Charles Guthrie has resigned

[TennZip]

what happened

 

 

[YipaZip]

Hopefully the new AD cares more about soccer. 

[fknbuflobo]

Why has AD quit?  Moving on to greener pastures?

 

This I know:  The new/acting AD can cut costs by eliminating the TSA at the gate.

 

 

[Hilltopper]

1 hour ago, fknbuflobo said:

Why has AD quit?  Moving on to greener pastures?

 

This I know:  The new/acting AD can cut costs by eliminating the TSA at the gate.

 

 

TSA at the gate was not Guthries idea.

[ZippyRulz]

3 hours ago, TennZip said:

what happened

 

 

 

2-7 in year 3 happened.

[Z.I.P.]

13 hours ago, ZippyRulz said:

 

2-7 in year 3 happened.

10-3-4 and close to the top of power ratings nationally in the football we care about in this forum.  Charles is not what anyone would call a Great Communicator.  He never ingratiated himself to the core Zips fans or alumni, but these are tough times both financially and politically at the university and he got caught up in more than he probably bargained for.  I wish Charles all the best in his and his family's future.

[TennZip]

I am glad that we don't have to play Fordham in NCAA soccer

 

https://fordhamsports.com/news/2024/11/18/general-charles-guthrie-named-director-of-intercollegiate-athletics-and-recreation-at-fordham-university.aspx

 

 

[Hilltopper]

1 hour ago, TennZip said:

I am glad that we don't have to play Fordham in NCAA soccer

 

https://fordhamsports.com/news/2024/11/18/general-charles-guthrie-named-director-of-intercollegiate-athletics-and-recreation-at-fordham-university.aspx

 

 

You realize that without Guthries connections and efforts, we wouldn't be in the BE or have Emil?

[Zip_ME87]

29 minutes ago, Hilltopper said:

You realize that without Guthries connections and efforts, we wouldn't be in the BE or have Emil?

 

Yeah, Zips Men's Soccer was nothing until Chuckles came to Akron. 😴 Ofc, he told me. 💤

 

Edited Tuesday at 02:35 AM by Zip_ME87

[TennZip]

31 minutes ago, Hilltopper said:

You realize that without Guthries connections and efforts, we wouldn't be in the BE or have Emil?

Guthrie is always the hero...when he is telling the story !!!!

 

You can believe what you want to believe.

 

Other athletic directors considered him to be a narcissist and a snow boater.

 

You are talking about the same athletic director ......who at last year's student athletic meeting....told Caleb Borneo and other student athletes....that Akron is a "football" school and that athletes in minor sports needed to get used to Akron being a football school.

 

That arrogant comment by Guthrie did not go over well with men's soccer players and men's basketball players and other fine student athletes.

 

Chuckles talked a good game and claimed credit for everything.

 

As YipaZip accurately said in the 2nd post in this topic..............................."Hopefully the new AD cares more about soccer. "

 

Personally, I hope that the next AD has a smaller amount of arrogance and narcissism.   I also hope that the next AD does not call in "sick" on senior day when he is out secretly interviewing for another job (and violating terms in his contract).

 

[NYC ZIP]

It will be a good job for him. A10 conference in everything except Patriot League (FCS) football which is far less stress and twenty less scholarships. The Rams have a large, wealthy group of donors and  $1.1 billion dollar endowment. 
He can walk around and tell everyone how great he is without having to worry about funding or any other pesky numbers. 

[Reslife4Life]

51 minutes ago, TennZip said:

You are talking about the same athletic director ......who at last year's student athletic meeting....told Caleb Borneo and other student athletes....that Akron is a "football" school and that athletes in minor sports needed to get used to Akron being a football school.

 

That is unbelievable. See ya later Charlie Brown

[Hilltopper]

10 hours ago, TennZip said:

 

 

You are talking about the same athletic director ......who at last year's student athletic meeting....told Caleb Borneo and other student athletes....that Akron is a "football" school and that athletes in minor sports needed to get used to Akron being a football school.

 

 

 

In case you haven't noticed, the MAC is a football centric conference. Football is the #1 emphasis at every school. G5 schools can only afford to put enough money into to one sport to be competitive. In fact, the MAC cares so little about other sports that they got rid of men's soccer! So yes, Akron by virtue of it's membership in the MAC is a football school. Sometimes the truth hurts. BTW, it was Guthrie who used his connections with those other AD's in the BE to find a great landing place for men's soccer.  

[Captain Kangaroo]

10 hours ago, TennZip said:

I also hope that the next AD does not call in "sick" on senior day when he is out secretly interviewing for another job (and violating terms in his contract).

Not only was he interviewing for a job on Akron's company time, he was apparently working on the rebranding of the Fordham logo while still employed at UA? Someone in the Athletic Department found these renderings when they were cleaning out his desk.

 

 

[Blue & Gold]

Thread 👇

 

[fknbuflobo]

2 hours ago, Captain Kangaroo said:

Not only was he interviewing for a job on Akron's company time, he was apparently working on the rebranding of the Fordham logo while still employed at UA? Someone in the Athletic Department found these renderings when they were cleaning out his desk.

 

 

You mean like Arby’s, but with an F instead of an A?

[Captain Kangaroo]

22 minutes ago, fknbuflobo said:

You mean like Arby’s, but with an F instead of an A?

The Fuddrucker's F.

[72 Roo]

To date I haven't commented on Charles leaving, not that anyone cares what I think which is fair enough. From my viewpoint I see posts that are unfortunate because they are making fun of a man who genuinely tried to do what he thought was best. Like Moorhead Charles came at a time when the sands of the position shifted. For Moorhead it was NIL. For Guthrie it was repeated budget cuts due to enrollment. Charles did not want money games, but he had to take them to keep from cutting even more. He took the OSU game when he found he was losing $3M in the budget. University administration wanted him to take the game. In fact the week before Charles resigned UA administration asked him to schedule another money game for next year. 

 

Charles was the one AD who could think big. To get there he improved facilities, went thru the rebranding, found new sources of funding (Summit Circle, Children's Hospital) and held coaches accountable. He wanted all coaches to be in the top three of the MAC. Some give him credit for soccer going to the BE. I give the credit to Jared for working the BE soccer coaches and having them work their AD's. Still Charles had to support it and he did. Just as he supported Bud Wentz forming a collective for basketball. He brought in professionals to run athletics. Nearly all of Williams staff was replaced except for Paul Hammond, assoc. AD for facilities. Once Hammond retired he farmed his duties out to his staff, again due to budget cuts. He worked the deal with Children's Hospital to build a clinic in Stiles Fieldhouse and staff all our trainers. When our longest serving trainer, Brent Draper, was close but not yet qualified for retirement Guthrie saw to it that he received full retirement and got him a job with Children's as their trainer for soccer, which he had been for many years.

 

The rebranding seems to be a hot spot for some. They let us know about it in every post. Yet it needed to be done. Like Hilltopper I sat on the alumni committee that reviewed the final product. I preferred the Z and argued for it. It was unique and solely ours. Guthrie said he was told by the board of trustees he could not consider it as our primary logo. That had to be an A. They wanted closer linkage with the city of Akron. Hence Zips is no longer in one of the end zones at Infocision. Both ends say Akron. I still prefer the Z, but I have come to like the new A. I see the Z in it and that helps differentiate it in my opinion. I will not crucify him for doing what he thought was best. That's what a leader does.

 

Akron is not an easy place in which to be a leader. You make decisions and then listen to the criticism. Guthrie's hires have been encouraging. I would say that w/o football he has done well. He kept Embick, Peresie, Groce, King and Engle. Good new hires are Gensler and Nicholson. Jones, Kiptoo and Faulds appear to be encouraging. Bad hires seem to be Moorhead, Simonetti, Gonzales and Norton. Everyone, including me, praised the hiring of Moorhead. No one knew he would be so prickly to deal with and inflexible in adapting his coaching style to the needs of the team. Still that is a hire he made and it is bad.

 

Was Charles the best we could get at the time. I'll let you answer that one. As for me it took me a year to understand what he was doing, what he was dealing with and how he was planning ahead. I feel he was good for us. He made mistakes and rubbed people the wrong way. He didn't explain his thinking and actions well. The collapse of football ruptured his plans. That coupled with Miller resigning and the recent death of his dad led to him leaving. He is from Albany and his wife from Binghamton. Charles is close to his mom and sisters. Moving to Akron from Green Bay was a blessing for him because he could get home more often. Now he felt a need to be even closer. Fordham doesn't fit his career trajectory, but it does put him four hours from home. I wish him well.

 

Charles introduced change to an athletic dept that needed it. Some say he was all about himself. I can see that, but if he was making athletics better I feel some leaders are like that. We will be better off for what he did in his time here though I sincerely doubt we will find a better AD with the state of the university. I could give more, but that's enough. 

 

 

 

[Zip_ME87]

@72Roo @Hilltopper what you say may be true, but part of an AD's job is not only connecting with Deep pocket and other wealthier donors but also with his employees, the general alumni / fan base and student athletes. He did little of that. Only once when he and I talked near the end of his time at UA did he ever give credit to his staff for any of the good work "he" had done. 

 

"Some say he was all about himself. I can see that, but if he was making athletics better I feel some leaders are like that."  Leaders are NOT like that. Leaders empower, enable, and give credit to their team whom they entrust to do the job. Leaders inspire their team. Charles is NOT a leader. 

 

[TennZip]

10 hours ago, Hilltopper said:

In case you haven't noticed, the MAC is a football centric conference. Football is the #1 emphasis at every school. G5 schools can only afford to put enough money into to one sport to be competitive. In fact, the MAC cares so little about other sports that they got rid of men's soccer! So yes, Akron by virtue of it's membership in the MAC is a football school. Sometimes the truth hurts. BTW, it was Guthrie who used his connections with those other AD's in the BE to find a great landing place for men's soccer.  

Leaders do not make statements that make 80% to 85% of their athleties feel inferior.   That is what Guthrie did when he told every non football player that they had to accept the fact that Akron is a "football" school.

 

Georgia is a football school.   Georgia swimmers have won many national titles.  Georgia tennis players have won many national titles.  Georgia tennis players and Georgia Swimmers respect Georgia football players because they are elite star athletes that compete at the highest level.   Georgia elite athletes in their top non football sports respect that Georgia is a football school.

 

Akron mens basketball players and Akron men's soccer players compete every year to get into the NCAA tournament.   Those athletes do not want to be talked down to and told that "Akron is a football school" when they know that Akron football will win 1 to 3 games every year.

 

      Another Great example.  - I worked for 6 years in Bloomington when Bobby Knight was coaching Indiana University (IU)men's basketball and Jerry Yeagley was coaching men's soccer at that time.   IU was also doing great in swimming and diving at that time.   Did IU football bring in more revenue than basketball and soccer?  Yes !!!....However, the IU Athletic Director was a man of dignity and he appreciated all student athletes.  The IU athletic director would never have told national championship winning athletes that they had to accept the fact that IU was a "football" school.

 

Guthrie's bold statement was offensive and showed poor judgement and a tremendous lack of respect. 

[Reslife4Life]

2 hours ago, TennZip said:

Leaders do not make statements that make 80% to 85% of their athleties feel inferior.   That is what Guthrie did when he told every non football player that they had to accept the fact that Akron is a "football" school.

 

Georgia is a football school.   Georgia swimmers have won many national titles.  Georgia tennis players have won many national titles.  Georgia tennis players and Georgia Swimmers respect Georgia football players because they are elite star athletes that compete at the highest level.   Georgia elite athletes in their top non football sports respect that Georgia is a football school.

 

Akron mens basketball players and Akron men's soccer players compete every year to get into the NCAA tournament.   Those athletes do not want to be talked down to and told that "Akron is a football school" when they know that Akron football will win 1 to 3 games every year.

 

      Another Great example.  - I worked for 6 years in Bloomington when Bobby Knight was coaching Indiana University (IU)men's basketball and Jerry Yeagley was coaching men's soccer at that time.   IU was also doing great in swimming and diving at that time.   Did IU football bring in more revenue than basketball and soccer?  Yes !!!....However, the IU Athletic Director was a man of dignity and he appreciated all student athletes.  The IU athletic director would never have told national championship winning athletes that they had to accept the fact that IU was a "football" school.

 

Guthrie's bold statement was offensive and showed poor judgement and a tremendous lack of respect. 

Maybe we are a football school we are up 38-10 vs 0-10 Kent state! Bet Charles was here for that