AD Larry Williams will NOT seek Extension

[LoyalZIP]

Just announced this morning, I saw it on D1 Ticker. His contracts ends June 30, 2021.

[clarkwgriswold]

I guess that looks better on the resume than being let go.

[LZIp]

time to start the rebuilding process in football AGAIN 😭. Arth had better be a good persuader if he wants a chance to see his process through.

Edited March 3, 2021 by LZIp

[Hilltopper]

https://www.beaconjournal.com/story/sports/college/zips/2021/03/03/akron-director-athletics-larry-williams-not-seeking-new-contract/6901416002/

[clarkwgriswold]

I suspect that he may have seen the writing on the wall that this administration is not going to get behind the athletic program financially.  He probably also saw that they were not going to renew him and made the preemptive strike. 

[RowdyZip]

12 minutes ago, clarkwgriswold said:

I suspect that he may have seen the writing on the wall that this administration is not going to get behind the athletic program financially.  He probably also saw that they were not going to renew him and made the preemptive strike. 

100% spot on.  Chances are he'd see a reduction in pay if they were even going to offer to extend.  If you ask me, this is a pretty shitty pot-shot quote as well.  Completely unnecessary:

 

"However, it is clear that college athletics is shifting and may, in fact, be on the verge of significant change. I would like to be at a different vantage point in my personal and professional life as that change occurs."

[RowdyZip]

Gozips dot com release.

[NWAkron]

Hopefully, they will look to Van Horn to take over the department.  He knows the donors, the fanbase, the community, and certainly knows what changes need to be made.  He would be a solid choice.

[zippy5]

36 minutes ago, NWAkron said:

Hopefully, they will look to Van Horn to take over the department.  He knows the donors, the fanbase, the community, and certainly knows what changes need to be made.  He would be a solid choice.

Correct me if I'm wrong but he's basically been the only constant here through all the years of mediocrity?

[ZippyRulz]

2 hours ago, RowdyZip said:

Gozips dot com release.

 

"A national search for a new athletics director will begin immediately."

 

[ZippyRulz]

2 hours ago, RowdyZip said:

100% spot on.  Chances are he'd see a reduction in pay if they were even going to offer to extend.  If you ask me, this is a pretty shitty pot-shot quote as well.  Completely unnecessary:

 

"However, it is clear that college athletics is shifting and may, in fact, be on the verge of significant change. I would like to be at a different vantage point in my personal and professional life as that change occurs."

 

I wonder what the great college athletics shift is and what vantage point he's wanting?

 

[Captain Kangaroo]

2 hours ago, NWAkron said:

Hopefully, they will look to Van Horn to take over the department.  He knows the donors, the fanbase, the community, and certainly knows what changes need to be made.  He would be a solid choice.

Are there enough donors?

Is our fan base large?

If he knows the changes that need to be made, why haven't they been implemented?

 

I like George. He's always been very good to me, and is definitely a "UA Guy." But does 2021 UA Athletics need a "solid" choice, or a "great" choice?

 

We have botched pretty much every AD hire since Mike Bobinski. You could make a case for Mike Thomas, but the JD Brookhart hire wasn't a home run to say the least.

 

We need an up-and-comer from a successful upper-G5 or scrappy P5 school. Someone that won't screw up basketball and soccer, and will elevate football. Someone with fresh ideas and a plan to get football on track that can be directly attributable to his/her work in a similar previous situation.

 

I can't blame Williams for bowing out. 2021 is a lousy time to become a G5 AD. But we are an FBS football school with a great stadium and practice facilities. A winning basketball program and a top 10 soccer program. That has to be very appealing to someone talented. 

 

But I have faith that we will hire the wrong person. We always do. 

[NWAkron]

47 minutes ago, Captain Kangaroo said:

Are there enough donors?

Is our fan base large?

If he knows the changes that need to be made, why haven't they been implemented?

 

I like George. He's always been very good to me, and is definitely a "UA Guy." But does 2021 UA Athletics need a "solid" choice, or a "great" choice?

 

We have botched pretty much every AD hire since Mike Bobinski. You could make a case for Mike Thomas, but the JD Brookhart hire wasn't a home run to say the least.

 

We need an up-and-comer from a successful upper-G5 or scrappy P5 school. Someone that won't screw up basketball and soccer, and will elevate football. Someone with fresh ideas and a plan to get football on track that can be directly attributable to his/her work in a similar previous situation.

 

I can't blame Williams for bowing out. 2021 is a lousy time to become a G5 AD. But we are an FBS football school with a great stadium and practice facilities. A winning basketball program and a top 10 soccer program. That has to be very appealing to someone talented. 

 

But I have faith that we will hire the wrong person. We always do. 

oh. 

[zipsoutsider]

3 hours ago, zippy5 said:

Correct me if I'm wrong but he's basically been the only constant here through all the years of mediocrity?

Actually, he oversaw and created the plummet to the bottom with the Bowden/Arth move. He dug a hole too big to dig out of, financially.

[GP1]

Questions I would ask candidates are:

1.  Plop the ooc schedule in front of the candidate for football. Is this the type of schedule that makes the program successful?

 

2.  You will have influence at a conference level. What would you say your fellow athletic directors about the weeknight ESPN games?

 

3.  How would you make football games more appealing to the students, alumni, fans and greater Akron community?

 

These should be very easy questions to answer.  If the candidate blathers on about the money with the first two questions, walk away. Chasing money is destroying the league. 

Edited March 3, 2021 by GP1

[jupitertoo]

The answer to #3 is not "very easy."  If it were, it would have been resolved long ago.

[zipsoutsider]

Here comes Div 1AA or Div II football.

[NWAkron]

Why don't we attempt to follow this guide when discussing these personnel issues, focusing on the top of the pyramid: for

Edited March 3, 2021 by NWAkron

[ZippyRulz]

56 minutes ago, jupitertoo said:

The answer to #3 is not "very easy."  If it were, it would have been resolved long ago.

 

Build a beautiful modern stadium on campus with ample clean restrooms and good modestly priced concessions, with ample cheap/free parking and modestly priced tickets (free to students), and safe comfortable tailgating opportunities. I'm not sure what's so unappealing about all of that.

 

 

 

Edited March 3, 2021 by ZippyRulz

[clarkwgriswold]

34 minutes ago, ZippyRulz said:

 

Build a beautiful modern stadium on campus with ample clean restrooms and good modestly priced concessions, with ample cheap/free parking and modestly priced tickets (free to students), and safe comfortable tailgating opportunities. I'm not sure what's so unappealing about all of that.

 

 

 

 

It doesn't get unappealing for the average area fan until an unwatchable product is put on display in it.  Once that's fixed, the rest will become appealing as it will no longer be "lipstick on a pig."

Edited March 3, 2021 by clarkwgriswold

[NWAkron]

17 minutes ago, clarkwgriswold said:

 

It doesn't get unappealing for the average area fan until an unwatchable product is put on display in it.  Once that's fixed, the rest will become appealing as it will no longer be "lipstick on a pig."

Speaking of a good product, this certainly takes our minds off the MAC tournament for a few days.

[GP1]

4 hours ago, jupitertoo said:

The answer to #3 is not "very easy."  If it were, it would have been resolved long ago.

I remember consistently bigger crowds and better football at the Rubber Bowl. It really isn't that hard. 

[GP1]

4 hours ago, zipsoutsider said:

Here comes Div 1AA or Div II football.

Or, with any luck, G5 schools will come to their senses and do something different. 

 

The times are right for big change. Will we continue down the same road?..... Probably. 

[zipsoutsider]

48 minutes ago, GP1 said:

Or, with any luck, G5 schools will come to their senses and do something different. 

 

The times are right for big change. Will we continue down the same road?..... Probably. 

It's only going to get worse if they don't expand the playoffs. 

[72 Roo]

12 hours ago, NWAkron said:

Hopefully, they will look to Van Horn to take over the department.  He knows the donors, the fanbase, the community, and certainly knows what changes need to be made.  He would be a solid choice.

George has been an Akron guy from the moment he was a student athlete here. Unfortunately he has not developed a track record of success to indicate he could manage an athletic dept and lead us out of the problems we now have. Williams was not the answer altho' I give him credit for spotty improvement in some areas. We need to go outside the university to find someone who will give us five years of exceptional leadership. 

 

But Akron's administration, especially this board of trustees, never misses an opportunity to blow big hires. A change in AD's should give us all hope, but our track record takes all that away. In this instance I think the board of trustees should follow the lead of George Costanza and have an Opposites Day wherein they do the opposite of anything they would normally do. It worked great for George. Why not us. We deserve a break.