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Akron golf coach heading to Can't State


GoZips88

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This needs to be the end of the road for Mack! How do you let a golf coach who actually accomplished something leave to be an ASSOCIATE coach at your arch rival? Why couldn't you have put him in charge of the women's team too. What made this guy want to leave? I've been critical of Mack from time to time and he obviously overseas probably the worst marketing department in the MAC maybe school history -- now this. I've had enough -- I've been less than impressed with Mack and I'd like him to catch the Dennis Helsel shuttle to Syracuse or wherever he ended up. WTF?!

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This needs to be the end of the road for Mack! How do you let a golf coach who actually accomplished something leave to be an ASSOCIATE coach at your arch rival? Why couldn't you have put him in charge of the women's team too. What made this guy want to leave? I've been critical of Mack from time to time and he obviously overseas probably the worst marketing department in the MAC maybe school history -- now this. I've had enough -- I've been less than impressed with Mack and I'd like him to catch the Dennis Helsel shuttle to Syracuse or wherever he ended up. WTF?!
Unless I get "The Explanation of the Century," I'm with you. How do you lose the coach that just pulled off the most successful season in team history...to an ASSOCIATES position...at K>E>N>T!!??I gotta hear the spin on this one...BTW -- Helsel went to Maryland...which is still too close for me, but it'll have to do.
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From what I hear Porten did not want to lead the men's and women's programs as the director of golf. He has taken a step down to maybe one day be the head coach at Can't State. If Porten really wanted to work with Page he could of just driven the 15 miles to Can't and had lunch with Page on a regular basis.We are better off losing someone whose life long ambition is to be an assistant coach.

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We are better off now. If the guy is coaching our team while dreaming of Can't State, our biggest rival, how committed could he be? Good riddance! :chair:
Yeah, good riddance. But what prompted him to bolt for K.e.n.t. only 4 weeks after signing his 2007 recruiting class? The women's team issue could not have been shocking news to the guy. It has been in the works for over a year.Is the guy a dirt bag, or did Mack screw up? It is one or the other.
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Call me skeptical, but I can't imagine there isn't more to this story then we are getting. What do you say when you make a move like this -- the people at Akron shafted me? No you try not to burn any bridges. This guy was the men's coach at CSU for 14 years and one year at Akron. His aspiration was not to be an Associate to Herb Page -- something else happened here.I want an explanation -- I'm sure we won't get one.

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I want an explanation -- I'm sure we won't get one.
No, you will not get an "official" explanation. But you have to look at some history involving the Mack Rhoades regime. The turn over has been high, which you always expect with a new AD. But this was Mack's hire after Donnie Darr left for Oklahoma State for a similiar role.
Is the guy a dirt bag, or did Mack screw up? It is one or the other
Tom is a first class individual. He had a five year plan and was making the most of it the first year, he won and recruited very well. Tom has always been close to Herb, they are good friends. All I can say today is that Tom made the move that made sense for him. He is a local guy and wants to stay in the area. I am not going out on a limb saying that Mack is not the leader everyone thinks he is. There will be more turn over in the department. Inside the athletic department is pure hell for some individuals. This administration is dirty and you have yet to see how dirty it is going to get. Wait til Basketball season comes around and we will have this discussion again.
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I want an explanation -- I'm sure we won't get one.
No, you will not get an "official" explanation. But you have to look at some history involving the Mack Rhoades regime. The turn over has been high, which you always expect with a new AD. But this was Mack's hire after Donnie Darr left for Oklahoma State for a similiar role.
Is the guy a dirt bag, or did Mack screw up? It is one or the other
Tom is a first class individual. He had a five year plan and was making the most of it the first year, he won and recruited very well. Tom has always been close to Herb, they are good friends. All I can say today is that Tom made the move that made sense for him. He is a local guy and wants to stay in the area. I am not going out on a limb saying that Mack is not the leader everyone thinks he is. There will be more turn over in the department. Inside the athletic department is pure hell for some individuals. This administration is dirty and you have yet to see how dirty it is going to get. Wait til Basketball season comes around and we will have this discussion again.
This does not sound good. The last two sentences really bother me. :eek:
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I don't know what goes on and don't care to know but it seemed like Mack's strongsuit has been good relationships with the coaches and athletes. The bigger issue has been with the fans.So I scratch my head with this one. On the good side, he gave nice contract extensions with some solid raises to KD, JD, and Mitchell, arguably the top 3 coaches with Newt Engle. Everyone seemed to like Porten as well. We had an ex golfer post here a few times who is close to the program. I am curious to get his read on this.

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I agree with FMR. Mack is hard to work for and is generally considered by those in the athletic dept as a guy who wants no feedback or dialogue whenever a decision is to be made. He is an autocrat, who wants his way or you are not on his team. Hence, the marketing dept, that has been solely his hiring decisions, is the poorest in the MAC. The development area is also poor. Mack ran off Gary Bogue to the Law School by creating an atmosphere of tension and exclusion. Mack is in it for Mack. He doesn't get what it means to the regular guy/girl who has grown up loving the Zips. We all have seen how he is incapable of connecting with the Zip constituency because that would mean getting to know them, being accountable and sharing a vision. There is tremendous frustration amongst the coaches and it has only been growing. This situation will get worse before it gets better. The only encouragement I can offer is that I talked to a senior VP who is aware of the situation. He comments that Proenza is reluctant to make any move because he doesn't see Mack as hopeless.I don't share that opinion. :(

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I agree with FMR. Mack is hard to work for and is generally considered by those in the athletic dept as a guy who wants no feedback or dialogue whenever a decision is to be made. He is an autocrat, who wants his way or you are not on his team. Hence, the marketing dept, that has been solely his hiring decisions, is the poorest in the MAC. The development area is also poor. Mack ran off Gary Bogue to the Law School by creating an atmosphere of tension and exclusion. Mack is in it for Mack. He doesn't get what it means to the regular guy/girl who has grown up loving the Zips. We all have seen how he is incapable of connecting with the Zip constituency because that would mean getting to know them, being accountable and sharing a vision. There is tremendous frustration amongst the coaches and it has only been growing. This situation will get worse before it gets better. The only encouragement I can offer is that I talked to a senior VP who is aware of the situation. He comments that Proenza is reluctant to make any move because he doesn't see Mack as hopeless.I don't share that opinion. :(
The good news is that Proenza is not a dummy. I feel good that if things are not working out, he would make a move.72 Roo, if there was any change in leadership, would that hurt the stadium drive, or do you consider it to be a done deal?
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Zipboy,The stadium project is going to get done. Some of the holdups are not Mac's fault. But he does lack a lot when it comes to communicating with the public and alumni. He has not done a very good job in setting expectations and then delivering on them. Instead, he feels the best strategy is to communicate the absolute least he can so as not to be held accountable for any delays. It is the exact opposite of building excitement and marshalling public opinion on your side to later work thru any obstacles that arise. But this is no new revelation to any of us on this board. He is not the worst AD we could have. In my opinion, though, he is not competent to lead us to where we need to be. That is, the top of the MAC and in position to be attractive to the Big East (or any similar conference) when they expand. In that I believe he has failed and will continue to do so.Keep the faith. Go Zips.

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Zipboy,The stadium project is well on its way. New leadership will not affect it one way or the other. For more thoughts see my post under last 10 posts.

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