and motivational speaking after his unceremonious and politically fraught departure from Auburn left him soured on coaching altogether.

“So the guy says, ‘I’m calling on behalf of the University of Akron. Would you be interested in the job?'”

http://grantland.com/features/terry-bowden-akron-plight-mid-major-college-football-program/

[ZippyRulz]

Doesn't a thorough national AD search/vetting/interviewing/hiring process take about 6 months? And is not done secretly? If his contract is up this September we should be hearing something (one way or the other) soon, I would think. Unless they would appoint an interim AD while the search is ongoing. My guess would be he gets extended due to the short-leash conundrum...if an Akron is too quick to terminate someone, it discourages other potentially qualified candidates from applying. Then again, it's been what, 6 years? With the program being relatively stable/successful, perhaps he is being evaluated primarily on his progress on fundraising.

[Spin]

I've said it before, but I really don't have an opinion either way of him. There is some irrational dislike for the guy for whatever reason (see exhibit A above). I could do a lot of defending of him if I actually cared.

So you take a shot at me and then claim to not give a shit about what we're talking about. Priceless. More like classless, but that's why I'm not a regular here anymore.

[a-zip]

You say that as if that was a simple f up. How much money did UA waste paying iCoach? How idiotic did Akron look with iCoach representing us? How many potential fans were driven away in those 2 years? How many high school football coaches were pissed off by iCoach? How far back did iCooach set UA recruiting? How many other holes can be mentioned that resulted from that hire. I don't know how TW kept from being fired. iCoach should have been fired by Tom's replacement. That one MORONIC decision cost UA a LOT.

I say it like that because it is a broken record. I say it because I GET the iCoach hire was terrible. He is not here anymore so the HS coaches should not be pissed and I am quite sure TB, Tressel and the chest have charmed the pants off the HS coaches. Its time to move on.

You ask how many potential fans were driven away in 2 years………I ask you - how many "fans" did we have to begin with? You say it like we have lost hundreds or tens of thousands of fans. LOL

There are many other aspects of the job that should be factored in. If AD's were fired because of a single bad coaching hire it would be a constant carousel everywhere. Hell,the Florida Gators who have unlimited budget and actual "fans" can't find a decent coach. Coaches are not lining up for the UA job - if they are and they are good…they will move on quickly. I don't think we have that at UA right now. I think we have stability and coaches that will stay even if they win. That is unheard of in the MAC. There have been a lot of good coaching hires at UA and a lot of good coaches retained. There has been consistency with the athletic staff for a while now with great coaches I might add (and NO Caleb was not his TW's fault, he was the highest paid coach in NCAA, and was even kept from his alma mater Indiana). If Caleb was going to ever achieve his goal of coaching the men's national team, he had to go to MLS.

I am not saying I support TW or want him fired. I was simply looking for a bigger picture to make a decision.

[Spin]

I would be interested in hearing someone else (or everyone else) grading TW on the five areas listed in the job description I found. It might not be UA's job description, but worth discussing IMO if we're going to judge his performance.

hiring coaches (and retaining coaches)

scheduling

budget preparation (not much we can talk about without real numbers)

promotion (or lack of)

facility management

[Zip_ME87]

I say it like that because it is a broken record. I say it because I GET the iCoach hire was terrible. He is not here anymore so the HS coaches should not be pissed and I am quite sure TB, Tressel and the chest have charmed the pants off the HS coaches. Its time to move on.

You ask how many potential fans were driven away in 2 years………I ask you - how many "fans" did we have to begin with? You say it like we have lost hundreds or tens of thousands of fans. LOL

There are many other aspects of the job that should be factored in. If AD's were fired because of a single bad coaching hire it would be a constant carousel everywhere. Hell,the Florida Gators who have unlimited budget and actual "fans" can't find a decent coach. Coaches are not lining up for the UA job - if they are and they are good…they will move on quickly. I don't think we have that at UA right now. I think we have stability and coaches that will stay even if they win. That is unheard of in the MAC. There have been a lot of good coaching hires at UA and a lot of good coaches retained. There has been consistency with the athletic staff for a while now with great coaches I might add (and NO Caleb was not his TW's fault, he was the highest paid coach in NCAA, and was even kept from his alma mater Indiana). If Caleb was going to ever achieve his goal of coaching the men's national team, he had to go to MLS.

I am not saying I support TW or want him fired. I was simply looking for a bigger picture to make a decision.

UA has made many a bad decision in hiring coaches in the past, but the iCoach hire goes above and beyond a bad decision. iCoach had minimal to NO qualifications to be a Head Coach. That hire was BLATANT STUPIDITY based upon a friendship and little more. I have no idea how many potential fans were driven away due to that BLUNDER. I do know that I had finally convinced a former alum and friend to buy season tickets, with the new stadium and all. He did and was rewarded with 2 years of the absolute worst football and the most moronic face anyone could have put on our program. He will not return as a season ticket holder unless the Zips get to a real bowl. The iCoach hire is not a broken record. IMO, TW should have been fired along with iCoach for being even less qualified as an AD than iCoach was as a Head Football Coach. TW has done nothing to improve Zips Athletics in his tenure. He survives off of others' accomplishments (Porter, Dambrot, Kest, to name a few) and others' connections, namely KD with LeBron James.

Please provide me 1 solid thing that TW has done in his tenure at UA. Something that benefitted UA athletics and you have solid proof/knowledge that it was TW's accomplishment and not that of someone else.

BTW, not renewing someone's contract is not the same as firing them. TW's contract is up for renewal. So, I would imagine that Dr. Scaraborough, being the thoughtful leader that he is, is reviewing TW's performance record at UA. I imagine he's looking for reasons to keep Tom as opposed to reasons to let him go. Lack of substantive performance warrants going in another direction. I've asked you for 1 reason why UA should retain TW; I'm sure Dr. Scarborough is looking for more than that. The iCoach DEBACLE is probably moot as far as TW's contract renewal even though it still pisses me off.

[MDZip]

Several months ago, Bowden tells me, a representative from one of those executive search firms for college coaches placed a call to him. At the time, Bowden was living in the town of Florence, coaching a Division II football program at the University of North Alabama; he was 54 years old, divorced, and had spent most of the previous decade and a half dabbling in broadcasting and motivational speaking after his unceremonious and politically fraught departure from Auburn left him soured on coaching altogether.

“So the guy says, ‘I’m calling on behalf of the University of Akron. Would you be interested in the job?'”

You can't tell that story without the representatives response to Bowden's response though - “So I tell him, ‘Yes, I’m interested,'” he says. “And the guy goes, ‘Really?'”

[Dave in Green]

We hear a few rumors, read a few stories, maybe even have an inside contact who tells us their version, then try to interpret ambiguous terms as best we can. Sometimes we understand that's not enough to reach a definitive conclusion about everything that really happened and sometimes we have a tendency to jump to conclusions as if we know exactly what happened from a jumbled heap of circumstantial evidence.

As for who was actually most responsible for the Coach Bowden hire, it was first seriously discussed on ZipsNation way back in 2009 before the iCoach disaster. I think that planted the seed that ultimately resulted in the call to Coach Bowden. Since that has as much relevance as some of the other theories, I'm giving ZipsNation credit.

[a-zip]

UA has made many a bad decision in hiring coaches in the past, but the iCoach hire goes above and beyond a bad decision. iCoach had minimal to NO qualifications to be a Head Coach. That hire was BLATANT STUPIDITY based upon a friendship and little more. I have no idea how many potential fans were driven away due to that BLUNDER. I do know that I had finally convinced a former alum and friend to buy season tickets, with the new stadium and all. He did and was rewarded with 2 years of the absolute worst football and the most moronic face anyone could have put on our program. He will not return as a season ticket holder unless the Zips get to a real bowl. The iCoach hire is not a broken record. IMO, TW should have been fired along with iCoach for being even less qualified as an AD than iCoach was as a Head Football Coach. TW has done nothing to improve Zips Athletics in his tenure. He survives off of others' accomplishments (Porter, Dambrot, Kest, to name a few) and others' connections, namely KD with LeBron James.

Please provide me 1 solid thing that TW has done in his tenure at UA. Something that benefitted UA athletics and you have solid proof/knowledge that it was TW's accomplishment and not that of someone else.

BTW, not renewing someone's contract is not the same as firing them. TW's contract is up for renewal. So, I would imagine that Dr. Scaraborough, being the thoughtful leader that he is, is reviewing TW's performance record at UA. I imagine he's looking for reasons to keep Tom as opposed to reasons to let him go. Lack of substantive performance warrants going in another direction. I've asked you for 1 reason why UA should retain TW; I'm sure Dr. Scarborough is looking for more than that. The iCoach DEBACLE is probably moot as far as TW's contract renewal even though it still pisses me off.

DUDE, you are making my point!! Outside of iCoach what else has he done so poorly - you keep repeating the same thing. I GET THE iCoach already!!! Sh*t happens. Hell, Notre Dame hired Gerry Faust who was a HS football coach. It was a bad mistake….drop it. If we lost 20% of our fan base, my calculations would say we lost 2K people ;-) I don't have solid proof of TW's contributions and I am not sure if I am privy to that information. I do know our athletics have been as good as they have ever been in the last 10 years as a whole. We have good coaches already…..what do you want him to do…..fire them so he can put his stamp on them? Things are looking up. You, and Joe Akron, need to forget iCoach and support the fantastic staff we have. To boycott TB and KD and JE is rather childish.

I am just saying there is more to this than ONE holocaustal hire. I am sure Dr. Scarborough, being the thoughtful leader he is, will weigh everything and make a decision. I can assure you it will not be only on the iCoach hire. You know, I think we all respected Proenza and his decision making... right? He was also a thoughtful leader. He made some amazing things happen during his tenure to this campus. Have you thought about why he didn't fire TW…