Larry Williams Gone - Replaced by UW-Green Bay's Charles Guthrie

[GP1]

8 hours ago, zippy5 said:

Gonna have to dig up the post from every hire ever where it's explained how the search firm's job isn't to actually find the candidates. Just vet them/gauge interest/background checks etc. 

Maybe in some cases, but not in this one. Finding the new AD could have been as inexpensive as placing three ads in local papers and the President calling his buddy. Akron is a better job than UWGB. Making the move for then new AD was obvious.

[GP1]

13 hours ago, ewbrooman1 said:

As I recall our "football guy" had never run a collegiate football program either. 

If I had more time today, I'd explain to everyone how a guy like Williams hires a guy like Arth. It isn't complicated, but obvious. More to do with personal preference than professional preference.  

[GP1]

8 hours ago, morris buttermaker said:

I do not see this going well

Don't give up so easily. It can go well. The Athletic Department is not in a bad way. A major program needs fixing, but in general we are in a good position.  

[72 Roo]

1 hour ago, GP1 said:

Maybe in some cases, but not in this one. Finding the new AD could have been as inexpensive as placing three ads in local papers and the President calling his buddy. Akron is a better job than UWGB. Making the move for then new AD was obvious.

You are correct. He makes more money, runs a bigger dept and the Akron AD job rounds out his resume because it gives him experience with managing D1 football, which he lacks and will never go further w/o it. Even tho' we are arguably the worst program in D1 he has filled that resume gap. It's a good move for him. It remains to be seen if it is a good move for us.

[zippy5]

1 hour ago, GP1 said:

Maybe in some cases, but not in this one. 

Also a quote from every coaching/AD search ever

[zipsoutsider]

I don't believe someone has to have experience running a football or D1 football program to be successful. If he is a good leader, it shouldn't matter. 

 

I am not ready to write this off as a disaster, yet. He inherits a difficult situation with the football program. I don't envy him.

[Spin]

On 5/4/2021 at 4:42 PM, DannyHoke said:

 

Well, the Good Lord did not listen to your prayers.  Akron paid BIG $$$ to Collegiate Sports Associates to hire Guthrie.  CSA is led by Todd Turner who has been fired as the AD as Washington, UConn, NC State and Vanderbilt.

 

https://collegiatesportsassociates.com/

 

They could have given us season tickets and a Zips gear voucher and we could have come up with better candidates for no cost.

[clarkwgriswold]

The university has a law enforcement entity that can do background checks and people that can call around to get other info.  I get that the executive recruiting companies do more than just search for candidates but there's nothing that they do that a salaried employee can't do (especially at a time of financial crisis as alleged by Miller himself).  I suspect that the hiring of such a firm is more tied to the higher ups engaging in a CYA move than it does with anything else as it gives them somewhere else to point a finger if the hire blows up.

[morris buttermaker]

Do we know his salary?  -- Guthrie was at $160 + bonus at Green Bay... Williams I think was round $285 + perks/ bonus

 

 

Edited May 6, 2021 by morris buttermaker

[LZIp]

I like his engagement thus far on social media. He seems to have been well respected in his previous stops.

 

[UAZipster0305]

On 5/5/2021 at 8:08 AM, GP1 said:

Don't give up so easily. It can go well. The Athletic Department is not in a bad way. A major program needs fixing, but in general we are in a good position.  

 

Said every NEO sports fan since the beginning of time.

 

This is another hiring of a friend just like iCoach was. Lazy and without vision.

[Ham]

Pretty uneventful presser.  Green Bay had lowest budget in the Horizon, but they did pretty good.  He seems ready to do a lot with little.

[blueandgold]

14 hours ago, Ham said:

Pretty uneventful presser.  Green Bay had lowest budget in the Horizon, but they did pretty good.  He seems ready to do a lot with little.

I hope so!

[Captain Kangaroo]

If he says "Waah waah... I wouldn't have built that stadium," he's the wrong person for the job.

 

If he says "That stadium is a resource, and I'm gonna figure out a way to get 20k in it on a regular basis," then he's the right guy.

[GP1]

10 hours ago, Captain Kangaroo said:

If he says "Waah waah... I wouldn't have built that stadium," he's the wrong person for the job.

 

If he says "That stadium is a resource, and I'm gonna figure out a way to get 20k in it on a regular basis," then he's the right guy.

Or, "I intend to make that stadium and the team that plays in it the center of social activity in the fall for the students, alumni, fans and the greater Akron community."

 

Edited June 24, 2021 by GP1

[Zipmeister]

26 minutes ago, GP1 said:

Or, "I intend to make that stadium and the team that plays in it the center of social activity in the fall for the students, alumni, fans and the greater Akron community."

 

 

This can be done. First, announce that everyone attending each football game will be entered in a million dollar lottery.

Of course they must be in attendance to win.

Do not make it clear that the payment will amount to $1 per year for a million years.

Figure 6 home games a season; that's a measly $6 a year to fill the place up.

If you think it would help, the payoff could be accelerated to $5 per year for 200,000 years, but now the U would be liable for $30 per year which may put off some university higher ups.

If the lucky winners don't want to wait for the entire payout they can sell their annuity to one of those outfits (e,g. JG Wentworth) that purchase them.

It's a win/win situation.

You are welcome.

[GP1]

7 hours ago, Zipmeister said:

 

This can be done. First, announce that everyone attending each football game will be entered in a million dollar lottery.

Or, they can put a good team on the field competing against teams that will draw interest while offering great tailgating, a clean stadium/parking and good concessions at a time AND DAY OF THE FREAKING WEEK that is convenient for students, alumni, fans and the greater community to attend. 

 

None of this matters if games continue to be played on Tuesday and Wednesday nights. This entire strategy has been an abject failure for the MAC. There can't be a single, sane person out there who believes this strategy is working. 

[72 Roo]

"Or, they can put a good team on the field competing against teams that will draw interest while offering great tailgating, a clean stadium/parking and good concessions at a time AND DAY OF THE FREAKING WEEK that is convenient for students, alumni, fans and the greater community to attend."

 

 You realize, of course, that this argument is too reasonable to ever be adopted by UA athletic administrators. It just makes too much sense so it is doomed from the start. 

[Zipmeister]

5 hours ago, 72 Roo said:

"Or, they can put a good team on the field competing against teams that will draw interest while offering great tailgating, a clean stadium/parking and good concessions at a time AND DAY OF THE FREAKING WEEK that is convenient for students, alumni, fans and the greater community to attend."

 

 You realize, of course, that this argument is too reasonable to ever be adopted by UA athletic administrators. It just makes too much sense so it is doomed from the start. 

 

Just tell the rest of the MAC that the Zips are done with weekday evening games. That will fix it.

[GP1]

19 hours ago, 72 Roo said:

 You realize, of course, that this argument is too reasonable to ever be adopted by UA athletic administrators. It just makes too much sense so it is doomed from the start. 

Yes. I blame the entire conference as they agreed to it.  It's almost as if at some point, behind closed doors, the athletic directors asked the following question: What can we do to drive people away from attending games while at the same time make ourselves look pathetic on national television? In reality, it is probably the only answer the conference has gotten right over the years.

Edited June 25, 2021 by GP1

[clarkwgriswold]

I remember back when they did the ESPN deal that the MAC Commissioner touted how it gave the conference long term exposure and stability.  They saw the money and the long term stability and never considered what being held hostage by ESPN over the long term was going to do on the campus and community level with things like mid-week football.  They still think that some guy with no connection to a school involved is going to tune in on ESPN12 to watch an Eastern Michigan/Akron game on a Tuesday from their recliner in New Mexico, and they'll tout the game as "nationally televised."  All the while, the sports fan in west Akron never turns on or attends the game as they have no connection to their hometown team. 

[Aaron]

I always thought this was driven by vegas - there are so many football gamblers, they needed something with some air of legitimacy to drive daily sports books and bring people in to the casinos.  The most well-informed articles about MAC football seem to be from gamblers, not fans at this point.

[72 Roo]

Clark, you forgot to mention that the ESPN contract called for games to be played primarily in late October and into November. Rain and cold were added to no daylight yielding embarrassing low attendance. The casual viewer was served up a message that said "this conference is a joke, no one cares to attend". It's always a great look for Akron when there are more people in the band than there are in the stands. 

[clarkwgriswold]

12 minutes ago, 72 Roo said:

Clark, you forgot to mention that the ESPN contract called for games to be played primarily in late October and into November. Rain and cold were added to no daylight yielding embarrassing low attendance. The casual viewer was served up a message that said "this conference is a joke, no one cares to attend". It's always a great look for Akron when there are more people in the band than there are in the stands. 

 

The more we discuss the football program the more I look forward in anticipation to the (basketball) season.

Edited June 25, 2021 by clarkwgriswold

[GP1]

3 hours ago, clarkwgriswold said:

I remember back when they did the ESPN deal that the MAC Commissioner touted how it gave the conference long term exposure and stability.  They saw the money and the long term stability and never considered what being held hostage by ESPN over the long term was going to do on the campus and community level with things like mid-week football.  They still think that some guy with no connection to a school involved is going to tune in on ESPN12 to watch an Eastern Michigan/Akron game on a Tuesday from their recliner in New Mexico, and they'll tout the game as "nationally televised." 

I'm here to help Clark.

 

Sentence 1:  Out of curiosity because I have no clue what the answers to these questions are:  Who was the commissioner? How much longer was this person commissioner after this decision?  How many commissioners have there been since? How many athletic directors from that era are still employed by their university?

 

Sentence 2:  I don't think for a second the athletic directors didn't consider any of this. I think they knew exactly what would happen. Anyone with half a brain could see what was going to happen. They did it to pad their resumes.

 

Sentence 3:  They don't believe this. Most tend to have advanced degrees, but that is dubious because an advanced degree can be obtained in the 21st Century by applying for a Masters program on line and paying the tuition. The next thing you know you have a diploma hanging on the wall. Let's assume for a second they are smart people. The evidence is overwhelming that the weeknight games are horrible for the schools. They have to understand this. They simply don't care. Their "dream jobs" are not working as a MAC level athletic director and if moving beyond that involves destroying the schools they work at, they will gladly do it and laugh their way to their next job.